Puerto López is a fishing town on the pacific coast of Ecuador and the most famous whale-watching destination in Ecuador.
Yearly it hosts the arrival of the Humpback whales who mainly choose this area for their reproduction and mating.
From June to September, they swim from the Antarctic to these warm waters offering spectacular courtship jumps that national and international tourists come to enjoy.
At the end of the beaches on the northern area, there are caves with stones called "mesas" named after their "table" shapes.
On the southern area there’s a viewpoint on a hill where you can see the wide bay and condors flying.
Puerto López is the headquarter of the National Park of Machalilla. It’s an ideal place for beach and mountain eco-tourism thanks to the rich nature of its wide beaches backed by green hills.
Touristic attractions of the area
Whale-watching and Isla de la Plata Tour
The whale-watching tour can be booked on the waterfront promenade (malecón). You can take the tour where they take you exclusively to watch the whales and, on the way back, there is a stop for snorkeling on the Salango Island, a beautiful coral beach resort with seals laying on the beach. Or you can take the full-day tour which includes the Whale-watching and the Isla de la Plata.
Isla de la Plata
This island is also called "Mini Galápagos" because it is inhabited by the same species as in Galápagos such as the Red, Blue, Frigate birds, Pelicans and Albatross. The island is named after the legend of pirate Sir Francis Drake whom is said to have stolen the gold from the Spanish ships and hid it somewhere on the island in a secret place that has never been found. There’s an extra entrance fee to enter the island, additional to the tour package.
Beaches
The beaches of Manabi are famous for their natural beauty, surrounded by cliffs, estuaries, islands and islets along the coastline.
These beach resorts are the main tourist attraction of the province, being the most famous: Puerto Lopez, Ayampe, Los Frailes, Machalilla, Salango and Isla de la Plata islands in the center and south area; and San Vicente, Jama, Pedernales, Canoa, in the north, among others.
Los Frailes Beach
This white sand virgin beach, ideal for swimming for its pristine crystal-clar waters, is minutes away from Puerto Lopez and represents one of the most tourist areas of Ayampe. The beach is between two cliffs surrounded by a dry tropical forest with a viewpoint where you can admire small islands and Sucre islet.
This complex is a protected area with local facilities such as paths with signposts, parking, toilets and an entrance control where they charge a fee. Bear in mind that if you decide to visit the Isla de la Plata, you can buy a 3-day entrance ticket to the National Parks of the area covering the cost of entrance to Los Frailes.
Agua Blanca
The indigenous community of Agua Blanca hosts an archaeological site and museum of the Manteña culture that dates from B.C. 500 to 1500 A.D. There are funerary graves and sulphurous pools (thermal springs) very good for your skin located on a dry forest environment. There’s a fee entrance to this complex.
San Sebastian Cloud Forest
The path begins in a tropical dry forest and there is a transition toward tropical humid forest in the San Sebastian area, at 800 meters above sea level. This place has a wide variety of flora and fauna and is home of a thousand birds species.
It is quite common to find ant bears, white-tailed deers, howler monkeys and hummingbirds. Between May and November, this mountainous area’s climate becomes very cloudy and rainy. Horseback riding, trekking and bird-watching are very popular activities to do on this trails.
