Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve

This coastal reserve 45 kilometers south of Guayaquil safeguards 50,000 hectares of mangroves from the ravages of shrimp farming. The tangled plants cover 67 percent of the park’s area, and along with the surrounding salt flats provide shelter for a wide range of shorebirds, such as laughing gulls, roseate spoonbills, ospreys, herons, egrets, and ibis.

  Manglares Churute (8 a.m.–6 p.m. daily, $10 pp) is one of the few places in Ecuador to see horned screamers (the feathered kind). January, when water levels in the many shallow lagunas are highest, is the best time to view waterfowl. Inland stretches of dry tropical forest in the coastal Cordillera de Churute shelter white-fronted capuchin and mantled howler monkeys, along with the occasional agouti, tigrillo, and armadillo.

  At the park’s information center you can view videos and arrange for maps and guides for walks into the reserve. Four relatively short trails lead downhill to the mangroves and up into the dry peaks of the Cerros El Mirador and Masvale. Guides ($5) are required, and speak only Spanish. Boats to explore the mangroves, with room for up to 12 people, can be hired for $12 per day.

  The road between Guayaquil and Machala passes the entrance to the reserve. Look (or ask) for the administrative center on the west side, near the pueblo of Churete, 26 kilometers south of where the road splits at Boliche (itself 26 kilometers east of Durán). Not all drivers know it, so make sure yours knows exactly where you want to go or you may get dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Alternatively, you can book a tour of Manglares Churute through Chasquitur in Guayaquil.