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Guayaquil Ecuador Vilcabamba
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Guayaquil Ecuador
attractions:
• Beautiful panoramic views
• Historical Park
• Riverfront promenade
Malecon 2000 along one of
the banks of Guayas River
• Museum of Anthropology
and Contemporary Art
• IMAX movie theatre
• Flower Marketplace
• Rotunda with the statues of Simon Bolivar and San Martin
• Santa Ana hill with Las Penas district
• San Francisco church
• Pristine, beautiful beaches
• dry and humid tropical forests
The ecoregion of the Gulf of Guayaquil with mangrove forests is home to
diverse flora and fauna.
40 km from Guayaquil, bird-rich Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve
protects mangrove swamps.
The eco-resort of ALANDALUZ offers tours to Machalilla National Park
with its dry and humid forests, coastal shrubs, outstanding beaches,
extraordinary birdlife, and offshore island Isla de la Plata.
This ecological region of 46 thousand has many endemic woody plants
such as the ivory palm.
Large mammals like brocket deer and white-tailed deer are endangered.
ISLA DE LA PLATA with large colonies of seabirds offers inexpensive way to
view many different endangered birds: pelicans, frigate birds and boobies.
The Machalilla National Park has over 270 endangered bird species.
AGUA BLANCA and the LOS FRAILES beaches are known for their
archeological sites.
The Cerro Blanco Protective Forest
This dry tropical forest of two thousands hectares is home to many
endangered animals and plants.
Some of them are: ceibo trees, kapok trees, agouti, collared peccary,
ocelot, and jaguar.
starting point to visit the National
Park Podocarpus, and the mountain
village of Vilcabamba.
From Loja: the only direct bus
service to Peru)
Not far from the city of LOJA, the
Petrified Forest of Puyango has
huge centuries-old stone logs, very rare in the world. These fossilized
trunks provide priceless information about the past.
VILCABAMBA – 40 kilometres of Loja, this small agricultural village sits
in a beautiful and peaceful valley that was once named “the valley of
longevity”.
Here, you’ll find evidence of the Inca past. Tourist activities in this
paradise include walking, biking, or horse back riding.
(From Loja: the only direct bus service to Peru)
Dry tropical forests are the most threatened habitats. Conservation
efforts aim to protect these vanishing ecosystems.
Dry Forests of Ecuador lie between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes’ west
side.
Dry forests flora and fauna have adapted to the extreme seasonal changes
– from very dry during the dry season, to lots of rain during the rainy
months.
Ecuadorian dry forest ecosystem includes very rare wildlife species,
such as:
Birds: Pacific royal flycatcher, raptors, gray-back hawk, saffron siskin,
red-masked parakeets;
Plants : fig, jacaranda tree, cacti, mesquite, acacias;
Reptiles – ameiva lizard;
Mammals – endemic bats, opossums;
Closer to the coast, Ecuador’s cloudforests accommodate varieties of birds
as well as vegetation.
Agriculture requires huge tracts of forest to be cut, thus threatening the
costal biodiversity of Ecuador.
Forest destruction comes also from huge population growth that causes
larger demand for timber.
The north coast of Ecuador is known for its beaches and lively resort at
ATACAMES. Other, quieter place to enjoy your vacation is CANOA.
