Spas established on healthy ground tend to reside in regions of the world with exquisite earth, muds, and waters. These phenomena are propitious byproducts of science. Specifically, geology. Now, I’ve never planned a healthy getaway. I’ve been fortunate in stumbling upon a few towns with the properties of a healthful destination. And this is probably because like a good nerd I tend to select areas with intriguing volcanic history.
Banos, in south-central Ecuador introduced me to the fecund valleys of the volcanic Andes. Driving away from Quito, the urban sprawl slowly rolls out of houses and towns, until green begins to dominate. That drive is cleansing itself, as the pollution clears out and the sky seems to grow out of the rich, mountainous earth. Baños means baths in Spanish, and the town is known for its hot springs. Guess what heats this little community’s baths? Volcanoes! Volcan Tungurahua (Little Hell) was erupting when my friend and I arrived, painting the already breathtaking sunset across the green peaks a pregnant orange I had never seen before in nature. It continued to erupt for the next week; and the town was evacuated shortly after we left. The people were unbothered by the ash, they drove through it, paraded under it, and swept it from their sidewalks in the morning.
We checked into Hostel Flores y Blanco, and spent that evening on the rooftop, enjoying the sunset, the clean air. Looking to the spewing ash, the estate of Adventure Spa was the closest habitation to the eruption. Below it, a waterfall streams straight down the cliff, and we learned that it landed in a bathhouse. Below the rooftop, the friendly, touristy town is quiet, filled only with the churchbells ringing and perhaps some trepidation.
During our stay, we biked the waterfall trail (Via de Cascades) to Puyo, which was actually a road that happened to follow a river and pass by dozens of waterfalls, leading eventually to el Paillon del Diablo falls (the Pillar of Satan!), accessible by jungly trail, Indiana Jones-type cable bridge, and spiral, moss-strewn stairs to a balcony below the mouth of the falls and above the churning pool. The force of this falls still gives me chills. The clamor, the powerful sucking of air into the plunge pool, and the thick color of the water itself riveted me to my damp spot on the stone.
When we returned, we visited the hot springs. After twenty-something kilometers on a bike with no shock absorption and poor cushioning, there is little else your body craves than a soak in scalding volcano water. The spring bursts forth from Tungurahua at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. There are three pools at the hot springs. The “hot tub” is the closest you’ll get to that natural heat, and a medium pool mixes the hottest with the deeper, cooler mineral water. We spent quite a bit of time hopping from pool to pool. The medium, I admit, was the most relaxing, but not because it was the height of lethargy. No, the hot tub overtook my body with a gentle force I hadn’t expected, and hadn’t experienced without the assistance of quite a lot of beer. Within minutes I was ready to lose consciousness, and so decided to prove my worth by going straight to the cold pool. And by cold I mean maybe 50 or 60 degrees. Ah, cold, shocking redemption.
Other activities were jungle trips organized by the abundant travel companies competing on the streets, who also took people up to the erupting volcano and on bicycle tours. Hiking the Bellavista trail toward Adventure Spa occupied one precious morning, which was bright and cool and empty. We saw few travelers on our own adventures, and liked it that way for a time.
A more remote, albeit no less touristy, healthy stop in Ecuador is the even more majestic valley of Vilcabamba, renowned for its waters, said to help its residents live to well over a hundred, easy. The near-perfect Hosteria Izhcayluma settled itself onto the mountain slope and established a small estate, decorated with flowerbeds and arboreta, and offering a gamut of spa services on site. In town, just a mile down the road, are plenty of cheaper options where locals with some certification, I assume, run wax, massage, and spa-ish businesses.
My favorite reason to recommend these villages is that in just a few days, they can be accomplished. You can do and see most things within a week, and leave feeling refreshed.
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