Ruta de las Cascadas in Baños: The Legendary Bike Route

Baños is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador, and it’s easy to see why. You can do many different activities depending on what you like. One of the most popular things to do in Baños, which I highly recommend, is the Ruta de las Cascadas.

This bike route follows the road to the east of Baños, and we visited up to six different waterfalls! The entire activity was done without a guide and was affordable, too.

I loved how I could get an awesome workout, see multiple waterfalls, and do it all on a different type of transportation than normal.

There are many spots around town where you can rent a bike. And you don’t really even need a map. We followed one road the entire time, and the waterfalls fell in place. Pun intended.

In this guide, I will cover everything you need to know about the Ruta de las Cascadas, such as where to rent a bike and which waterfalls are the best to visit.

What is the Ruta de las Cascadas?

Ruta de las Cascadas is a 16 km (32 km roundtrip) bike route outside of the small town of Baños. It’s exhausting and can become a pretty long day, but it’s well worth it!

Most waterfalls are free to visit or, at the very least, extremely cheap. You can do other activities around these waterfalls, like hiking, ziplining, bungee jumping, and going inside a cable car.

What’s nice about this activity is you can choose how far you go and how much you see. The first waterfall you can visit is the Cascada Ulba, and the last is the Cascada Rocio Machay.

Banos Waterfall Route Overview

As I mentioned previously, you can do this waterfall bike ride any way you want. Below are the waterfalls I visited, and I’ll tell you if I think they are worth visiting for yourself.

1. Cascada del Silencio
2. Cascada de Agoyan
3. Cascada Manto de la Novia
4. Pailon del Diablo
5. El Rocio Machay

Getting to Baños from Quito is an easy and cheap process. Multiple buses are running each day.

Head to the Quitumbe station in Quito and find the yellow Banos sign on the 1st floor.

Bike Rentals in Baños

Renting a bike for the day is simple and relatively cheap! We paid $10 for the entire day from noon to 9 p.m.

I’ve read that some people found bike rentals for $5 for the day, but I had no luck with this. Maybe this could be possible if you took extra time and went around to haggle.

Baños Xtreme Sports is a good company that rents out bikes and guides other town tours. I will admit the bikes we had were extremely uncomfortable.

My butt started hurting almost immediately as the seat was hard as a rock. If you plan on doing the entire route, then maybe test out multiple bikes.

How Long Does it Take to Bike Ruta de las Cascadas?

Doing the Ruta de las Cascadas on your own might seem scary, but trust me, it’s really straightforward!

In this next section, I’ll review what you need to know before setting off on one of your most scenic bike rides!

The time to complete the entire Ruta de las Cascadas route depends on many factors. The number one factor is your fitness level.

There are some parts where it’s easier than others, but by the end of the entire thing, I was exhausted.

Another factor is if you’re planning on biking all the way back or if you take one of the trucks back to Baños.

My #1 piece of advice when planning this adventure is to try and avoid doing it on Sunday. The traffic back to Baños (at least later in the afternoon) is bad.

Bad is an understatement. We were in the back of the truck for 90 minutes before we decided to get out and bike the rest. This whole process took us three hours to get back.

This route can take between three and six hours on a normal day.

Biking Details

You can use Mapsme to help find certain waterfalls when you don’t have service.

My Experience Biking Ruta de las Cascadas

Biking the waterfall route in Baños was my favorite activity by far. This was largely due to its affordability and the sheer number of things we saw.

A good hike to do in Baños to warm up is the Mirador de Baños hike. You can make this hike as long or short as you want, but you’ll get good views throughout.

Cascada del Silencio/Ulba

I hiked Cascada del Silencio and Ulba separately, but those are the first waterfalls you can come across.

There will be a large sign of Ulba on your right-hand side. Take a right here and follow the trail. It’s a huge waterfall, and you can get close to it without much effort.

I read somewhere that there was an entrance fee (it was not expensive), but when I arrived, no one was there.

I’m unsure if this could’ve been because of my unique circumstances. It’s totally worth visiting with or without an entrance fee!

Agoyan Waterfall

The actual first waterfall we biked to was Agoyan. It took us around 20 minutes to get here, and we didn’t do much besides take some photos and look at the waterfall.

We saw some people going across in ziplines; that looked fun! But we wanted to keep going because we knew we had a long day ahead of us.

Agoyan is hard to miss. When the river becomes visible, it’ll be your first large parking lot. Across the street, there’s also a mini-amusement park.

Cascada Manto de la Novia

The next waterfall on our route was Manto de la Novia. This is another waterfall that I saw the first time I visited Baños.

We were going to Pailon del Diablo and stopped here to take the cable car across. It cost us $3 each, but it was worth the money! It took us right up to the waterfall!

Pailon del Diablo

The most famous waterfall on the Banos waterfall route, and maybe even in Ecuador, is Pailon del Diablo. This is by far the most powerful waterfall I’ve ever witnessed with my own eyes.

There are two entrances, and entry costs $2. You can walk down instead of crossing when you get to the bridge.

This will take you to the top of the waterfall, which is what we did this time.

My first time visiting Pailon del Diablo, we drove straight over the bridge and down to the other entrance.

I prefer the second entrance, as it is closer to the river and offers some on-site restaurants.

El Rocio Machay

This was the last waterfall on our bike ride and the last waterfall I hadn’t seen before in Baños. It blew my expectations out of the water!

You have to pay around $2 to enter and start hiking down. There is a free entrance slightly farther up the road, but we didn’t know about it until after.

Once you get to the lookout, you realize how big of a drop this waterfall actually is. There are multiple lookouts and a place to relax in the river below.

Things to Know

Cost of Ruta de las Cascadas

Biking this famous route is famous for many reasons, but it also helps that the cost is low!

• Bike Rental Cost: $10 (might be possible to find cheaper but this is the typical going rate)
• Pailon del Diablo Entry: ~$2.50 (prices can change but it would be only by a small amount)
• El Rocio Machay Entry: ~$2
• Cable Car to Cascada Manto de la Novia: ~$2
• Truck Ride Back: ~$3
• Lunch/Snacks/Water: ~$7 – $10
• Going via Tour: ~$45 USD (The Banos waterfall tour offers nothing more than what you can’t do on your own)

You can spend more money eating at a restaurant or taking a cable car, but these aren’t necessary. And in my opinion, Pailon del Diablo and Machay are the best waterfalls on this list.

If you rent a car in Ecuador, there will be parking spots for all the waterfalls mentioned along this route.

Where to Stay in Baños, Ecuador

• Papachos Hostel: This is where I volunteered, and I loved it. If you’re looking for a laidback vibe, then this is the place. Located on the outskirts of town, in a quiet area, for $7.50 a night.
• Great Hostels: The most popular sport in the town, the Great Hostels are perfect for socializing. The cost is amazing, too. For $8 to $10, you get free breakfast and a place to sleep.
• Erupcion Art Hotel & Hostel: Considered to have one of the most iconic rooftops in Baños, this place is not to miss. Great location as it is located in the square downtown for $9 to $10 a night.

How to Get Back to Baños

You’ll be exhausted after you finish at either Pailon del Diablo or Machay. The last thing you want to do is ride your back up the hills and into town.

Luckily, a truck allows you to put your bike back in and hitch a ride into town. It’s located closest to Pailon del Diablo.

Act like you’re riding your bike to the Machay, and you should see this covered truck on the side of the road or simply ask around.

The cost should only be a few dollars. Well worth it if you ask me.

Other Fun Activities in Ecuador:

• Cruz del Ilalo
• Mitad del Mundo
• Mindo Waterfall Hike
• Cascada de Peguche
• Laguna Cuicocha
• Quilotoa Loop
• Rucu Pichincha Hike
• Cajas National Park

Final Thoughts

They were right. Baños is full of adventure. There are so many waterfalls to see and activities to complete. I was under different circumstances last time, but I’m mad at myself for not doing this waterfall route before. This activity truly has it all and is a can’t-miss when visiting Ecuador, especially Baños!