Guayaquil
Sights
Founded in the 1530s, Ecuador's largest city and main port is the primary access point for Galapagos cruises and home to bustling import-export businesses.
Guayaquil is primarily visited by business travelers or tourists on their way to the Galapagos Islands but local tourism is on the rise as well, thanks to a multi-facetted renewal process which has already resulted in a new international airport and urban renewal projects along the River Guayas promenade and in the historic neighborhood of Las Peñas.
Guayaquil is in the process of undergoing a major face-lift and is rapidly becoming a more cosmopolitan city and the signs are visible throughout; new and renovated hotels, high-end shopping, and quality restaurants are popping up everywhere.
Some of the city’s major attractions and things to do are:
El Malecon 2000
The
Malecon is
the most important civic-touristic-commercial center of South America. It's
turning into the most complete and modern center of urban recreation of the
country. Featured are multiple green areas of entertainment and commercial
service.
Mall del Sol
Travelers will find plenty of shopping in this new mall, and with most of
its store names in English, it will feel eerily familiar to North American
travelers.
Mercado Artesanal
This is the largest artisan market in the city. The market is housed in a
240-shop building that takes up the entire block of Baquerizo Avenue, between
the streets Loja and Juan Montalvo. Its many vendors sell indigenous crafts,
jewelry, paintings, and more!
La Rotonda
A monument commemorating the historical meeting between Simon Bolivar, the
liberator, and Jose de San Martín, which determined the formation
of the great Colombia (integrated by Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador) and
the farewell of San Martín,
who would leave the continent after that.
Barrio de Las Peñas
This 400-year old neighborhood was declared a cultural patrimony of the nation
in 1982, for being the most representative urban-architectural complex of the
20th century. It is located in the very same place where the city was founded
and is characterized by its paved streets and Spanish style wooden houses.
The Santa Ana hill - ideal to obtain a panoramic View - and the Guayas river constitute their natural surroundings.The picturesque colonial district of Las Peñas, with its working docks and bobbing restaurant boats makes a good place to eat seafood, sip a beer and watch the city's river traffic. The chocolate-colored Guayas River teams with fragile rafts paddled by banana peddlers, huge ocean liners, dugout canoes and fishing trawlers. Las Peñas historic streets now house art galleries and artists' studios, the city's oldest church, Santo Domingo.
Church of Santo Domingo
It is the oldest church in the city. Its original construction dates from
1548, but had to be restored 390 years later. There is water well on its interior
that, according to some faithful people, has curative properties.
The Cathedral
Originally it was constructed with wood in 1547, but a fire consumed its
structures. In 1948, the present temple of neo-gotic style was elevated. They
emphasize its glassworks and the marble altar brought from Cuenca. You can
find it in Chile Street.
Parque del Centenario
The biggest in Guayaquil. It occupies an extension of four blocks, where
you can observe a number of monuments, being the one of greater importance
the one for freedom; it shows the image of the Ecuadorian heroes. On its surroundings,
statues of a minor size represent history, justice, and heroism.
Parque Bolivar
It
is the botanical garden of the city and it has less than a century of existence.
In their green areas and pools, you can find turtles and iguanas that are used
to being in contact with the public.
Municipal Museum
The Jibaros (a tribe of the Amazonia) had the custom to reduce the heads
of their enemies, and after the procedure were the size of a doll head. Until
now, the investigators have not been able to discover the methods and techniques
used by the natives. An impressive collection of these “Military trophies “ is
exhibited in the room located between the Sucre and Pedro Carbo streets.
Other interesting museums are the House of Ecuadorian Culture, which exhibits
Pre-Columbian objects found in the Ecuadorian coast, and the Museum of the
Central Bank, an important exhibition of Pre-Hispanic utensils and samples
of ceramics and textiles.
© Oro Verde Hotel, Guayaquil
Climate
The climate in the wet season is hot (January - May),and in the dry season between June and December it’s warm during the day and cool during the night.
Arrival
The “Joaquin Olmedo Airport” is about 10 minutes by taxi the north of the city centre. The taxi fare is cheap, but it is not safe to leave the terminal area at night on foot to the main street.
Festivals
The founding of Guayaquil is celebrated on Jul 24-25 and the city’s independence on Oct 9-12. Both holidays are lively and offer many public events.
Excursions
Guayaquil is the base for most Galapagos visitors. The Galapagos Islands are world famous for their fauna (sea lions, turtles, penguins, dolphins, reptiles, birds, etc.). They are also the birthplace of Darwin’s famous theory of evolution.
Other excursions can be made to the “Cerro Blanco Forest Reserve” with its impressive variety of flora and fauna there you can see land and wading birds and other animals or take a canoe trip into the mangroves forest.