Between June and October, around 7,000 humpback whales travel from Antarctica to Ecuador’s coast. They migrate to this area to mate and give birth in Ecuador’s warm Pacific waters. Machalilla National Park is ideally located for visitors to come and watch the humpback whales that have gathered near the coast.

This whale watching tour leaves from the dock at Machalilla National Park and takes you to explore the open ocean. Your tour of the coastline will take between 3 and 4 hours. You’ll get to admire the beaches of Machalilla from a distance, and see the water around your boat turn an increasingly deeper shade of blue as you leave the sandy shores behind.

These whales are known for propelling their giant bodies out of the water and falling back with a giant splash, one of the memorable spectacles you might see on the tour. Scientists aren’t sure what humpback whales get out of this activity. It may be that they’re trying to shake loose detritus that sticks to their skin, but it’s possible they’re just showing off and getting some exercise.

Humpback whales travel in pods, and you may be lucky enough to see one of these family groups swimming near the surface of the water, spouting geysers of water from their blowholes.