Camping at El Morro, Guayas
With the arrival of a holiday, Guayaquileans can chose a more relaxed and natural destination without having to travel for many hours. Of the many nature based alternatives, for lovers of the camping there is a particular and little-known destination, called “Cerro El Muerto”
This particular hill gained its name by its shape of a man lying in the appearance of a corpse, when viewed from a distance. It is located within the parish of El Morro, one of the five rural parishes belonging to the city of Guayaquil.
At the base of this hill is also the meeting point of pilgrims and devotees, being the small mountain the cave of the Virgin of the Rock.
How to get there?
In private car, from Guayaquil take the usual path of Via a la Costa until you reach the canton General Villamil (Playas). At the entrance to Playas, take the detour along the Playas – El Morro route, until you reach the parish of El Morro. Once reached the parish, you can access the road through a small path that leads to the grotto of the Virgen de la Roca.
By bus, board a bus of Cooperativa Villamil, which leaves from the Terminal Terrestre de Guayaquil, with ticket price of USD 3.50 approximately. From the Playas Center, on Av. 15 de Agosto, you can take a bus that costs 30 cents to the parish of El Morro.
Within the wide hill, take any of the roads on the mountain that reach the top, where you can camp. Its abundant cactus, lizards, dry shrubs and more give the appearance of being a desert place, a rare fauna of Ecuador.
The sunset at the top of this hill is a great orange show, which invites meditation. During the night, due to the dry climate of the sector, El Morro is privileged with a clear sky during most of the year, so it becomes the best place in Guayaquil to see the stars and interstellar phenomena.
