Guayaquil, Ecuador

The Chocolate City

Guayaquil is not only the largest city in Ecuador, but a thriving center of commerce and vibrant sprawling city where the majority of international companies come to do business. Culture is alive in this bustling port, complete with hillsides dotted with colorful favelas, neoclassical architecture, world-renowned museums, and an electric nightlife.

Discover the heart of Guayaquil with a visit to the neighborhood of political and cultural figures Ernesto Che Guevara, Enrique Gil Gilbert, and Rafael Pino Roca. First settled in the mid-seventeenth century, Las Peñas perches over the river, it’s colorfully painted homes drawing tourists and locals alike for a picture-perfect photo op. Visit in the early morning or at sunset to snap a photo album-worthy shot.

If it’s chocolate you crave, Guayaquil is here to sate your sweet tooth. Nicknamed ciudad de cacao, or chocolate city, Guayaquil became the world’s first cacao port in the late 18th century. Sip a steaming cup of hot chocolate at La Pepe del Oro Café, decorated with scenes from the city’s cacao-exporting heyday, or indulge in a famed ‘chocodinner’ at the Hotel Oro Verde’s Le Gourmet restaurant, featuring Ecuador-reared cacao beans in every course.