Ecuador: hot springs and hummingbirds galore

In the Ecuadorian town of Papallacta, water is everything. Trout farms supply local restaurants with the steamed fish that headlines almost every menu, and water pumped from the town provides the nearby capital of Quito with around 60% of its drinking supply. But it is the natural hot springs on the slopes above town that have brought Papallacta its fame, turning Ecuador’s highest town – 3,300m above sea level – into one of the country’s most appealing travel destinations.

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Springs time
The secret to Papallacta’s springs lies deep in the earth. Ecuador is said to have the world’s highest concentration of volcanoes – around 30 on the mainland alone – and the water that pours from the ground at Papallacta is thermally heated by the subterranean activity of the 5,758m-high Volcan Antisana, Ecuador’s fourth-highest mountain. Read Article