Termas El Salado

In Baños de Agua Santa — a town whose very name announces its identity as Ecuador's most famous thermal destination, set dramatically at the foot of the active Tungurahua volcano — Termas El Salado occupies a storied position along the Pastaza river gorge. The calcium-rich waters emerge at 35 °C with a mildly acidic pH of 6.8, a slight tartness characteristic of volcanic spring systems that have traveled through mineral-laden rock.

The name El Salado — 'the salty one' — alludes to the faint minerality that has marked these waters for generations of Ecuadorians who have made the pilgrimage to Baños. The gorge setting is spectacular: dark volcanic cliffs rise on either side while the river roars below, framing the open-air pools in raw natural drama. El Salado is a place where the tradition of thermal bathing in Ecuador feels most direct and most vivid.