Baños
| Baños de Agua Santa | ||
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Coordinates: 1 ° 24 ′ S , 78 ° 25 ′ W Baños de Agua Santa on the map of Ecuador
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Ecuador | |
| province | Tungurahua | |
| Canton | Baños de Agua Santa | |
| Residents | 14,653 (2010) | |
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| Detailed data | ||
| surface | 91.7 km 2 | |
| Population density | 160 people / km 2 | |
| height | 1820 m | |
| Waters | Río Pastaza | |
| prefix | (+593) 3 | |
| Time zone | UTC -5 | |
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Baños de Agua Santa (German: "Baths of the Holy Water"), colloquially also after its location: Baños de Ambato , short: Baños ( Spanish for baths ) is a city in the Ecuadorian province of Tungurahua with about 18,000 inhabitants.
The city is located at the foot of the very active volcano Tungurahua (5016 m above sea level) in the upper Pastaza Valley on the slope of the Andean Eastern Cordillera towards the upper Amazon basin at an altitude of 1820 m . There is a pleasant climate all year round with maximum daily temperatures of around 25 ° C. The annual amount of precipitation is around 1,300 mm and is mainly due to frequent short showers.
Today Baños is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Ecuador and at the same time an important tourist center. There are u. a. numerous language schools and travel agencies. Favored by the geographical location, numerous sulphurous hot springs arise here , which feed the pools of three thermal baths .
At the end of 1999 the city was completely evacuated and closed due to urgent recommendations, mainly from foreign volcano experts. After the eruption had spared the place like all the centuries before and only left a thick layer of ash, the inhabitants forced their return to their place after a few months against the resistance of the authorities and the military. One person died in the unrest that went with it.
There are numerous waterfalls in Baños and the surrounding area, the most famous of which is the “ Pailón del Diablo ”, the “Devil's Gorge”, in the middle of which, as they say, there is a stone in the shape of a devil's head.
