Portoviejo - city in Ecuador, capital of the Manabí Province

Portoviejo is in the Coastal Lowlands of Ecuador.

Understand

Founded by the Spanish conquistadors in 1535 and the capital of Manabi province, Portoviejo is known for its beautiful royal tamarind trees. The city was badly affected during the 2016 earthquake.

Get in

There are buses going to Portoviejo from Manta, Quito and Guayaquil.

Get around

See

• La Rotanda Park, +593 2-370-0250. 2018-05-21

Do

• Crucita Beach, -0.873°, -80.539°. One of Ecuador's best spots for paragliding and kite-surfing. 2018-05-21

Buy

Portoviejo is famous for kapok mattresses and pillows made from the ceibo seed case and is a good place to buy hammocks. The main street has several stalls selling tagua figures. There is also a large flea market in downtown.

Eat

• Che Cactus, Avenida Manabi, Sector Los Mangos, -1.0464°, -80.4713°, +593 93 999 5954. Rich and meaty Tex-Mex barbecue. 2018-05-21

Drink

Sleep

• Hotel Ceibo Real, Manabi Avenue and Pio Montufar St, -1.05389°, -80.4583°, +593 5 263 22 80, ceiboreal@hotmail.com. Staff are bilingual in English and Spanish. Single rooms from $65, double rooms from $95 2018-12-28

Connect

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