Route Of the Spondylus

The Spondylus Trail (La Ruta del Spondylus) is a multi-destination travel experience with options that go far beyond sweeping seascapes, pristine beaches, sand and sun. Travel along the Spondylus Trail is a journey back to the Las Vegas Culture [link] – which was the first known culture that prospered in America more than 11,000 years ago. The Trail also indicates remnants of the Valdivia Culture [link] that was one of the first cultures in the Americas to shape clay into sculptures and utensils (4,000 B.C.). The Spondylus Trail’s famed history also includes the spot where Pizarro landed for the first time in South America and where he initiated his conquest of the Incan empire.

The Spondylus shell (Mullu in Quechua), was used thousands of years ago to predict droughts, times of abundance, and was traded all the way up to middle America ( the modern territories of Mexico and Central America) by the navigators of the Manteña balsawood sailing vessels; and was known as the Red Gold of the Incas.

Spondylus is a genus of bivalve mollusks, the only genus in the family Spondylidae. As well as being the systematic name, Spondylus is the most often used common name for these animals, though they are also known as thorny oysters or spiny oysters.

A view of the colorful mantle edges of a live thorny oyster from East Timor. The eyes can be seen on the fringe between mantle and shell.

There are many species of Spondylus, and they vary considerably in appearance and range. They are grouped in the same superfamily as the scallops, but like the true oysters (family Ostreidae) they cement themselves to rocks, rather than attaching themselves by a byssus. Their key characteristic is that the two parts of their shells are hinged together with a ball and socket type of hinge, rather than a toothed hinge as is more common in other bivalves.

Spondylus spp. have multiple eyes around the edges of the shell, and they have a relatively well developed nervous system. Their nervous ganglia are concentrated in the visceral region, with recognisable optic lobes, connected to the eyes.

Spondylus shells are much sought after by collectors, and there is a lively commercial market in them.

Visit the museums of Guayaquil, Manta and Bahia and the archaeological sites of: Valdivia and Sumpa in the province of Santa Elena; Agua Blanca, Japotó, Cerro de Jaboncillo, Chirije, San Isidro and Coaque in the province of Manabí and La Tolita Pampa de Oro in the province of Esmeraldas.

Get to know the ethnic groups that inhabit picturesque villages located on the beaches and to the interior of the coastal regions including from national cultural heritage cities like Zaruma. As the heirs of ancestral cultures, they form an important part of the conglomeration of live cultures of Ecuador.

Enjoy the diversity of the indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian groups, the montubios and mestizos of the coastal region – their music, religious customs, exquisite cuisine and handicrafts.

Come and experience the Cultural Mosaic of the Spondylus Trail.

Go birdwatching on the Ecuadorian coast with approximately 700 species of birds, including many endemic and migratory ones that are hosted by a grand diversity of ecosystems. Many have evolved in isolation and have subspecies that have developed in specific tropical habitats.

Travel the 13 designated areas for nature conservation on the Spondylus Trail. Start your trip in the north at the Cayapas-Mataje Mangrove Ecological Reserve, where you will find the tallest mangroves in the world. Stop over at the Machalilla National Park. This is Ecuador’s unique continental-island ecological reserve. Apart from its archaeological heritage, you will find species that also live in the Galapagos Islands. Visit this area from June to September and enjoy the humpback whales breaching out of the water performing one of the most impressive courting behaviors in the animal kingdom.

Try dolphin watching while navigating the estuaries of the Gulf of Guayaquil, Morro Channel and the Jambelí Archipelago. This is possible all year round.

Continue through successive forest corridors which alternate from estuaries to mangroves in coastal marine areas and end in the impressive Puyango Petrified Forest and the Podocarpus National Park to the south.

You can decide to explore ecosystems like coastal islands, beaches, mangroves, desert shrub lands, dry tropical forests, rain forests, interior wetlands and mountain cloud forests up to 1,200 m (3,937 ft) above sea level, and that are all within reach of the traveler. These natural systems are inside of a biological corridor called the Tumbesian Region which is shared with northern Peru.

The gastronomical diversity of the Spondylus Trail is found to be very connected to the culture of its peoples, to the manner of doing things and their natural surroundings.

Delight your palate and savor the exquisite and varied cuisine along the Spondylus Trail. With typical dishes prepared with seafood and vegetables, combined with sauces that highlight the taste and can delight the most demanding of palates, the ones that stand out most are the Ceviche, Viche, Corviche and the hardy seafood stocked rice dish called the “Arroz Marinero”.

Try hang gliding or para-gliding and see the coast with an extraordinary perspective from above. For this experience, make sure you go to Crucita in Manabí, which is considered one of the best 3 takeoff sites of the Pacific coast of South America.

Set foot in the tropical forests and mountains and have a great time with canopy tours, mountain climbing and mountain biking. Enjoy waterfall descents (canyoning) and hiking in places like Dos Mangas, Sinchal, Loma Alta and Bucay.

Numerous hotels & hosterias call this region home, including