Whale watching and deserted beaches in Machalilla
The beautiful Manabi coast...
At the northern end of the Route of the Sun lies one of Ecuador's best-kept secrets, the Manabi coast. This quiet area is home to some of Ecuador's most beautiful beaches and coastal scenery but is wonderfully quiet and a great place to get away from it all!
Where else can you go whale-watching in the morning and then spend the afternoon photographing monkeys or sunning yourself on almost deserted beaches, before retiring to your beachside treehouse cabin for the night?
Wildlife sanctuary
Manabi is a real sanctuary for a whole host of wildlife, from the smallest tropical birds to the enormous humpback whales that breed off the coast. The Machalilla National park is home to over 300 varieties of birds, several species of monkeys, jaguars, anteaters, armadillos, and dozens of other mammal species as well. A particular highlight of any trip to the area is a visit to the Cantalapiedra (Singing stone) wildlife sanctuary, where guided walks in the forest offer an incredible opporunity to get up close to some of these fantastic creatures.
Wildlife is abundant all year-round in Manabi, but we really recommend you head here in the summer, from June through to August, when humpback whales arrive in numbers of the coast. Cruises depart daily from Puerto Lopez for a short trip out to see to allow you to get amazing photopgraphs of these huge whales as they breach the surface.
Beaches and treehouses
The Manabi area prides itself on being one of the most ecologically aware regions of South America, and the fact that the forests and beaches are spotlessly clean reflects this local desire to care for the environment. The available accommodation also takes account of the local environment and you will find a great focus on local techniques and materials, and on re-use and re-cycling. Top of our list, however, goes to the Al-Andaluz eco-village, where you can stay in your very own beachside treehouse cabin, with all the features and facilities you could hope for, but constructed entirely from local materials and using traditional techniques: a superb way to stay in comfort and style!
|