Guayaquil - The pearl of the Pacific

Guayaquil is trying hard to make a better tourist appeal, but most people just zip through it to or from their way to the coast. Called the Pearl of the Pacific, it is a new city that after recent transformations, has a lot on offer for visitors.

Santiago de Guayaquil, or just Guayaquil, is the most populous city in Ecuador, as well as that nation's main sea port. Guayaquil is on the west margin of the Guayas River, which flows into the Gulf of Guayaquil in the Pacific Ocean. The city is the center of Ecuador's fishing and manufacturing industries.

Most buildings in downtown Guayaquil have a very attractive and utilitarian feature - the soportales. These are colonnades or arcades that provide protection to pedestrians from the Equatorial sun and torrential rains. These are worthy of study and imitation by architects from other parts of the world. The city is located in the Golf of Guayaquil, it is the largest geographical formation in the coast of South America. It is located on the Guayas River, the largest in the Pacific coast of the Americas. It is surrounded by the intra-coastal forest and hills, its natural beauty and the dry tropical forest make it one of the best eco-tourism destinies in the world; especially bird watching. Within the city, on the River banks, the Malecon garden park offers a wide variety of at least 150 varieties of birds, many of them endemic, that is to say unique in the world.

Downtown Guayaquil

The monumental part of the city with the Seminario Park, known as the Iguana´s Park, the churches,The Main Museum, The 9 de Octubre Boulevard, Square and Church “San Francisco”( “Saint Francis” for the English speakers), Culture House Museum, Centenario Park, etc.