Our tour guide took us to the Botanical Gardens. It offers a great introduction to the plants and animals found in Ecuador. Lots of interesting plants. We saw some unusual animals including a harpy eagle, tapir, sloth, raccoons and parrots. There is also an area where guides were showing how the workers lived compared to the owners of the farm. There are restroom facilities and snack trucks. The blackberry juice is very good.
What a great way to learn about the old Guayaquil. History is all over this area, plus you get to see the local vegetation and wildlife. A must if you are anywhere near the Botanical Gardens. People are extremely fun and funny. We had a great time and you will too!
Flowers, trees, wild life a free gem just outside the main city it was beautiful and peaceful we lived it
We were so excited to see these botanical gardens. There were so many mosquitos and the place was a bit muddy. There were some nice animals and nice plants. However, I don't think it was worth the expensive taxi right there.
This was one of the highlights of the trip. If you only have a short time, make sure you stop in. Early morning was the beys time, not many people around. Making it like your own private garden. AWSOME.
A beautiful spot. Cool, well shaded and relaxing. A great collection of Bromeliads. Beautifully well maintained by enthusiastic staff and much enjoyed by local people as well as tourists like usThoroughly enjoyed it
Was so lovely we could have spent hours there. It's a "must see" in Guayaquil. Plenty of romantic corners.
The gardens run along the Malecon are positioned perfectly to provide shade and places to sit and just reflect on the nice weather. Only drawback is the noise and exhaust fumes from the parallel street. The display of flowers and plants is colorful and varied as anything we have ever seen. They are well tended by their gardeners. Expired blooms or leaves are few and far between. Being a camera bug I got many beautiful photos.
We really wanted to see the orchids but who know, in December, only one variety was in bloom. We were LITERALLY the only visitors to the gardens on the day when went which was honestly a little unnerving. Our cab driver had to keep calling on his radio to see where it was (I showed him our guide book and told him where it was, in my pretty broken Spanish). He had to pull over at one point to ask some guys on the street where it was. You drive through SUCH a sketchy part of town (abandoned building, TONS of garbage, no sidewalks...) that it made us nervous. I made the mistake of not asking the cab driver to come back in an hour or so (who knows if he would have, anyway). Thankfully when we were done, we found a woman who took our entry fee and asked if she could call us a cab which she did. We were very worried we'd have to walk down the hill and through a nasty neighborhood before we could find a cab. You're not missing anything if you don't come here but it was a pleasant walk. The little monkeys and parrots they had were cute, though. The parrots said "Hola!"
This small botanical garden gives a good overview of the plants and animals of coastal Ecuador. It is a pleasant, quiet setting and a nice two hour stroll. Food stalls provide some idea of the local street food and there were some vegetarian options.