Day Trip Churute Howler Monkey Observation and Chocolate Making
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Guayaquil, Ecuador
- 7 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
The lush countryside outside of Guayaquil on the Ecuadorean coast packs big natural and cultural appeal. On this day tour, trade the bustle of the big city for the tranquility of the Churute Ecological Reserve. Connect with nature as you explore its forests and spot local wildlife on the Howler Monkey Trail including birds, reptiles, and, of course, howler monkeys. In the afternoon, delve into the world of cocoa at an Ecuadorian chocolate farm. Experience the fascinating transformation of cocoa into artisanal chocolate, from bean to bar.
- Observe local wildlife and see how Ecuadorian chocolate is made
- Feast on a typical lunch of Ecuadorian cuisine from farm to table
- Hassle-free transportation to and from your hotel in Guayaquil
- A private tour means a personalized experience
Sample Menu
Starter
chicken stew
a chicken accompanied with rice
What's Included
- Local guide
- Driver/guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transport by private vehicle
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Bottled water
- Lunch
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Itinerary
1
Reserva Ecologica Manglares Churute
4 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Hacienda Cacao y Mango
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Most travelers can participate
- This activity is recommended for all public, that has good condition and has no physical impediment.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Crystal_S
Amazing experience. From the start Yamil was great and our guide Simon was a treat. 10/10 recommended. We had a great time at the CaCao plantation. The day was full, the lunch was so delicious. We really enjoyed it with my mom (67) and daughter (10), it’s fun for all ages.
Reviews
4.9
based on 55 reviews
Evan_R, Jun 2024
This was an incredibly memorable, educational, and fun excursion. The care given by Simon and Yamill was first class. They had exceptional knowledge and ability with tours, driving, howler monkeys, chocolate, coffee and farming.
The knowledge of the area and working with the monkeys was very helpful to our tour. The lunch that was prepared for us was 3 courses and was beyond our expectations. Ending with the house made coffee was a treat! Then we made chocolate from harvesting a pod on property all the way to roasting it, grinding it, and preparing a spectacular hot chocolate. We ended with our own homemade chocolate bar personalized to our tastes. The entire group highly recommends this excursion!
Stacy_N, Jun 2024
Our guide was amazing! He was so knowledgeable, kind and really put his heart into our experience. The food at the cacao farm was top notch and getting see chocolate from seed to bar was the icing on the cake. I definitely recommend this trip.
We did have some mosquitoes but that is to be expected.
Lori_A, May 2024
Pick up at our hotel was great! Our guide, Simon, knew, lots about everything, and was able to answer all of our questions. We did not end up, seeing as many hollers, as we heard, which was a little bit disappointing, but the jungle hike Was good nonetheless. Afterwards, our lunch was spectacular at the Cacao and mango plantation. The information we got about all kinds of native plants and how they’re used was awesome - making chocolate “the old fashioned way” and then the “modern way” also really cool.
Matchpoint, Dec 2023
Our guides were amazing…very informative and always willing to help however we were not prepared , despite using insect repellents and covering up, for the mosquitos and unfortunately we all ended up covered with mosquito bites
Response from Host, Dec 2023
Thank you for your kind review. It is important for us to receive these reviews as they help us improve. However, prior to the experience, we sent an instructional guide via email and WhatsApp to inform you about what to bring and what to expect during the activity. We did our best to meet your needs regarding the tour, but please note that these activities are outdoors and we are exposed to factors beyond our control, such as the presence of mosquitoes. Despite the fact that the tour details that this experience is outdoors and that we sent a list of items to bring for prevention, mosquitoes are part of the tour and the experience. We appreciate your review with all respect and affection, but we believe it does not adequately reflect what we did to make your experience as enjoyable as possible."
Jack_Y, Dec 2023
Our guide, Simon, took us on a full-day tour of the Churute Forests. He is a native of Guayaquil, but also lived in Canada for many years, and his English is excellent. Communications before the trip were great, and pick up and drop off from our hotel was seamless.
Unfortunately, the visit to the cocoa farm was not available (they let us know this a day in advance and offered alternatives), but Simon made extra efforts to have us see other wildlife we were interested in, as well as a short visit to a small local cocoa farm to show us the cocoa growing and describe the process and differing varieties, and we also had a demonstration where we roasted and ground our own cacao for hot chocolate at lunch.
The hike to the Churute Forests was very good--but it does get very hot! There are also a lot of mosquitoes, so wear long pants/long sleeves, a good hat, and a mosquito net under your hat. Bring water. It is not a difficult hike, but I did appreciate my walking stick once our twice. We saw the howler monkeys in the trees, which was fun.
Lunch was at a small family-owned restaurant, and was delicious.
We thought this was an excellent way to spend a day in Guayaquil.
Maurits_v, Dec 2023
Start the day by meeting up with Simon and driving to a family owned cocoa farm, he knows these people well and immediately creates an atmosphere of togetherness. You are not there to just visit a farm, you get to know these people and how they live and what makes the whole farm work.
The family that owns the farm makes sure that you are going to get to know them and what they do as well, the friendliness just shines trough everywhere.
While walking around the property getting to not only look at all the different kind of trees they have (not only cocoa because cocoa requires a lot of fruit to get nice flavors) you also get to taste them (my greatest joy... want to get to know a culture... eat the food!), lots of different kinds of fruit and you learn the role they play in growing the actual cocoa crop.
This farm is fully pesticide and herbicide free and thus they have to make their own natural version of these and you get to see how they do it.
Then comes the cocoa itself, after sucking in the beans directly from the tree you get to roast (previously prepared) the beans yourself after seeing how they go from raw beans through fermentation and drying to something we might recognize.
Then after you get to taste the wares yourself!
Then the local hospitality comes back around as you go to the owners house for lunch, local food made with love.
A morning very well spent
Then on to the Mangrove forest of Churute, when you drive out it's all tropical forest but when you get closer and start hiking the last miles in it changes to a very different environment. With Simon as your guide you get to experience an area he loves and it shows in how he talks about and the animals that are there. Spotting monkeys in the trees, avoiding snakes hanging from them and then pestering the red crabs that live in among the mangroves.
An afternoon well spent, certainly when afterwards you get to meet more local people and enjoy a few drinks with them and talk about how people are much more alike all over the world than that we are different from each other.
David_K, Nov 2023
The cacao farm was fascinating - to amazing to learn the FULL process of production. Very well organized and presented. We also enjoyed our walk through the Churute forest. We only managed to find 3 howler monkeys on this day, but still got some good photos. Our guide was superb - his knowledge of the area was encyclopedic. We learned so much! Only downside was long drives in the car, but talking to the guide filled the time well.
Maurice_W, Jan 2023
Amazing experience. Yamil and Simon were great guides, friendly, charismatic and very knowledgeable. We were on our to the forest and they got us some fresh fruits from local market that were delicious, they also prepared us for the environment, and covered us with mosquito repellent. The cocoa farm part was also great, we participated in the process of making the chocolate and they took photos and videos for us. The whole tour is highly recommended.
Stefania_D, Dec 2022
Higly recommended tour. I participated with a group of friends, we really enjoyed the experience. All the guides are really knowledgeable and happy to respond to all questions and doubts. We spotted many animals and the tour at the cocoa farm was simply amazing. We learned a lot about the process and everyones was really nice. The food was also great! Really nice experience!!
Crystal_S, Jul 2022
Amazing experience. From the start Yamil was great and our guide Simon was a treat. 10/10 recommended. We had a great time at the CaCao plantation. The day was full, the lunch was so delicious. We really enjoyed it with my mom (67) and daughter (10), it’s fun for all ages.
Matt d, May 2017
I took this trip with my family. Had a vary nice day. the guide Yamil was really nice and freindy. He spoke good English
Jaclyn B, Apr 2017
I am giving this trip 4 stars, reluctantly, only because I didn't actually go on this excursion. It was the rainy season and the roadway to the kayaking area was flooded and inaccessible. They offered us a few alternatives. We went to the cocoa plantation as planned, and it was pretty incredible. There's so much I didn't know about the growing and harvesting of cocoa- it was educational and very tasty with all the treats and samples given. It was a pretty significant walk around the grounds as well but we didn't mind. After we went instead of Churute to Cerro Blanco, a tropical dry forest for a 3 hour hike in the mountains. It was a beautiful yet strenuous hike and our guide, Daniel, was very knowledgeable and skilled with a camera we followed him on facebook immediately after we got back to the hotel. The guide who picked us up, showed us around, and accompanied us on the excursions was Yamil and he was a lot of fun. He was an excellent guide: he knew a lot about the city, he spoke enough English that there were no communication issues, and he bought us several homemade treats being sold on the way there. Which was good since our excursion was from 9am to 5pm and there wasn't a lunch besides the chocolate, fried bananas, cocoa flesh and juice, cookies, etc. I'm not complaining though, I was so excited food hadn't crossed my mind. We had a fantastic time on our alternate tour which I would give 5 stars and it was a great end to a very exciting and memorable honeymoon!
From $276.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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