Cerro Blanco Protected Forest

Cerro Blanco protects about six thousand hectares of tropical dry forest in the hills at the western edge of Guayaquil, a forest type that once covered much of coastal Ecuador and western Peru and of which very little now survives. It is best known for a small population of great green macaws, one of the most endangered parrots in the Americas, which nest here and are seen and heard from the trails, alongside howler monkeys, ocelots and over two hundred bird species. Trails of different lengths climb through ceibo forest to viewpoints over the city and the Guayas estuary, and the forest transforms between seasons, bare and grey in the dry months, dense green in the wet.

What you actually see

• Great green macaws - one of the last populations of an endangered parrot.
• Ceibo dry forest - the huge pale trunks of the kapok trees.
• Howler monkeys in the canopy - heard far further than they are seen.
• Viewpoints over the estuary - the city and the Guayas from the ridge.

When to go

January to April, the wet season, when the forest is green and birds are breeding; the dry months are bare and brown. Half a day, starting early. Some trails require a guide booked ahead.

Honest expectations

The dry season leaves the forest leafless and grey, which disappoints people expecting jungle. Heat and humidity are heavy. The macaws are few and sightings are not guaranteed. A quarry and the highway run close to the boundary.

Nearby

Guayaquil is east; Manglares Churute lies south.