Pailon del Diablo Waterfall

The Pailon del Diablo drops about eighty metres into a narrow basalt gorge on the Pastaza river below Banos, and its appeal is not only the volume of water but the access built to it: steel and stone walkways and staircases lead down through the gorge to platforms directly beside the falls, one route squeezing through a rock passage that comes out behind the sheet of water, where the noise and spray are overwhelming. A suspension bridge crosses downstream for the wider view. There are two competing entrances on either bank with separate ticket booths and different viewpoints. The descent is steep and the return climb is long, and everyone comes back soaked.

History

According to old residents of Río Verde, the name Pailón del Diablo, "the devil's cauldron", has been used since the 1940s: Angel Lascano, a local man, says he and a few others coined it, and that the parish priest, who objected to the word devil, excommunicated him when he insisted on keeping it. Around that time the town of Baños paid for a suspension bridge over the Pastaza at the mouth of the falls, used mainly to carry produce to market. Poor roads kept the waterfall little known for most of the 20th century, until in the 1990s Wilo Guevara developed the land on the Puyo side as a tourist site and Donald Wolfram opened a shorter route on the Baños side; local folklore says the nearby San Miguel waterfall, named for the archangel, keeps the devil trapped below (Wikipedia, Pailón del Diablo).

What you'll find

• Walkways behind the falling water - the passage through the rock.
• Eighty metres into a basalt gorge - the drop on the Pastaza river.
• The suspension bridge downstream - the wider view of the whole fall.
• Spray and noise on the platforms - the close approach the walkways allow.

When to go

Year round; flow is heaviest in the wetter months. Two to three hours including the walk. Go early to avoid tour groups. Waterproof bags for cameras.

Things to know

The stairs are steep both ways and the return climb is hard work in humidity. Platforms are crowded at midday. You will get wet through. Two rival entrances confuse people about which ticket to buy.

Nearby

Banos is west; the waterfall road continues to Puyo.

Key facts