Montañita is a small coastal

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

located in the parish of Manglaralto, province of Santa Elena, about 180 kilometers northwest of

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

. Its name means "small mountain." In the mid 20th century it was known as a

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

beach, with only a few fishermen's huts, and one or two surfers tents in summer, erected at the site. But in 1960, Montañita, foreigners linked to the hippie movement decided to settle there permanently. It is now a popular destination for surfers from around the world and considered one of the best surfing beaches in Ecuador's south coast.

Characteristics

The town of Montañita is laid out in a grid of small streets crowded with shops and restaurants. Most of the east/west roads have beach access. The town has four main areas: the beach, the Point, Trigrillo neighborhood and the Center. The Point is the small mountain, that separates Montañita's beach from that of the neighboring town of Olon. The first cement beach house in the town, constructed by two foreigners Jack and James who had formerly been camping on the beach, is a notable feature of the town.

Climate

Montañita's climate is that of a tropical, coastal city. Its average temperature is 28 °C (82 °F), and the rainy season runs from December to May. However, rainfall is low and typically occurs in the evening or night. Water temperatures range from 13-20 °C (56-68 °F).

Economy

Montañita's economy is dependent on tourism, especially food service, surfing, and craft sales. Besides surfing, tourists and locals come to engage in

bodyboarding Bodyboarding is a water sports, water sport in which the surfing, surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore. Bodyboarding is also referred to as ''Boogieboarding'' due to the in ...

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

, and

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

. The tourist season peaks in January and hits its low in June. Each February,

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

is held in Montañita.

Valdivia archaeological site

About 10km south of Montanita is located the Valdivia archaeological site. The excavations here back in the 1950s revealed the existence of now famous Valdivia culture, one of the oldest ancient cultures in South America. The coordinates of the Valdivia archaeological site are 1°56'29"S and 80°41'51"W. There are several other archeological sites on the Santa Elena Peninsula south of Montanita, including Santa Elena, Ecuador. Excavations there revealed the evidence that this site belonged to the Las Vegas culture (archaeology), the first Ecuadorian culture which flourished from 8800 to 4600 BC along the Ecuadorian coast.

Surfing in Montañita

Surfing in Montañita offers strong, consistent waves and good tubes make it a great place for accomplished surfers and challenging for newer surfers. Montañita is an increasingly popular destination on the international surfing circuit. 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 1.5 meters. Between January and March, waves may be large as 2 meters. Montañita hosts an international surfing competition each February during

Curiosities

The main means of transportation are bicycles, pedicabs and the occasional truck, although the streets are mostly pedestrian. It is common to hear reggae music on street corners, and banners of peace symbols, or the portrait of

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

, John Lennon or Bob Marley are common. Montañita has bars, restaurants, and cafés that cater to international tastes. During peak tourists season, there are many electronic/house music festivals on the beach. There are three schools that specialize in teaching Spanish. Montañita Spanish School was the first professional Spanish language school in town. Mar Azul with local experienced and certified teachers and La Escuelita offer customized private lessons. Montanita has a reputation of being a devils town but there is a myriad of other activities in which to take part. On December 5, 2014 the movie ''Sexy Montañita'', directed by Alberto Pablo Rivera, was released. Montañita is widely known for its legal

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

use due to an Ecuadorian law according to which individuals are allowed to carry a small "personal" amount of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

References

External links

* * Montañita Ecuador Guide 2012
Montañita Ecuador Area Road Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montanita, Ecuador Populated places in Santa Elena Province Surfing locations in Ecuador