Banos

Banos is a term with several related meanings. In Spanish, baños is the plural of baño, referring to a bath, bathroom or bathing place; it appears widely in everyday language and in the names of thermal springs, bathhouses and public restroom facilities. As a toponym, Baños commonly identifies towns and municipalities associated with natural springs.

The most widely known Baños is Baños de Agua Santa in Ecuador, a town in the Tungurahua province noted for its thermal baths, waterfalls and proximity to the Tungurahua volcano. The town serves as a regional tourism center for outdoor recreation such as hiking, rafting and canopy tours, and it is a gateway to Amazonian lowlands. The surrounding administrative area is sometimes referred to as Baños Canton. Other places with the name appear in Spain and Latin America, often retaining links to historic baths or mineral springs (for example, Baños de Montemayor and Baños de Río Tobía in Spain).

Beyond geography, baños appears in cultural and economic contexts tied to health, leisure and religious pilgrimage where thermal waters are regarded as therapeutic or sacred. It is also encountered as a surname in some Spanish-speaking regions. Usage and connotations vary by location, but the core association remains with bathing and natural springs.