Guayaquil - Guayaquil

Guayaquil is a city and port ofEcuador, located in the coastal region.

To know

Main financial center of the country, Guayaquil has seen an increase in domestic and foreign visitors thanks to the implementation of an urban plan promoted by the municipality that has renovated the riverfront (Malecón 2000) and other tourist areas of the city, such as the old colonial center.

The realization of the project has wiped out the bad reputation as a dangerous city and Guayaquil now offers a new face with new recreational and sports areas such as the Parque Samanes ecological and sports park available to both inhabitants and passing tourists.

Despite these undeniable successes, Guayaquil is nothing more than a short stop for tourists heading to Galápagos Islands. The city cannot rival the capital Quito as to artistic heritage; the great fire of 1896 destroyed the colonial heritage and today Guayaquil presents itself to the visitor with a completely modern aspect.

For a minority of tourists, Guayaquil is the main entrance to the many seaside resorts along the southern coast of Ecuador such as Salinas and Playas and to the Machalilla National Park within which lies the small uninhabited island of La Plata which, like the most famous Galapagos, welcomes many endemic species of animals and is a good location for whale watching.

Other international tourists use Guayaquil Airport as a base for an overland trip to north of the Peru, thanks to the nearby Huaquillas border crossing (245 km in less than 4 hours).

When to go

Guayaquil's climate is the result of a combination of several factors. Thanks to its location within the limits of the equatorial zone, the city benefits from high temperatures almost all year round. Its location on the Pacific Ocean coast means that the cold Humboldt current and the warm El Niño current determine two distinct seasons:

1. The wet season lasts from January to May and accounts for 97% of annual rainfall.
2. The dry season runs from June to December.

The annual temperature variations are not pronounced but the high humidity rate detectable in the rainy season produces a sensation of heat several degrees higher than those actually recorded.

According to the Köppen climate classification, Guayaquil's climate is of the tropical savanna subtype.

Background

In the pre-Columbian era, the Guayaquil region was inhabited by several tribes who had established trade relations with other coastal cities located in the present Peru, and in the farthest Mexico thanks to raft navigation. This civilization, known as the Manteña culture or the Huancavilca culture, developed independently of the others that flourished in the current Ecuador, in particular from the Inca predominant on the sierra. The Huancavilca culture lasted until the Spanish conquest.

After having ordered the foundation of Villa de Santiago de Quito, Francisco Pizarro promoted other expeditions in order to expand the Spanish domain. One of these expeditions departed from the present city of Riobamba in the direction of the coast but was rejected by the resistance of the Huancavilca.

A first settlement was built east of the Guayas River from Sebastián de Belalcázar but it was destroyed by the indigenous Chonos who killed almost half of the inhabitants.

Subsequent attempts to found a colony on the banks of the river failed due to indigenous attacks. It was only 8 years after the civil war ended between Pizarro is Almagro that a stable settlement could be created at the foot of the hill today known as Sant'Anna. On 25 July 1547 the new settlement was given the name of Muy noble y Muy leal Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil.

In the following years, Santiago de Guayaquil quickly grew into an important cargo port with stable connections with other ports on the Pacific. The abundance of timber in the surrounding region favored the rise of large shipyards.

Ǹnot even 40 years after its foundation, Guayaquil suffered the first pirate attack by the English privateer Thomas Cavendish, followed in 1624 by that of the Dutch Jacques le Clerq. In 1684 it was the turn of William Dampierre which destroyed much of the city by burning it. Other attacks were carried out in 1687 by the French pirates D'Hout, Picard and Groignet.

In the eighteenth century the danger of piracy gradually disappeared but on 10 November 1764 the fire called Fuego Grande, destroyed much of the city.

On 9 October 1820 the city of Guayaquil declared its independence from Spain, erecting itself on November 8 of the same year as a Free Province of Guayaquil, with its own constitution. On 24 May 1822 the provincial army defeated the Spanish forces in the battle of Pichincha. Independence, however, was an ephemeral experiment. July 26, 1822 José de San Martín is Simón Bolívar they met in Guayaquil and decided to annex the province to the Great Colombia and forcing the advocate of independence into exile José Joaquín de Olmedo.

Olmedo did not resign himself to his dismissal from the political scene by the two libertadores and he was among the creators of the Republic of Ecuador that in 1830 broke away from Gran Colombia and Guayaquil became part of it.

In the second half of the nineteenth century Guayaquil was hit by a yellow fever epidemic that became endemic in the following decades and by repeated fires, the most terrible of which broke out on the night of October 5, 1896, completely destroying the old colonial center.

The economic boom caused by cocoa exports dates back to the early 1900s. Traders and farmers created the Agricultural Commercial Bank which became the largest credit institution of the country.

This period of prosperity ended in the 1920s due to parasites that attacked the cocoa plantations and the collapse of demand caused by the great world depression of the 1930s. The recession caused a series of popular demonstrations including the revolt of November 15, 1922, which ended with the massacre of the demonstrators by the army. The events of those years are narrated in the novel Las cruces sobre el agua by the writer Joaquín Gallegos Lara (1909–1947). During Ecuadorian-Peruvian War in 1941 there was a naval battle in the waters of the Gulf of Guayaquil, which went down in history as the Battle of Jambelí.

In 2020 Guayaquil was hit by the coronavirus pandemic in a tragic way. Health facilities and morgues were no longer able to perform their functions to the point that the bodies of the victims were abandoned on the street [1].

How to orient yourself

The most touristic area of ​​the center is the Malecón 2000, the avenue that runs along the Guayas River for 2.5 km, which has become the flagship of Guayaquil after the completion of the urban renewal project launched at the beginning of the 21st century. It is divided into three sections:

• The southern section starts from the covered market La Bahía.
• The central section hinges on the Plaza Civica around which stand the Moorish-style clock tower and the Rotonda monument.
• The northern section ends at the hill at the Las Peñas neighborhood and the Santa Ana hill which form the original core of the city. Along the final stretch, several squares have been arranged with water fountains and parks for children who can run around with a miniature train. Here are also the planetarium, the IMAX cinema and the anthropological and contemporary art museum.

Avenida 9 de Octubre it is the artery that intersects the Malecón 2000 at the Rotonda and ends at Estero Salado, a natural channel of sea water. The Estero Salado area has also been the subject of urban interventions with the arrangement of the Malecón Salado, the canal promenade but the area is not very frequented by passing tourists.

Neighborhoods

• Las Peñas - It is the tourist district of Guayaquil, appreciated for its early 20th century architecture and for forming the original nucleus from which the city expanded. It is located on the southern slopes of the Cerro Santa Ana whose name is due to the numerous rocky outcrops that the hill had at the time of the first Spanish settlement of the sixteenth century.

Las Peñas remained for centuries the district of the artisans and fishermen and only after the cocoa boom of the early 1900s the area was gradually occupied by traders and landowners who commissioned most of the houses that still today constitute the pride of the neighborhood. .

Via Numa Pompilio Llona is the main artery overlooked by many of the most famous nightclubs in Guayaquil. In 1982 Las Peñas was declared a cultural asset of national interest and between 2002 and 2008 it underwent careful restoration that brought the neighborhood back to its former glory.

• Puerto Santa Ana - It is the district on the north side of the Santa Anna hill, at the end of Numa Pompilio Llona street. It has a completely modern look, due to an expensive 2005 real estate project by the American architecture firm DDG which was inspired by the Cocowalk of the city of You love me. The luxury hotel Wyndham and several glass and steel skyscrapers are located in Puerto Santa Ana, including The Point, the tallest building in the 2020Ecuador (137 m.). Other buildings are El Astillero which houses the small museum of popular music and the renovated premises of the old "Cervecería Nacional" brewery transformed into the "Plaza Pilsener", a complex dedicated to catering and entertainment.

• Urdesa - Among the peripheral districts, Urdesa should be noted for the presence of good hotels and restaurants, as well as night clubs. It can be good for medium-long term stays and airbnb is present in the area with different types of accommodation.

Urdesa was born from an urban planning project in 1956 as a model neighborhood northwest of the center aimed at high-income families.

Due to the increase in crime that occurred from 1980 onwards, the wealthy residents of Urdesa began to leave the neighborhood to move to more distant areas such as Los Ceibos and Samborondón (where the open-air museum is located Parque Histórico described later). Urdesa lost its status as an upper-class neighborhood and the villas left empty were bought at bargain prices by foreigners. The first buyers were Lebanese and Middle Eastern traders and entrepreneurs fleeing situations of armed conflict in their countries. To these were added Germans and Italians and finally Russians, Chinese and Indians.

The neighborhood was renovated at the end of the 20th century thanks to the intervention of the then mayor León Febres-Cordero who, among other things, convinced the owners to move back the fences of their gardens by one meter to allow the construction of sidewalks. The main artery of Urdesa is the Victor Emilio Estrada which is overlooked by most of the clubs but for the choice of accommodation go to the crossbeams, which are much quieter.

• Kennedy (Ciudadela Kennedy and Kennedy Norte) - It is the neighborhood bordering Urdesa, limited to the east by the airport runway. It is above all an office district that mostly overlooks the Avenida Francisco de Orellana, the main artery where the World Trade Center complex is also located. In the district there are also hotels of the major international chains such as Hilton and Sheraton, as well as large shopping centers and complexes entirely dedicated to catering such as Puerto Plaza.

How to get

By plane

• -2.1575-79.8836111 José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (IATA: GYE). Iberia is Air Europa fly by Madrid while KLM operates a flight from Amsterdam.

As of 2020, the largest and most frequent flights were operated by airlines Avianca, LATAM is TAME.  

By bus

• -2.14354-79.8793732 Terrestrial Terminal, Avenida Benjamín Rosales & Avenida de Las Américas. The interurban bus station is a modern and large structure which opened in 2007. It also houses a shopping center.  

How to get around

By public transport

Urban transport uses private and municipal buses. Among the latter, those of the Metrovía to which preferential lanes are dedicated and for this reason they allow you to move quickly from one point to another in the city.

Unfortunately, to use the Metrovía you need to buy a rechargeable card (Tarjeta), obtainable at the terminus and interchange stops upon presentation of a document. The card must be stamped at the turnstiles present at the stops. As of 2020, there were only three lines:

• Line No 1 (Troncal 1 or MetroQuil or Red Line) - Probably the line you will need the most as it stops at the attractions located on the Malecon 2000 and in the neighborhoods of Las Peñas and Puerto Santa Ana. The northern terminus is located at the interurban bus station (land terminal).

• Line No 2 (Troncal 2 or MetroExpress or Green Line) - Line 2 also starts from the terminus of the land Terminal and follows a path parallel to that of the red line but further inland. Stops at the airport and Mall del Sur shopping center.

• Line No 3 (Troncal 3 or MetroBastión or Blue Line) - Line 3 is good for traveling from Malecón 2000 to Malecón Salado. The terminus in the center is at the town hall.

What see

Civil architectures

• -2.195168-79.880921 municipal building (Palacio Municipal de Guayaquil), Plaza Cívica (Malecón 2000 at the corner of Avenida 10 de Agosto). The town hall was inaugurated on February 27, 1929, replacing the former seat of the colonial government demolished in 1908. It is an eclectic style building that mixes mainly neoclassical and baroque elements. The project of the new municipal building was carried out by the architect Francisco Maccaferri with the participation of the Italian architect Paolo Russo.  

• -2.19568-79.880522 Moorish tower (Torre Morisca or Reloj Público), Plaza Cívica (Malecón 2000 at the corner of Avenida 10 de Agosto). Mon-Fri 09: 00-17: 00. The Moorish Tower is the clock tower that stands on land once owned by the Jesuits. A first mechanical clock was built in 1783 at the expense of a private individual, Salvador Sánchez Pareja, purchased in 1800 by the municipality who built a new tower in 1842. This new structure lasted until 1927, when it was demolished because it was unsafe. The new tower was inaugurated in 1931 in reinforced concrete and in a Moorish style in homage to the Hispanic roots of Guayaquil.

It is possible to visit the interior and climb to the top with a guided tour.  

• -2.192588-79.8793733 Hemiciclo de la Rotonda (Monument to los libertadores), Malecón Simón Bolívar (Corner of Avenida Nueve de Octubre). La Rotonda is one of the symbolic monuments of the city. It is dedicated to the historic meeting that took place between Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín in Guayaquil in 1822 which led to the agreement to unite the Free Province of Guayaquil and the remaining territories of present-day Ecuador to the Republic of Greater Colombia.

The monument was inaugurated in 1938. The statues were ordered in Barcelona while bas-reliefs and friezes are the work of the Florentine artists Beneduce and Marinelli.  

• -2.181056-79.8756564 Guayaquil Lighthouse. Much visited by passing tourists, the lighthouse is located at the top of the Santa Anna hill, the highest point in the city (86 m asl). It is a structure of 18 m. high. Through a staircase you can access the terrace from where you can enjoy beautiful views of the city, the Guayas River, its tributaries Daule and Babahoyo and the island of Santa Clara.

The lighthouse was built in 2002. 

• -2.18025-79.8837225 Monument to the Sagrado Corazón. Statue of Christ 15.6 high and placed on a concrete base 11.6 meters high. It is located on the top of the Carmen hill with a panoramic view over the city.

The opera was inaugurated in 1973 on the initiative of Monsignor César Antonio Mosquera, bishop of Guayaquil in 1954. To raise funds, the bishop asked for help from the national congress which instituted a tax on every ticket sold for shows lasting 8 years.

The concrete base is the work of the Spanish architect Juan Antonio Orús while the design of the statue was assigned to the Italian sculptor Egidio Giaroli, who made it in Italy in an iron and copper alloy and then dismantled in twenty-seven to allow it to be transported to Guayaquil. where it was again assembled under the guidance of Ecuadorian artist Eduardo Jurado Game. To transport the pieces to the top of the hill of Carmen, it was necessary to create a rack railway. In 2005, the City of Guayaquil completed a renovation of the area to make it easier for tourists to access  

Religious architectures

• -2.194546-79.8841246 Cathedral (Catedral underground), Calle Chimborazo. The cathedral is dedicated to St. Peter and was consecrated in 1937. It has a neo-Gothic style with a carved portal surmounted by a large rose window.

The temple replaced the cathedral from 1695 and another wooden one from 1590 that originally stood on the hill of Sant'Anna.  

• -2.190301-79.8809347 Basílica de Nuestra Señora de La Merced. Church of the mercedarian friars dedicated to the patroness of the order, the Virgen de la Merced.

The temple was built between 1934 and 1936 under the direction of the Italian architect Paolo Russo and to replace a church from 1787.

In the octagonal apse a statue of the allegory of the Eucharist has been placed, the work of the Italian sculptor Enrico Pacciani illuminated by light from above filtered through the polychrome windows.

The interior is in neo-Gothic style and has three naves. The capitals of the columns supporting the vaults are decorated with bas-reliefs of flowers and angels.

The altarpiece of the main altar bears the image of the Virgen de la Merced, on whose dress the cross of the order is printed.

In the left aisle there is a painting with the image of the Virgin Mary in the company of a young woman depicting Rosa Icaza y Silva, wife of the hero José Joaquín de Olmedo.

On September 24 of each year, a procession in honor of the Virgen de la Merced starts from the church and winds through the streets of the center with the participation of several thousand faithful.  

• -2.19202-79.881918 Iglesia de San Francisco, Plaza Rocafuerte. Church of the Franciscan order rebuilt in 1956 following the lines of a temple from the early 1900s which in turn replaced the old wooden church of the order which was destroyed in the fire of 1896.

Inside there are works from the colonial era such as the altarpiece covered with golden sheets.  

• -2.180906-79.8760129 Chapel of the Sant'Anna hill (Capilla del Cerro Santa Ana). The chapel is located on the top of the Sant'Anna hill with a panoramic view over the city and the picturesque neighborhood of Las Peñas. The chapel is a modern construction completed in 2002 in colonial style as part of the Guayaquil urban renewal plan.  
• -2.18229-79.8776410 Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán), Avenida Rocafuerte (Corner of General Vernaza Street). The church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, also called Iglesia de San Vicente it was built in 1548 by the Dominican Order. Today's temple dates back to 1937 and was built to a design by the Italian architect Paolo Russo to replace five previous churches destroyed by pirates or devastated by fires.

Inside you can see the main altarpiece in marble and the baptismal font in the side chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

The temple is located on the slopes of the hill of Santa Anna and overlooks a picturesque square (Plaza Colón) often the scene of cultural events.  

Museums

• -2.185586-79.87605311 Anthropological and contemporary art museum (MAAC or Museo Antropológico y de Arte Contemporáneo), Malecón Simón Bolívar & Calle Loja. Spectacularly located on the tip of the Malecón, the museum was inaugurated in 2004 and is the most interesting for learning about the pre-Columbian civilizations of theEcuador. In fact, it houses finds from archaeological excavations carried out in country, particularly along the Pacific coast. The contemporary art section features works by Ecuadorian artists. A library is attached to the museum.  
• -2.19445-79.8812912 Nahim Isaias Museum, Calle Pedro Carbo, ☎ 593 4-232-4182. Tue-Fri 08: 30-17: 30, Sat 10: 00-16: 00. An interesting museum dedicated to pre-Columbian, colonial and republican art. It exhibits more than 2,500 pieces, mostly oils on canvas and sculptures by members of the famous Quito school.

The museum was established thanks to the bequests of the banker Nahim Isaias Barquet, a graduate of the Quito School of Colonial Art and general manager of Filanbanco, at the time the most powerful credit institution in the country. The banker was kidnapped in August 1985 by the terrorist organization "Alfaro Vive ¡Carajo!" and was killed during the negotiations for his ransom.

Due to the economic crisis that hit the country in 2000, the museum closed its doors to reopen them on September 30, 2004 after the management of the collections was entrusted to the central bank of Ecuador. 

• -2.145161-79.87009713 Historical park (Parque Histórico de Guayaquil), Avenida Rio Esmeraldas, ☎ 593 4-283-2958. Tue-Sun 09: 00-16: 30. An open-air museum where farms have been reconstructed (haciendas) and 19th-century rural houses with original furnishings and tools used by farmers. There have also been planted essences at risk of extinction. In the old woman's yard hacienda shows are presented with actors in period costumes that simulate the daily life of the time. A restaurant and bar has been set up in the bakery, serving local dishes.  
• -2.19583-79.8825814 Municipal Museum (Municipal Museum of Guayaquil), Calle Sucre (Corner Calle Chile), ☎ 593 4-259-4800. Tue-Sat 09: 00-17: 30. The museum illustrates the historical evolution of the city starting from the pre-Columbian period with a section where archaeological finds are exhibited. Collections of sacred art and other collections of uniforms and weapons are dedicated to the colonial era.  

• -2.18311-79.8771215 Ecuadorian Fire Department Museum (Museum of the Ecuatorian Bombero), ☎ 593 4-371-4840. Tue-Sat 10 am-5pm. Inaugurated in 1982, the museum houses a collection of historic vehicles used by the fire brigade.  
• -2.19099-79.8813516 Luis Adolfo Noboa Naranjo Museum, Francisco Paula de Icaza, ☎ 593 4-256-1893. Mon-Fri 09: 00-17: 30, Sat 10: 00-14: 00. Opened in 2006, the museum exhibits works by the most important contemporary Ecuadorian painters collected by the Ecuadorian entrepreneur Luis Noboa Naranjo. It is divided into 10 rooms where three murals by Manuel Rendon and paintings by Oswaldo Guayasamín, Eduardo Kingman, Humberto Moré and others have been arranged. The museum organizes temporary exhibitions and painting competitions.  

Parks and gardens

• -2.19476-79.883217 Parque Seminario. The garden in front of the cathedral where the equestrian monument to Simón Bolívar was placed. The garden is home to a colony of free-roaming iguanas (about 350 specimens).  
• Jardín Botánico, Cerro Colorado, Urbanización Las Orquídeas, Av. Francisco de Orellana. 
• Cementerio General. 

Events and parties

• Independence Day. October 9. Memorial of 1820. 
• Foundation party. July 25. Memorial of 1538. 

What to do

• -2.186523-79.8758711 The Pearl, Avenida Malecón Simón Bolívar (calle Julián Coronel). The Ferris wheel located at the northern end of the Malecón 2000.  

Shopping

Shopping centers

• -2.15503-79.892721 Mall del Sol. Mon-Sun 10 am-9pm. Inaugurated in December 1997, the center was subsequently enlarged and modernized and in 2020 it had more than 300 shops and 26 restaurants. It is part of a real estate complex that also includes the Sheraton Four Point and Sonesta hotels connected to the center by a covered bridge, the Casino del Sol and the Torre del Sol.

Mall del Sol is Guayaquil's busiest shopping mall; in 2019 it totaled 22 million visitors.  

• -2.22892-79.898282 Mall del Sur, Avenida Veinticinco de Julio (Ernesto Albán corner). Open to the public on October 28, 2004, Mall del Sur is the second largest shopping mall in Guayaquil, after Mall del Sol.

It covers an area of ​​62,000 square meters and has 127 shops, seven Cinemark cinemas and several restaurants.  

• -2.16951-79.898293 San Marino Shopping, Avenida Francisco de Orellana (Corner Carlos Luis Plaza Dañín). The center was inaugurated on 25 July 2003 and by 2019 it housed two hundred premises spread over three floors. In the immediate vicinity are two other shopping centers, the Plaza Quil and the Policentro.

As of 2011 it was the third most visited mall in Guayaquil, after Mall del Sol and Mall del Sur. After five years he was one position behind, overtaken by CityMall but in the following years he recovered the third place, grabbing 20% ​​of the retail business of Guayaquil.  

Markets

• -2.19821-79.881684 The Bay. The largest covered market in Guayaquil where you can find everything from groceries to electronic ones, as well as clothing. It is the largest counterfeit market in Latin America according to a report from the US Department of Commerce. Authentic items are the result of theft or smuggling. Prices are minimal but foreigners are asked for abnormal prices. 
• -2.18479-79.880215 Mercado artesanal, Loja (Corner dr Alfredo Baqueirizo Moreno). 

How to have fun

Shows

• -2.21116-79.894711 Centro Cívico Eloy Alfaro Theater. Concert hall, official seat of the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra since 2009.  
• -2.2015-79.88262 Crystal Palace (Palacio de Cristal), Malecón 2000 (Corner of Avenida Jose Joaquin de Olmedo). It is a steel and glass structure that functions as a conference center, space for temporary exhibitions and for the celebration of recurring parties and events.

The Crystal Palace was built by the engineers Francisco Manrique and Carlos Van Ischot to a design attributed to Gustave Eiffel, although there is no evidence of this. The facility functioned as a grocery market until its closure and renovation in 2002. 

• -2.185869-79.9249313 Monumental Banco Pichincha Stadium. Football stadium, second in capacity in South America, after the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. It hosts the home games of the Barcelona Sporting Club.  
• -2.178861-79.8943694 Estadio Modelo Alberto Spencer Herrera, ng. Elías Jácome Guerrero. Football stadium with a capacity of 42,000 spectators. It was built in 1959 and then underwent renovations in 1980 and 2001.  

Night clubs

• -2.18349-79.876035 Diva Nicotine, Escalón 10 Diego Noboa (Hill of Sant'Anna), ☎ 593 4-504-8763. Tue-Thu 19: 00-00: 00, Fri-Sat 19: 00-03: 00. Great venue for listening to live music. Genres range from jazz to Latin rock. The prices of snacks (piqueos) and the cocktails are a little higher than average but still good. 
• -2.18314-79.875126 La Paleta En La Roca, Numa Pompilio Llona 174. Tue-Thu 20: 00-00: 00 Fri-Sun 20: 00-03: 00. Small but atmospheric nightclub where alcohol is served with background music. It is popular with youth groups. An identity document is required to enter. 
• -2.18373-79.875577 Rayuela, Numa Pompilio Llona 206, ☎ 593 95 926 6638. Mon-Sun 00: 00-24: 00. Local open 24h with live music. Snacks and alcohol are served. 
• -2.16156-79.91548 Rollas Bar, Victor Emilio Estrada, ☎ 593 4-506-7544. Wed-Sat 17: 00-02: 00. At 2020 the Rollas Bar was one of the most renowned clubs in the Urdesa district, suitable for lovers of the Rock genre in all its variations, contemporary but also from the 70s of the twentieth century. Live bands perform there. He changed his name but the address is the same. 
• -2.16454-79.912069 Tabasclub, Victor Emilio Estrada 914, ☎ 593 96 766 0358. Thu-Sat 22: 00–02: 00. Trendy nightclub where you can also go alone. 

Where to eat

Some popular local dishes are:

• Bolón Verde - Green plantain crushed and turned into a ball, served with pan-fried pork and a tasty onion sauce, or with a soup of meat, hard-boiled eggs and other ingredients.
• Encebollado - A tuna-based soup (albacore), corn, onion and yucca, accompanied by fried bananas.
• Cocolón - It is roasted rice, considered a delicacy in Guayaquil.
• Guatita - It's a type of bacon cooked in a peanut stew and chopped potatoes.
• Warm de Manguera - Fried tripe and offal accompanied by boiled rice.
• The Bandera - A mix of dishes, which can include the previous two or fish ceviche, shrimp or shells or fish sango (fish in a thick green banana sauce) accompanied by boiled rice.
• Cangrejada - A crab-based dish that is part of the daily diet of Guayaquileños and in fact the markets sell tons of crabs every day. However, the Cangrejada does not appear often on the restaurant list.
• Seco de chivo - Lamb or kid stew in a reddish sauce that does not contain tomatoes but rather non-spicy red chillies. The meat is previously marinated with beer. Seco de chivo is always accompanied by white rice cooked in anatto (achiote) and other ingredients such as plantain.
• Tigrillo - It's a scrambled banana with cheese, eggs, pork rinds or beef. Its name derives from the light brown, almost yellow, of the burnt banana that recalls the color of tigers. The tigrillo is usually served for breakfast, accompanied by a good coffee or even for dinner.

Tigrillo is a typical dish from Zaruma, a city that originally belonged to the province of Loja, which later spread throughout theEcuador but in particular in Guayaquil where it is prepared with the ingredients listed above.

Among the types of traditional restaurants should be mentioned:

• Las Casas del encebollado - They are anonymous but authentic restaurants, mostly family-run whose specialty is precisely encebollado. The best restaurants are located on the outskirts. Several Guayaquileños curiously they have the habit of consuming encephalode for breakfast and this explains why most of las casas are open early in the morning.

• Picanterías - The term refers to those restaurants that serve typical Creole cuisine.

Moderate prices

Street food includes las carretas, that is, two-wheeled wooden carts pushed by peddlers through the streets of Guayaquil. In the past they were much more numerous but today the tradition has been lost. If the aroma of the dishes is particularly seductive, long lines will form. Some carretas have become an institution and being highly sought after, they are permanently stationed in a permanent place, while others, despite having gained a certain reputation, remain tied to their itinerant tradition.

• -2.19033-79.893361 El Pez Volador, Calle José Mascote, ☎ 593 99 378 9089. Mon-Sun 09: 00-15: 00. Renowned downtown restaurant serving encebollado and other local dishes judged to be excellent, although a minority find them too salty or too spicy. 
• -2.18783-79.882062 Picanteria Valdano, Father Solano, 204, ☎ 593 98 941 8741. Renowned, more than for encebollado, for cocolon, guatita and bandera, the latter served in large portions that overflow from the plate. 
• -2.18962-79.884493 Marisqueria El Lechón, Victor Manuel Rendón 727B, ☎ 593 4-230-0131. Mon-Sun 08: 00-15: 00. A restaurant in operation since 1990, very popular for fish dishes, especially encebollado. Altra pietanza molto richiesta è La Bandera. Il locale è piccolo ma curato. 
• -2.21174-79.90154 La esquina del Encebollado, Los Ríos 1819, ☎ 593 99 135 3696. Lun-Dom 00:00-24:00. Ristorante aperto 24h che serve piatti tipici della cucina creola locale, il più richiesto dei quali è l'encebollado. 
• -2.13614-79.902535 La casa del encebollado, Avenida Benjamín Carrión Mora, ☎ 593 96 983 1651. Lun-Dom 07:30-15:00. Al 2020 il più rinomato in assoluto dei ristoranti di Guayaquil che servono encebollado, sebbene risulti piuttosto fuori mano per turisti di passaggio. 
• -2.16341-79.913566 Naturissimo, Avenida Lllanes (No 32), ☎ 593 4-500-0166. Lun-Dom 10:00-23:00. Fast food economico di Urdesa, rinomato soprattutto per le tortillas di mais, pane di manioca e yogurt alla frutta. 

Average prices

• -2.16448-79.912667 Lo Nuestro, Victor Emilio Estrada 903 (Urdesa), ☎ 593 4-462-7233. Lun-Dom 12:00-23:00. Allestito in una casa del 1920 con arredi d'epoca, Lo Nuestro è un famoso ristorante adatto per gustare pietanze di pesce tipiche di Guayaquil. I prezzi sono ragionevoli, considerando la qualità del locale e nei giorni feriali è proposto un menu per il pranzo a prezzo fisso in cambio di una cifra ancora più modica. Venerdì e sabato musica dal vivo. Prenotazione necessaria. 

• -2.16024-79.899288 Puerto Plaza (Quartiere di Kennedy Norte, vicino all'albergo Hilton), ☎ 593 98 489 2776. Lun-Gio: 12:00-00:00, Ven-Sab 12:00-02:00, Dom 12-22:00. 15 ristoranti con un'ampia scelta gastronomica allestiti all'interno di un'unica struttura, molto curata negli arredi e dall'atmosfera informale. Puerto Plaza è dotata di un palco dove si esibiscono cantanti il venerdì e sabato. 

Where stay

Soprattutto se si viaggia durante la stagione delle piogge (gennaio-maggio), è importante verificare che la camera d'albergo sia dotata di impianto di aria condizionata funzionante.

Moderate prices

• -2.18668-79.87761 Manso Boutique Guesthouse, Malecón Simón Bolivar, ☎ 593 4-252-6644. Pensione in ottima posizione proprio sul lungofiume ma rumorosa. È ricavata da un palazzo d'epoca e presenta camere antiquate come anche i bagni. Si può scegliere tra stanze con aria condizionata e non e posti letto all'ultimo piano. Il personale è costituito da ragazze gentili e sempre sorridenti 

Average prices

• -2.18905-79.891672 Hotel Oro Verde, Avenida 9 de Octubre, 414, ☎ 593 4-381-1000. Un grande albergo del centro situato sulla sua strada principale, all'incirca a metà strada tra il Malecón 2000 e il Malecón Salado. Pratica prezzi in genere inferiori a quelli di categoria analoga come l'Hilton e l'hotel Wyndham. È dotato di piscina e si può scegliere fra cinque ristoranti. 

High prices

• -2.1785-79.87593 Hotel Wyndham Guayaquil, Calle Numa Pompilio Llona, ☎ 593 4-371-7800. Il più rinomato albergo di fascia alta di Guayaquil. È una costruzione moderna che sorge proprio sul pelo dell'acqua, all'ombra dei grattacieli di Puerto Santa Ana. Naturalmente è dotato di tutti i comfort di un albergo a 4 stelle compresa una piscina. La colazione è super abbondante. 
• -2.15893-79.89794 Hilton Colón Guayaquil, Avenida Francisco de Orellana (Quartiere di Kennedy Norte), ☎ 593 4-501-0000. Nel quartiere degli affari, a 5 km dal centro e ancora meno dall'aeroporto. È preferito dagli imprenditori ma lo scelgono anche turisti diretti alle Galapagos, non interessati a visitare il centro di Guayaquil, paghi di godersi le molte facilitazioni dell'albergo come la piscina scoperta, la sauna, i bagni turchi, i trattamenti termali, ecc. 
• -2.17447-79.901665 Radisson Hotel, Avenida Gral. Francisco Bolona 503A (Angolo calle Dr. Jorge). 
• -2.15653-79.89156 Sheraton, Av Constitución, Plaza del Sol (Di fronte al centro commerciale Mall del Sol), ☎ 593 4-370-7070. 
• -2.15558-79.890417 Hotel Sonesta, Avenida Joaquín José Orrantia González (A fianco del centro commerciale Mall del Sol), ☎ 593 4-259-5900. 
• -2.14522-79.883688 Hotel Holiday Inn, Av de Las Américas, ☎ 593 4-371-4610. Albergo molto vicino all'ingresso del terminal aeroportuale. Anche la stazione centrale degli autobus interurbani non è lontana. Dispone di piscina. 

Safety

Come tutte le grandi città dell'America Latina, Guayaquil è definita città pericolosa per quanto molti riconoscano che la situazione sia notevolmente migliorata dal 2000 in poi. Nei quartieri di Urdesa e Las Peñas, dove si accentra la vita notturna, è possibile muoversi anche di notte per la presenza visibile di forze dell'ordine. Bisogna tuttavia evitare spostamenti a piedi a lungo raggio.

Anche di giorno ovviamente bisognerà adottare le dovute precauzioni. È sempre buona regola assumere toni dimessi, senza sfoggio di oggetti di valore, compreso lo smartphone che non dovrà essere estratto in luoghi affollati anche se dovesse servire per la consultazione di mappe.

How to keep in touch

Tenersi informati

El Universo è il quotidiano (diario) più venduto mentre El Telégrafo è quello di più antica data anche se è stato riportato in circolazione con sovvenzioni statali.

Entrambi hanno una sezione dedicata all'intrattenimento, utile da consultare per conoscere eventi e spettacoli che si svolgono a Guayaquil in concomitanza con le date del proprio soggiorno.

Around

• -2.63-80.393 Playas (General Villamil) — Moderno centro balneare con molti alberghi e svariate opportunità di svago.
• -2.234259-80.0973614 Santuario de la Divina Misericordia.  
• -2.2167-80.9500675 Salinas —

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Guayaquil
• Commons contains images or other files on Guayaquil

Usabile : l'articolo rispetta le caratteristiche di una bozza ma in più contiene abbastanza informazioni per consentire una breve visita alla città. Utilizza correttamente i listing (la giusta tipologia nelle giuste sezioni).