Ecuador Travel, The Pacific Coast, General Information

Machalilla National Park view. The coastal region of Ecuador, known locally as "La Costa", is the stretch of land between the Pacific coast and the Andes mountains. This stretch of land running north to south is about 187 miles wide and is the stage for a great variety of landscapes, ecosystems and people.

Beaches to suite your taste, from the most often visited, full of beautiful people and sport activities such as surfing over excellent and inviting waves, to the ones either protected or hidden where you will marvel at their extraordinary beauty.

We have natural protected areas that guard a variety of ecosystems, such as, Cayapas-Mataje Ecological Reserve containing large mangrove forests, one of them being the Majagual mangrove considered as the tallest in the wold with trees reaching over 180 feet and dating back over 100 years. The Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve holds the last remnants of very humid tropical forests, a high level of endemism and great bio-diversity. The lower zone of the Cotacahi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve known for the very difficult access to its mountainous jungle crossed over by rivers with strong currents, is a jungle with a large variety of fine quality trees and the rarest species of orchids, ferns and bromeliad. It is also refuge to a variety of animal species that find safety in this hard to get forest. These reserves are also the home to indigenous communities like the Chachi. Also provides home to some Afro-Ecuadorians.

Half way down the coast we have Machalilla National Park where the coastal mountain range Chongon-Colonche gives form to several cliffs and hidden beaches that in conjunction with the Humboldt current incite a variety of microclimates unique and very different to the rest of the coastal range. The predominant type of vegetation in the lower areas is the dry tropical forest, considered to be the only one in all of South America. In the higher areas the tropical humid forest is predominant and serves as refuge, among others mammals, to the black howler monkeys and a great variety of birds. The ocean offers very interesting rock and coral reefs ideal for snorkeling and diving, above all off and on the Isla de la Plata which resembles the Galapagos Archipelago due to its avifauna. Between the months of July and September one of the preferred activities is the observation of the Humpback Whales that swim up from the Antarctic to mate or give birth to their young.

Further south we have the Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve, an extensive mangrove forest surrounding the Gulf of Guayaquil in order to protect them from man's destructive expansion. Aside from these reserves protected by the National System for Protected Areas in the coastal region, we also have several areas within the region privately protected that hold a great variety of wonderful landscapes and ecosystems.

But, not all in "La Costa " is covered with rain forest. Cities like Guayaquil, Manta, Salinas and others await you to enjoy its culture, their beautiful people and many forms of recreation.