Hotels in Ecuador
La Ruta del Sol is Ecuador's Pacific Coast Highway. Officialy, the name applies to the southern stretch from Salinas north to Puerto Cayo, but in practice it extends all the way to Esmeraldes. It makes good sense, because La Ruta del Sol is a catch - all for Ecuador's best beaches, reef dive sites, loveliest and wildest coastal landscapes, party - town resorts, and National Parks along the way. But resort development scarcely exists except near the Ruta del Sol's southern end. Great surfing attracts an international crowd to la Punta and the closest town, Montanita; and it's the nearest good beach for Guayaquileños at weekends.
The party only stops when you head north. Suddenly, beach follows deserted beach. Apart from small and ancient fishing communities, there are scarcely any buildings. La Ruta leads to wilderness coastline that gets increasingly pristine the further north you get. The few small towns lining the highway are each of them gateways to delights like the reef at Isla de la Plata or the ecological marvel of the Machalilla National Park, which has both humid and dry tropical forests side by side. Also near Puerto Lopez is the tropical magnificence of Los Frailes beach.
Unfortunately, visiting cruise ships and a local USAF base have recently damaged the charm of Manta, once the source of Panama hat straw; but the best begins at Bahia de Caraquez. Close y are four district eco - systems, home to over 350 different bird species. You can go from mangroves to one of the last tropical dry forests in the world, where golden orioles nest in giant ceibo trees, and you can look down on estuarine marsh filled with roseate spoonbills.
From June to December you can even watch humpback whales and their young. You can walk, cycle, ride or drive it: the Ruta del Sol seems to include almost everyhing people want to do for sport, pleasure, or curiosity.
HOW
By car
WHEN TO GO
December to August; from September to November it is much colder, and the coast is often shrouded in fog.
TIME IT TAKES
Ten to twelve hours driving from Salinas to Esmeraldas - but then you wouldn't have time to see how stupendous it is, or to divert to left or right.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Pacific Ocean sailing community, who congregate in the Bahia de Caraquez, providing a touch of glamour to the eco - beach idyll.
The Awa and Cayapas Indian culture still extant in Cotocachi - Cayapas, and around the estuary of the Cayapas - Mataje Mangrove Reserve near Esmeraldas.
Swimming on the equator with a foot in each hemisphere.
Spending all day in a hammock beneath swaying palms near Santa Elena, the partying all night with the surfers in Montanita.
