Explore Gualaquiza

Gualaquiza is a small river town in the far south of Morona Santiago, where the last foothills of the Andes fold down into the Ecuadorian Amazon. It is the seat of a canton of the same name, a green, hilly place of farms, forest and fast clear rivers, with Shuar communities in the surrounding valleys.

The town sits at about 851 metres above sea level, low enough for a warm, humid climate and high enough to escape the heaviest lowland heat. That makes the area very good for tropical fruit: bananas, cacao, papaya and many rarer Amazonian fruits grow easily on the hillsides. The canton had about 21892 residents in the 2022 count, most of them in the town and in farming communities along the rivers.

Life here is rural and unhurried. The central park and the church face each other in the middle of town, local markets sell fruit and produce from nearby farms, and the countryside is full of rivers, waterfalls and forest trails.

Just outside town, Fruit Haven Ecovillage is a vegan permaculture ecovillage and fruit forest run by its members. Visitors can rent a room or house by the week or month, join free permaculture workshops, or come as volunteers. It is a rare chance to see off-grid, fruit-based living in the Amazon foothills up close.

Tours and activities. There are no tours listed in Gualaquiza itself yet; the nearest city with tours is Cuenca, a few hours west: see what is on offer on GetYourGuide.