Mountain Biking to Devil's Cauldron in Ecuador

Hello Steemians!

In early 2017, I spent a month traveling across the beautiful country of Ecuador and there were a few places that stuck in my memory along the way. The one I am talking about today is Devil's Cauldron (Pailon del Diablo) located about 20km from the town of Baños and is quite a spectacular sight to see. The falls are one of the most popular attractions in the town of Baños and for good reason, they are massive and intensely powerful.

The walking bridge past the falls

Absolutely soaked around these falls

How to Get There

There are several options to get to these falls but one of the most popular ways is also the way I chose: mountain biking! You can also get there by bus or in a tour but most people opt for the bikes because the rental is cheap and most of the ride is downhill with the option to pay to come back with the bike in the back of a truck. It really is the best way and it is next to impossible to get lost, you simply ride the bikes down the highway through the valley. All along the way there are other smaller waterfalls you can stop off in and several small villages. Mountain biking is the best way to get there in my opinion and definitely the most fun!

It was a fantastic ride!

Baños is a beautiful little town

The Devil's Cauldron

Once you arrive at the entrance to the falls you still have to make the hike down to the falls themselves. The hike doesn't take long, maybe 15-20 minutes and you will arrive at the gate and pay $1USD to enter and you are on your way.

The falls in all their glory

So much power

The source of the falls is the Rio Verde so there is some considerable power but one of the main draws to this set of falls in the unique viewing platforms. There are stairs carved into the stone that will take you up around the falls and you can actually stand behind the falls as they come rushing past you. It was an exhilarating to stand next to that sort of raw power but the water sprays everywhere and is absolutely freezing so we didn't stay back there long.

Another shot of the falls

Behind the falls

Costs

This was a relatively cheap day trip by most standards but there are always more expensive ways to do everything, my costs were as follows:

• Bike Rental - $10USD/day (you can get bikes for $5USD but they are pretty beat up)
• Entrance - $1USD
• Food - $3USD (just regular street food )

So, as you can see it's a pretty cheap way to spend the day and one of the best values in Baños if you want a little adventure.

It's pretty rough down there

One Thing to Note

It is probably a good idea to just plan to ride there and take the truck back because although the grade downhill on the way there is slight, it is a tough ride back. My companions and I were feeling pretty strong that day and tried to ride back to Baños but we were absolutely shattered about half way back and managed to wave down a fruit truck to give us a lift back to town for $2USD. It was a good deal considering it started raining while we were riding so the road was slick and we were drenched and miserable but I won't son forget riding in the back of a fruit truck!

There are loads of fun things to do in Baños but if you are ever there make sure you don't skip the Devil's Cauldron, especially by bike, it was an amazing experience all around and I won't soon forget it. Thanks for reading!

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