Whether you’re on the way to the rainforest, on a hiking trip, or simply want a day trip out of Quito, don’t miss the chance to soak your limbs in the best set of thermal baths in the country.

Nestled in a steep Andean valley at a bracing 3,225 meters elevation, the springs attract crowds of Quiteños on weekends but it is relatively quiet during the week. A sign on the left-hand side of the road to Baeza, a few kilometers past the Laguna Papallacta, points up a dirt track. It’s a 20-minute walk from the highway, so if you’re laden with luggage, take a taxi ($2).

At the top of the road, you’ll reach the Termas de Papallacta (Quito tel. 2/256-8989 or Papallacta tel. 6/232-0040, www.termaspapallacta.com). The public section (6 a.m.–9 p.m. daily, $7 pp) is pleasantly landscaped and surrounded by facilities, including changing rooms, bag storage, towel and locker rental, and a pricey café-restaurant. The baths range from paddling-pool to swimming-pool size, and from ice-cold to scalding hot.

There are horseback trips available on weekends. The private spa next door (8 a.m.–7 p.m. daily, $18 pp) offers spa pools with water jets and bubble jets. The center also offers massages, a sauna, and other spa treatments.

The Fundación Terra operates an information center on the hill to the right of the baths called the Exploratorio ($2), which introduces visitors to the ecology of the section of the Papallacta River canyon between the baths and the border of the Cayambe-Coca Reserve. Three short walking trails have been developed: You can hike the one-kilometer trail on your own, but the two- and four-kilometer trails require a guide.

Getting to Papallacta Hot Springs

Papallacta has several buses every hour from Quito’s Quitumbe station (2 hours, $2.50). Take any bus heading to Tena, Lago Agrio, or Coca and ask the driver to let you off either at the junction to the baths or in town. To continue into the Oriente, simply wait on the main highway in town and flag down a bus. To get to the baths from town, take a taxi ($2) if you don’t want to do the 20-minute walk.