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Located in western Ecuador on the banks of the Guayas River, Guayaquil is Ecuador's largest city. Founded in 1938, Guayaquil was South America's most important port in colonial times. Nowadays, Guayaquil continues to be Ecuador's principle port as well as its economic center. Moreover, the city has become a modern metropolis with first-class hotels and a well-developed tourist infrastructure. The city's main attractions now include the historical Las Peñas District perched on the slopes of Santa Ana Hill, the Metropolitan Cathedral, Seminary Park (1895) whose trees offer a shady place to rest for the area's iguana population, the Civic Center with its modern auditorium, the General Cemetery with its Italian marble sculptures, the city's giant Clock Tower, and Guayaquil's latest attraction: its newly renovated boardwalk, Malecón 2000, which showcases Guayaquil renovation of its waterfront district with all of its houses, shops, restaurants, and museums. Another attraction is the Guayaquil Historic Park. Located on the road to to Samborondón, the Park aims to rescue the region's cultural and ecological values. Guayaquil also has modern shopping centers and plenty of lively economic activity and is also the starting point for trips to the beaches located along the Santa Elena Peninsula.
Leaving Guayaquil heading towards the Pacific, we arrive in Playas, situated on Ecuador's Pacific coastline 100 km to the southwest of Guayaquil. Surrounded by shrimp farms and various types of palm trees, Playas offers a variety of tasty seafood plates.
Further to the north, on the tip of the Santa Elena Peninsula144 km from Guayaquil, is Salinas, a modern-looking beachside city full of quality hotels. Salinas is the ideal place to try your hand at water sport such as jet skiing, wind surfing, snorkeling, and deep sea fishing.
Further along, we come to Punta Blaca, another resort town great for water sports; Carnero, which is internationally known for its amateur fishing; and Montañita, a surfing hotspot with a developed tourist infrastructure that has become a popular destination through the year with both national and internationals surf buffs.
Finally, Manglaralto, just to the south of Montañita, is another great place to relax, partake in all kinds of water sports, and go fishing. This town is also home to a rather interesting shrimp larva laboratories.
Manglares-Churute Ecological Reserve lies on the eastern side of the mouth of the Guayas River, 46 km from Guayaquil, with an entrance on the road to Machala. This is a protected area of mangroves that are home to various species of birds and sea animals. One of the most well-known places in the reserve is a lake named El Chanclón or Churute, named after a duck native to the area. Other species that thrive in the Reserve are brown pelicans, howler monkeys, sloths, boas, and lesser egrets. The topography is also interesting, with a landscape of hills which rise from 10 to 700m. There are also a variety of marine deposits and an Information Center is currently being built.
Cerro Blanco Woodland Reserve is located along the road from Guayaquil, 15 km outside of the city. This 2,000-hectare reserve of tropical dry forest boasts an enormous range of flora and fauna and is particularly famous for the Red Fore-headed Parrot, an endemic species that lives in the Reserve, changing its habitat at night. Cerro Blanco constitutes 2% of of the tropical dry forests left on the planet.
Here you can admire hundreds of exotic tropical plants, orchids, and palms, among other species. The collection contains over 3,000 species, in all. The garden also houses a great number of birds and has an overlook with great views of the Daule and Babahoyo Rivers.
With an area of over 2,471 hectares, Capeira Scientific Research Center, which is centrally located just a few miles from Guayaquil, is characterized by its tropical dry forest, which is home to approximately 150 identified species of flora and fauna.
This area, located 17 km outside of Guayaquil along the Guayaquil - Salinas road, preserves one of the planet's most unique and beautiful ecosystems - that of the mangrove. Its crystal clear water and the peacefulness of this completely natural environment make it an ideal place to relax or have fun.
One of the area's greatest traditions is lived out in the village of Salitre, 45 km from Guayaquil. Here you can watch the coastal farmers' rodeo and admire their horseriding skills.
The scents of delicious local dishes abound throughout all of Guayas' towns and villages where traditional plates: grilled steak or fish with rice and beans, patacones (fried plantains), caldo de manguera (pork tripe soup), fried rice with seafood, grilled or fried maduro (ripe green plantain), and a variety of seafood stews are all part of the everyday cuisine.
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