Ecuador Travel

Although Ecuador's southern coast is most strongly associated with the vast, cosmopolitan city of Guayaquil and the beach resorts of that area, there are plenty of wild places left on the coast, boasting a diverse range of flora and fauna.The southern coast has everything from the moist forests of the Chocó Region and the deserts of coastal Peru to the highlands of the Sierra and the low Pacific shoreline. Indeed, the region's status as a transitional zone ensures that there is great diversity in the region's plants and animals.

Most of the region is dominated by scrubland and mangroves. In the scrublands, which cover much of the Santa Elena province, as well as parts of Guayas and Los Ríos, the rains are insufficient to nurture many plants. However, hardy cacti and thorn bushes cover the ground. Meanwhile, red mangrove forests line the Gulf of Guayaquil shoreline in the Guayas and El Oro provinces. Despite lining a commercially important and busy body of water, these mangrove forests are some of the most pristine in the country, and the mangroves have grown to an impressive size.

Not all of the area is covered in scrub and mangroves, however. Inland parts of Guayas, Los Ríos and El Oro provinces are considered savannah, and are covered in a variety of grasses. Ceiba trees are also native to the region, though many of them have been cleared to make way for agriculture. The northern reaches of the Los Ríos province are covered in lowland tropical rainforest. The canopy is formed by a variety of trees, including nectarandas, brosimums and virolas. At the low levels, these forests are dominated by different species of palm trees. The eastern reaches of El Oro province, including the area around Piñas, is covered in low-level cloud forest. These forests have a large number of ferns, bromeliads, orchids and mosses.

Bird life is abundant in the southern coast region. The forests of northern Los Ríos and eastern El Oro contain hummingbirds, toucans, finches and cuckoos. The shoreline is home to frigate birds, ospreys, spoonbills, ibis, several types of hawks and the famed Horned Screamer. The coastal forests and scrublands also attract a surprising number of birds. The Loma Alta reserve, near the town of Valdivia on the Santa Elena peninsula, is home to hundreds of bird species, and is one of the few places you can expect to see the Esmeraldas Woodstar, of which only 250 remain.

The provinces of Guayas, Los Rios, Santa Elena and el Oro are also rich in animal and sea life. The waters off the coast hold countless tuna, marlin and bass, and it is on the migratory path of humpback whales and other aquatic mammal species. Manta rays, harmless and fascinating, inhabit the shallows. The dry forests and scrublands are home to foxes and rodents that feast on the area's hardy plants. Peccaries, which are giant boars, can sometimes be found in the dry forests. The forests of Los Ríos are also home to several species of primates, including howler monkeys, and a variety of snakes and other reptiles.