Ecuador’s Pacific Coast has everything you could ask for from the coastal region of a country: warm weather, wondrous beaches, and delicious seafood. The southern city of Guayaquil is not a place to miss, often overshadowing Ecuador’s capital city of Quito. To read more about Ecuador’s Pacific Coast, click here
Many tourists use the coast of Ecuador simply as a stopping point before jetting off to the Galapagos Islands, and those who do stay in the region for a day or two usually spend it in Guayaquil. While the large port city is magnificent, Ecuador’s Pacific Coast has even more to offer.
Ecuador’s Pacific Coast has a fairly well-documented ancient history compared to other regions across the country, as it was once home to settlements such as the Las Vegas culture. No, Las Vegas culture doesn’t refer to the infamous mantra of “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. The Las Vegas culture was incredibly important not just to Ecuador, but to South America as a whole since they were one of the earliest civilizations to practice agriculture there.
While there is no record of what exactly happened to the Las Vegas settlements, the Valdivia culture emerged shortly after their demise. The Valdivia settlements are mostly known by the pottery left behind by them. Following them were the Chorrera settlements, which had a wide reach from the Pacific lowlands to the Andes mountain range.
Where documentation of Ecuador’s Pacific Coast falters is the gap between these ancient civilizations until the arrival of the Incas. It is definitive knowledge that tribes lived there until they were conquered by the Incas, but not as much is known about them as the Cañaris, for example. The coastal region was even of little significance during the Inca Empire, with much more power coming out of the Sierra region, particularly in Quito.
During Spanish colonization, Ecuador’s coast continued to remain fairly absent. This was because the coast had been heavily met with disease from the Spanish, killing off a large portion of the population. Ironically, despite the coast’s absence, Guayaquil wound up being home to the historic meeting of Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín in what would later be called the Guayaquil conference.
These two men who had been liberating South America from the Spanish had great respect for each other, but when they met they found they couldn’t agree on anything. From that point, San Martín removed himself from the liberation process, leaving Bolívar to finish the job in Peru.
As the region of Ecuador’s Pacific Coast makes up almost a third of the country, there is a wide array of towns and cities to stay in, and an even greater array of accommodations within those places. With that being said, like in any country, there are more options in bigger cities than small towns, so keep that in mind before going hunting for places to stay.
Unlike Ecuador’s Sierra region, the coastal region has a more tropical climate, leading to consistent warm temperatures throughout the year. The rainy season lasts from January to as late as April. This not only causes quite a bit of rainfall, but also stronger bouts of humidity.
If you’re a fan of ceviche, you will thoroughly enjoy your dining experience on Ecuador’s coast, home to some of the best ceviche in South America. But it doesn’t stop at ceviche. In this region you can also find a variety of amazing fresh seafood. Aside from seafood, other ingredients in coastal cooking include peanuts, coconuts, and plantains.
Plantains are also used as far more than a simple ingredient. For example, Ecuadorians often start their day with bolón: a traditional breakfast food of fried green plantain dumplings, usually filled with cheese and pork. And an extremely common side dish is patacones: fried smashed plantains.
With Guayaquil being the largest city in Ecuador, it is the best entry point into the Pacific Coastal region. Flights from Quito are just less than an hour long, and can be found for a good price. Buses also arrive in Guayaquil from pretty much every other major city in Ecuador.
If you’re not going to Guayaquil and are looking to spend time in parts of the coastal region that are farther north, such as Canoa, you can’t fly there, but you may be better off taking a bus there straight from Quito than from Guayaquil.
While many people visit Ecuador’s Pacific Coast solely for Guayaquil, the entire region has many adventures to offer, including: