Papallacta hot springs
An hour east of Quito, on the road that drops into the Amazon, there is a valley where volcanic water comes out of the ground at forty degrees. You sit in it, in cold mountain air, with cloud moving through the páramo above you. It asks nothing of you at all, which after four days of altitude and early starts is precisely the point.
The short version
- About an hour from Quito, at 3,300 m — higher than the city, but you spend it sitting down.
- The main resort charges around $9 for the public pools and roughly $22–25 for the spa area.
- There are community pools down the hill for a few dollars, with the same volcanic water.
- You will get burnt. There is no shade, you are at 3,300 m on the equator, and you are wet. This is the mistake people actually make.
- It is closer to the airport than to the Old Town, which makes it the best possible last day before a night flight.
Where you actually are
Papallacta sits at Km 65 on the road east out of Quito towards Baeza — the road that continues down to Lago Agrio and Coca, and eventually to the Amazon. You climb out of the city onto the páramo, cross the continental divide, and start descending the eastern flank of the Andes. Papallacta is where you stop.
This is also the Ruta de la Canela, the Cinnamon Trail. In 1542 Francisco de Orellana came this way looking for cinnamon and gold, crossed the mountains, kept going, and ended up making the first descent of the Amazon River — a journey he had not intended to make and could not turn back from. You are following the first hour of it, in a car, with a towel.
On a clear day the volcano Antisana is visible above the valley. The surrounding land is the Cayambe-Coca reserve: high páramo, cushion plants, mist, and some of the best bird habitat near Quito.
The water
Geothermal, mineral-heavy, and coming out of the ground hot. The main complex has around eight pools at different temperatures, mostly between 36 and 40°C, arranged so you can move between them. There are cold plunge pools and a cold river if you want the contrast, which you should try at least once.
Two levels of ticket, and the difference matters:
- The public pools — around nine dollars. Several thermal pools, changing rooms, lockers. Busy at weekends, quiet on a weekday morning. This is what most people need.
- The spa area — roughly twenty-two to twenty-five dollars. Quieter, more pools, more comfortable, with treatments available at extra cost. Worth it if you want silence.
And a third option almost nobody writes about: the smaller community-run pools further down the hill charge a few dollars, use the same volcanic water, and have none of the resort around them. Less comfortable, considerably cheaper, and where locals go.
Prices move. Confirm at the gate rather than trusting any website, this one included. Bring cash.
The thing that ruins visits
Not the cold. Not the altitude. Sunburn.
You are at 3,300 metres, directly on the equator, in open pools with essentially no shade, wet, and pleasantly distracted. The UV at that elevation is savage, and it does not need sunshine to reach you — cloud and mist barely slow it down. People routinely leave Papallacta with the worst burn of their trip, and it is entirely avoidable.
Waterproof sunscreen, reapplied. A hat while you are out of the water. And be aware that some pool operators ask you to remove long-sleeved tops before entering, so do not count on covering up as your only plan.
Hot water at altitude: a small health note
Hot water dilates your blood vessels and drops your blood pressure. At 3,300 m, with less oxygen and a body that is probably already a bit dehydrated, that combination makes people light-headed more easily than they expect.
Nothing dramatic is required. Get out slowly, drink water rather than beer, do not stay in the hottest pool for an hour, and sit down for a minute before you walk anywhere. If you have a heart condition or high blood pressure, treat this as you would a very hot sauna and check with your own doctor first.
What else is there
- Walking. Trails run up into the Cayambe-Coca reserve towards a set of high lakes — two to two and a half hours at a reasonable pace, through páramo, and genuinely beautiful. At this altitude take it slowly.
- Birds. The páramo and the road down towards the eastern slope are excellent, and this is prime hummingbird territory.
- Trout. The local speciality, farmed in the cold streams here, and served everywhere. The restaurants down the road from the resort are around half the price of the one inside it, and just as good.
Getting there
- Bus — from Quitumbe terminal, roughly hourly, three to five dollars, then a short taxi up to the pools. Cheap and slow; getting to Quitumbe from the Old Town is itself a journey.
- Taxi or private car — forty-five to fifty-five dollars each way, about an hour. Sensible for two or more people and the only way to control your own timing.
- Organised day trip — straightforward, usually includes lunch and sometimes a walk.
The two best ways to use it
1 · Your last day, before a night flight
This is the one almost nobody thinks of. Papallacta is about an hour from Mariscal Sucre airport — closer to it than the Old Town is.
So: check out, drive east, spend the afternoon in hot water, eat trout, and go straight to the airport for a late international departure. You arrive for a ten-hour flight relaxed instead of wrung out, and you have used a day that would otherwise have been spent waiting.
Leave your luggage with us and collect it on the way, or take it with you — there are lockers.
2 · On the way back from the Amazon
The Cuyabeno road passes through here. After four days of heat, humidity, insects and river water, an hour in a thermal pool on the way home is a genuinely excellent idea, and it breaks up a long drive. See Cuyabeno or Yasuní.
Does it fit your stopover?
- Two nights before the Galápagos — yes, and better than most alternatives, because it costs you no energy. But not on your first day: 3,300 m is still 3,300 m.
- Three nights — comfortably, and it pairs well with a day in the Old Town either side.
- Departure day with a night flight — the best use of all. See above.
- Feeling the altitude badly — no. Go down to Mindo instead, where the air is thicker rather than thinner.
- Travelling with someone who does not want another mountain — this is the compromise everyone agrees to.
What to take
- Swimwear, and a second dry set of clothes
- Waterproof sunscreen, and more than you think
- A warm layer for between pools — the air is around 14°C and often wet
- Flip-flops; the ground is cold and hard
- A towel, unless you plan to rent one
- Cash in small bills for entry, lunch and the taxi
- Water to drink. Hot pools dehydrate you fast at altitude
What we do here
We arrange the car, and for a departure-day trip we will build it around your flight time — pools in the afternoon, luggage collected, airport by evening. We hold bags free of charge while you are away, and if you are coming back from the Cuyabeno we can add the stop to the return.
Spend your last afternoon in hot water, not in a departure lounge
Nine rooms in a restored 1914 house in San Blas. Book direct for our lowest rate, tell us your flight time, and we will put the pools and the airport in the right order.
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Particularly the part about sunscreen.
