On Ecuador’s Pacific coast, where dry forest meets the ocean, lies a protected territory where biodiversity, history, and marine life come together. Machalilla National Park, established in 1979, was Ecuador’s first protected area on the continental coast and remains one of the country’s most important coastal conservation sites. The park protects approximately 70,000 hectares of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, creating a remarkable transition between dry tropical forests, beaches, islands, and ocean habitats. Its diversity is reflected in the numbers: Machalilla is home to around 81 species of mammals, 270 species of birds, and 143 species of fish.

A protected world above and below the water
Machalilla is one of the few places in Ecuador where such contrasting ecosystems exist within the same protected area. Its dry forests have adapted to long periods of limited rainfall, while its marine environments are influenced by the meeting of ocean currents that bring nutrients and support an extraordinary variety of marine life.

The importance of these waters goes beyond their biodiversity. In 1990, the marine area of Machalilla was recognized as a Ramsar site, an international designation for wetlands and aquatic ecosystems considered important for conservation.

When the whales arrive

Every year, the waters surrounding Machalilla become part of one of nature’s great migrations. Humpback whales travel thousands of kilometers from Antarctic feeding grounds toward the warmer waters of Ecuador, where they mate and give birth. Their seasonal arrival, generally between June and October, has made Puerto López and the surrounding protected waters an important destination for responsible whale watching.

Off the coast lies Isla de la Plata, a small island whose greatest treasure is its wildlife. Blue footed boobies, frigatebirds and other seabirds can be observed across its landscape, while the surrounding waters provide habitat for a rich variety of marine species.

Machalilla is also a place where natural and cultural heritage overlap. Archaeological evidence in the area reveals approximately 5,000 years of human history, connecting the landscape with ancient coastal cultures that inhabited the region long before the arrival of the Spanish.
The park takes its name from the Machalilla culture, one of the ancient societies that developed along Ecuador’s Pacific coast. Their presence reminds us that this landscape has been connected to human life for thousands of years.

Machalilla is therefore much more than a collection of beaches and viewpoints. It is a living meeting point between forest and ocean, wildlife and culture, past and present. To explore it is to discover a different side of Ecuador’s coast, one where conservation is not separate from the experience, but an essential part of it.