Excursions in Ecuador
Known locally as Baños, Ambato because of its proximity to the nearby Provincial capital of Ambato, Baños remains a popular regional, national and international tourist destination because of its temperate climate and hot mineral springs. The baths at Baños are thought to have healing properties and the municipal pools attract the poor and the sick and well as venturous tourists. Increasingly as tourism becomes a major industry in Ecuador, tourists seek out private hotels and spas in lieu of the once popular municipal bathing pools. The main church in town “Our Lady of the Rosary of Holy Waters,” is an important pilgrimage site for locals who believe the patron virgin of the church, the Virgin of the Waters, has special healing powers. The vestibule of the Church is filled with notes from sufferers asking the Virgin to intercede on their behalf to cure them or their loved ones.
