Four Worlds of Ecuador

Leading the Climate Conversation

Presented by:

Ministerio de Turismo

REACH FOR A BEACH

Ecuador's 1,400-mile-long western coast features some of the most beautiful beaches in South America. Marimba music provides a sultry soundtrack for visitors to Atacames, close to the northern city of Esmeraldas. With its plentiful seaside bars, open-air restaurants, hotels, and markets where the U.S. dollar goes far, it's a popular place for sun-and-sand lovers.

Travelers who follow the country's Ruta del Sol (route of the sun) have their pick of beaches, including ones such as Montañita that have the best surfing this side of the Galápagos. The roadway also weaves through picturesque fishing villages and protected forests, modern port cities and miles of mangroves.

Mid-coast, Puerto López welcomes visitors to its beachfront resorts. The busy season is between June and September, when humpback whales that have migrated thousands of miles from the Antarctic to warmer Pacific waters, including those off Isla de la Plata, come to breed. Known as the small Galápagos, Isla de la Plata is also a refuge for species similar to those in Darwin's paradise.

MODERN METROPOLIS

Thirty miles inland from the Pacific Ocean and on the Guayas River, balmy Guayaquil is Ecuador's largest city, commercial capital, and main port. Careful restoration of the city's historic neighborhoods, along with a newly renovated river walk bustling with shops, restaurants, museums that exhibit pre-Columbian artifacts, and an IMAX theater, have transformed Guayaquil into the pearl of the Pacific. Other Guayaquil attractions include its Historic Park, Botanic Garden, and Cerro Blanco Nature Reserve. For the best views, head to the Las Peñas neighborhood. A staircase leads to the lighthouse atop Santa Ana hill that overlooks the city, the coastline, and the vast Pacific Ocean beyond.