After being in Montañita and in nearby beaches, I decided to go a little further and get to the beaches in the southern of Manabí, so I decided to go to Machalilla National Park that inside is Los Frailes Beach. To get to the National Park Machalilla can be reached from Guayaquil by the main access road is the road connecting Puerto López-Jipijapa to the north and La Libertad to the south.
I decided to leave from the terminal of Santa Elena towards Machalilla that is at a distance of 224 km, until Puerto Lopez there are two hours of travel and ten minutes more until the entrance of the National Park Machalilla. The bus that I took was the Manglaralto Float, this bus stops at the Puerto Lopez terminal for ten minutes and from there it continues its way to Manta in the province of Manabí. The ticket from the Santa Elena’s terminal is $ 4.40.
At the entrance to Machalilla National Park, You have to register your entry and there is the option of being able to enter to the beach by tuk-tuk or to go on foot, there is a 3 km route that can be done from the entrance if you want to walk to the beach and it is a 30-minute walk to get to Los Frailes beach.
Once arrived at the entrance of the beach everyone is revised so as not to be able to enter alcohol or other things that are prohibited. Los Frailes is a beautiful beach about 1 km long. From the beach, you can walk and visit the viewpoint, a walk of about 15 minutes depending on your physical condition.
I decided to walk from the entrance of the Machalilla National Park, it is a path surrounded by dry forest and as the first point to admire the beauty of this place is the Sucre islet viewpoint, where you can admire this Islet.
After walking about ten minutes I finally arrived at Prieta Beach, which takes its name due to the color of the sand that is black, here I have had 3 km of walking. After resting in Playa Prieta, I continued my trekking and I went to the next beach called La Tortuguita. It’s a beautiful beach that you can enjoy its tranquility. A few people visit it.
As the last point of this trekking is Las Fragatas viewpoint that takes its name from the birds that are seen flying so close that it seems that they can be touched, a wonderful landscape that shows us how the Machalilla National Park has one of the most beautiful beaches from the coast of Ecuador.
Finally, I arrived at Los Frailes Beach, it shows me one of the most beautiful beaches that you have to visit in Ecuador.
Recommendation:
To make a tour of the beaches you must bring water, comfortable shoes, sunblock, glasses, and a camera or video. Remember that it is a National Park and it has protected áreas, the trash must be collected and taken with you.
Puerto Lopez.
After to stay in Machalilla National Park, I decided to go to Puerto Lopez to eat, It is a fishing village whose pier has been remodeled, here you will find different places in front of the beach to eat and if you want some cocktails or drink a beer the cottage that there are on the beach are a great option.
Lunch is worth $ 3.50 and you will find all kinds of seafood, and enjoy the tranquility of this place.
In Puerto Lopez, you will find the pier from where the yachts leave to go to see the humpback whales that visit the Ecuadorian beaches from July to September, these mammals arrive from the Antarctic to reproduce and have their offspring. From here we can visit the Isla de la Plata which is 40 km from Puerto Lopez, here you can practice scuba diving or visit the island, people says that it is a little Galapagos because you can find endemics animals like Galapagos Island.
To get from the entrance to the National Park Machalilla to Puerto Lopez by bus has a cost of $ 0.50 ctvs of dollar and taxi $ 1.
Watch the video of this post.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHK_LhlUrqA[/embedyt]
