Welcome to Puerto López, your tourism destination in Ecuador. We hope your visit here on your travel through Ecuador will find a special place in your heart. The wonderful town of Puerto López is a peaceful and quiet place that boasts more than 35 tourist attractions, the foremost of which are trips to observe humpback whales and seabirds. During your stay, you can visit the museums of Salango and Agua Blanca, the island paradise of Isla de la Plata, the Bola de Oro and El Rocío trails, various beaches such as Playa Rosada and Playa Tortuga, our coastal areas and unforgettable landscapes, and many more attractions…

The region’s cuisine includes typical Ecuadorian meals, as well as a variety of fish and shellfish dishes for those with more demanding palates…

One of the most important archaeological zones in Latin America, Puerto López stands for tourism, nature and science.

The canton owes its name to Daniel López, a philanthropist from Jipijapa. The son of a Colombian and Guayaquil native Carmen Saltos, López supported the canton’s development, and in his honor, the Municipality of Jipijapa named the bay after him.

The city of Puerto López is the canton’s capital, and its parishes are: Machalilla and Salango. Its precincts are:  Río Chico, Puerto Rico, Las Tunas, Ayampe, El Pital, Río Blanco, Guale, San Vicente, La Ciénaga, Dos Ríos, Sitio Buena Vista, La Encantada, La Mocora, San Jacinto and el Triunfo.

The Valdivia and Manteño cultures of the past were able navigators and excellent fisherman – a form cultural heritage that has survived into the 21st century. Like their ancestors, Puerto López’s current inhabitants live from the sea and its riches; fishing is their life’s blood. Artisan fishing is the predominant form. All of the Canton’s fishermen set out in their small boats to earn their living in the great blue sea. Wooden rowing boats and rafts with sails have all but fallen out of use. Instead, most fishermen currently use fiberglass boats with outboard motors, which allow them cover longer distances in less time. The fishing boats usually set sale in the afternoon to spend the night exploring their fishing spots and checking their lures, and then return to the beach at dawn. The fishermen practice their trade using sophisticated tools, such as longlines, trammels and cast nets, although in some instances, they use harpoons. The most frequent catches are, in descending order, sea bass (corvina), mote sculpin (camotillo) and mullet (cabezudo).