Montañita, Ecuador

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Montañita is a small village on Ecuador's Pacific coast in the province of Santa Elena. It is known by Ecuadorians and international visitors alike as one of the best surfing locales in the country; this recognition is one of the main reasons it is able to draw large crowd of eclectic visitors year-round.

1 Location
2 Sport
3 Economy
4 Culture
5 References

[edit] Location

The village is located about 180 kilometers northwest of Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city. It is most easily accessible by car or bus, as it lies on Ecuador's Ruta del Sol ^[1], an accessible highway spanning nearly the length of the coast. The structure of the village itself is simple, consisting of a European-style plaza and a few offshoot streets, all lined with restaurants, hostels, telephone booths, internet cafes and shops. You can get there from Guayaquil taking a bus in the Terminal Terrestre, there are just a few bus lines that go directly to Montañita every two Hours from 4a.m. till 3p.m. but the safest one is the Libertad Peninsular.

Montanita's climate is consistent with that of a tropical, coastal city. Its average temperature is 28 degrees Celsius, and it undergoes a rainy season from December to May, during which rain falls typically in the evening and overnight.^[2].

High season for tourists peaks in January and hits its low in June. Throughout the year tourism in the village thrives. During the week, even during off-season, the streets are quiet yet occupied mostly by hardcore surfers/ocean-lovers (in town for days, weeks, or even months at a time) and partially by backpackers enjoying one- or two-night stays. On the weekends and in high season the village fills up with a more diverse crowd. One particularly popular draw for the town is the existence of a monthly full moon party that takes place a few miles up the road on Saturdays closest to each full moon.

[edit] Sport

The main draw of this small village is surfing. People travel to Montañita from all over the world just to ride it's big waves. Montañita has consistently the best waves in the country, which is why a lot of national and international tournaments are held here. In the summer months wave heights range from 0.3 to 1 meter. In the late fall and winter waves can be as large as 3 meters. On occasion, from January to March, waves as large as 4 meters can be seen.

Other water sports that draw tourists and locals to Montañita include bodyboarding, scuba diving, water skiing and windsurfing.

In high seas and heavy surf, the point break in Montañita will throw surfers into the volcanic rock reef tidepools containing these anemones and other sea life.

The place holds surfing competitions the whole year round especially in the high season (December through April), when lots of people from Guayaquil and foreigners arrive to the village.

North to the main village is Baja Montañita in which most of the main surfing competitions take place.

[edit] Economy

Montañita's economy is base in tourism, mainly with respect to food service, surfing, and jewelry sales. It is a small village of about 1000 people dedicated to it.

[edit] Culture

Montañita is known for having a very "chill", relaxed atmosphere, where hippies and surfers are quite at home. The smoking of marijuana, although illegal in Ecuador, is nevertheless fairly common. You are guaranteed to hear tracks from Jack Johnson and Bob Marley a few times while visiting.