Bike Ride to Puyo

Location:
Baños, Ecuador

Bicycling

By Kristi Mohrbacher

For the more athletic travelers, there is the option to rent bicycles and ride 60km from Baños to Puyo in a single day. Allegedly, the bike ride is mostly downhill but I found it to be just as uphill as downhill. The good news is you can catch a bus heading to Baños at any point on the ride and head back into town if you can't make it all the way.

The ride was wonderful - in the first 20km or so, there are many different waterfalls of all shapes and sizes that culminate in the powerful El Pailon del Diablo waterfall at about 17km into the ride.

The ride is beautiful along the river and you can stop to bridge jump with locals. Further on, you can stop to ride the cable car across the valley to see another waterfall or wander through the lush greenery and flowers.

A few things to know before you do the ride: you will be sharing the highway with speedy, if not suicidal, truck and bus drivers and at some points you will have to go through pitch black tunnels with the traffic. It can be very frightening. There is always the risk of your bike breaking down or being faulty in some way and it may rain, leaving you in between towns and nowhere to take cover. You can always catch a bus and head back to Baños. The ride can take anywhere from 5-8 hours depending how long you dilly dally at each waterfall.

Price Description: Approximately $5 to rent a bike for the day.

Relative price: Very cheap

Travel Skills: intermediate/somewhat difficult.

You Need to Bring: Wear comfy clothes, shoes, bring plenty of water, sunscreen and bring a rain jacket or poncho in case it rains.