Tourist attractions in Ecuador
Las Cañas Cacao Farm
Las Cañas Cacao Farm
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Puerto IncaNearby attractions
Places to visit within 30 km.
Cacao & Mango Family Farm
Ecuador is a land of entrepreneurs. A large segment of the production moves through initiatives of what is called Popular and Solidarity Economy (EPS). Cacao and Mango, a small family farm, gave a twist to its business. Now it not only carries out agricultural activities. It also has experience in adventure tourism taking advantage of its proximity to the Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve, gastronomy and EPS. The history of Cacao & Mango begins in the 1950's, when the Ecuadorian state distributed mangrove plots of 12 hectares each to farmers in the area of Puerto Inca, to expand the agricultural frontier. Since then, generations of the Lara family have grown cocoa, mangos, dragon fruit, bananas, lemongrass and spices. Today a new generation, the brothers Jairo, Leni, Jamil and Ninfa Lara, have merged agriculture with tourism since their professions. Jairo is a naturalist guide who does adventure tourism to the nearby Manglares-Churute Ecological Reserve. The reserve covers 50,000 hectares of winding mangrove channels, dry tropical forest and salt flats. Leni Lara, a professional chef, prepares cocoa in all combinations, with fruits such as mango, araxá, coconut and passion fruit, to serve the most delicious desserts to visitors. Ninfa and Jamil Lara attend with passion to proudly show their heritage. Cacao & Mango is a farm that produces these and other fruits. The cocoa beans are transformed into rich chocolate. Ecuador is internationally recognized as the producer of the finest cocoa. The Lara family loves to share this experience with people. Tourism is an important source of income for this company. There is a symbiosis with the neighboring farms, which provide other products to Mango and Cocoa: meat, fish, crabs, eggs, in order to serve the tourists. Additional jobs are generated and the owners and workers are enthusiastic. A tour of the farm starts with the botanical garden where they grow orchids, a tilapia pool, rice plantations and the tropical fruit garden. There is also a nursery for the cocoa plants in the growing stages, planted or grafted. In the cocoa plantations you learn about their cultivation, pollination and production. During the harvest season, the tourist has the experience of picking ears of corn and using them to make cocoa juice or the house cocktail. In the traditional chocolate workshop, the process of changing from cocoa to chocolate is practiced by roasting, peeling and grinding. Finally, a hot and spicy chocolate is prepared. As a souvenir, you have to buy handmade chocolate bars.
4.10 Km.
El Deseo Organic Cacao & Fruit Farm
The organic chocolate tasting, obtained by the tourist himself, is possible in the farm "El Deseo", Yaguachi canton, Guayas province. For the last 6 years, agrotourism has represented an important business line of the farm, which receives visitors from Monday to Sunday, with previous reservation. He works with 11 tourism agencies. The entrance to "El Deseo" is located halfway between Virgen de Fátima and Milagro, at the foot of the road (km 5, 8). The experience consists of a tour of the cocoa, banana, avocado, timber and fruit plantations of guava, sapote, orange, grapefruit, lemon and mango. The visit continues through the cocoa collection centre, with an explanation of the fermentation and drying processes. "El Deseo" supports a cocoa production of 2,000 tonnes per year, of which 68% is exported to Switzerland and Germany. Finally, tourists are led to the space of the hut which has all the comforts such as light and seating, where they receive talks and have the opportunity to prepare their own organic chocolate and taste it with a mixture of tropical fruits. The whole journey takes about an hour. There you will also find a delicious lunch consisting of shrimp encocado or dried chicken. Choose breast or thigh. Finca "El Deseo" is affiliated to the Union of Peasant Cocoa Organizations of Ecuador (UNOCASE), which is dedicated to the promotion and marketing of cocoa, bananas and mangoes. The El Deseo enclosure, Yaguachi Viejo parish, where the farm is located, is an area of great agricultural production. Its social structure is based on solidarity, since the enclosure, in the physical and geographical space of the Ecuadorian countryside, is the result of the union and cooperation of small and medium sized family groups dedicated to agriculture. Family farmers' enterprises promote neighbourhood relations for planting and harvesting cocoa, coffee, rice, corn and raising livestock. The result is the farm as a minimum unit. The El Deseo site promotes the "Humitas Route" (wrapped in corn) and the "Cocoa Route", as tourist alternatives and complementary to agro-ecological production.
20.09 Km.
Churute Estuary in the Manglares-Churute Reserve
Estero Churute is part of an extensive complex of channels and islands. It is the result of the union of the Churute and Ruidoso rivers. It also receives the contribution of the Cañar River. At the mouth of the latter river is the Isla de los Ingleses, a nesting site for birds, especially between December and May. The estuary can only be visited by renting a motor canoe. A three-hour trip for the sighting of birds such as white, brown and pink herons, pelicans, frigates, kingfishers and ospreys. With good luck you could see bottle nose dolphins, crocodiles and iguanas. The boats are hired from community members. All visitors must be accompanied by official guides. The estuary is located within the Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve, created on July 26, 1979. The most common invertebrates of the estuary and mangrove are red crabs and mussels, collected by the surrounding population to sell them in Guayaquil. Other species are the Mangrove Root Crab and the Mangrove Tree Crab. The important contribution of the waters of the Churute estuary give life to the mangrove, with a very productive coastal ecosystem. Ecologically, mangroves are considered the nurseries of the oceans. Of all the mangroves in the South American Pacific, only the mangroves in Ecuador are accessible to the public. Estero and mangroves are part of the inner estuary of the Gulf of Guayaquil and the lower basin of the Guayas River. Here the salt water of the ocean and the fresh water of the Taura, Churute, Cañar and Naranjal rivers are mixed. The wetland of El Canclón Lagoon is part of the Reserve. Deforestation to build shrimp farms is the main threat to Churute. The numbers show the life protected by Churute: 450 species of plants, including five species of mangroves and 25 species of timber trees; 8 types of plant formations; 45 species of mammals including howler, white face or monkey monkeys, cusumbo, two-toed sloth, Guayaquil savannah squirrel, bats; 300 species of birds; threatened amphibians, iguanas, lizards and snakes. It is home to the dry forest of the Ecuadorian coast, unique in the world.
21.05 Km.