These communes were part of the ancestral Guancavilca territory (800 AD to 1532 AD) in an area of approximately 78.4 km and which has as a common element the presence of monoliths from an ancient ceremonial center located in Cerro Las Negras, in the current province of Santa Elena.
The tour can be done by bicycle (2 days) or by motor vehicle (4 hours). In either case, you should not miss the hiking section towards Cerro Las Negras (approximately 2 hours).
These are the must-see stops you must make during your tour:
CHONGÓN PARISH – “CHONGÓN MONKEY”
Monkeys are animals that, in the oral tradition of the area, are related to harvests and the optimal times for different agricultural practices, since many of their behaviors are directly connected to the changes of the seasons.
In the “Mono de Chongón”, a monolith of the Guancavilca culture, the belief persists that “you have to kiss its tail as a sign of luck.”
San Jerónimo, the patron saint of the commune, the “Mono de Chongón” and the colonial water well are elements that form part of the cultural legacy of the pre-Hispanic and colonial era of the area.
JULY MORENO COMMUNE – “CIRA AND CIRILO”
A pair of male and female monoliths that the population recognizes as “Cira and Cirilo, millennial parents”, are located in the Central Park of the Julio Moreno Commune, capital of the Simón Bolívar Parish. It is believed that they were part of the ceremonial center of Cerro Las Negras of the Guancavilca Culture (800 AD to 1532 AD). Carved monoliths, steles, stone circles, the cult of the old gods, are elements that demonstrate the ancestral heritage of the ancient Guancavilcas and current inhabitants of these territories.
PACIFIC BOARDS COMMUNE – “NEGRITO”
The Juntas del Pacífico Commune, the center of production and processing of plums (ovo) in the Province of Santa Elena, is home to the monolith known as “Negrito”. It is an anthropomorphic stone figure of a male, which according to historical data, was found in ancient times on Cerro Las Negras, where it was part of a ceremonial center of the Guancavilca Culture (800 AD to 1532 AD), along with 8 stone sculptures placed in a semicircular shape.
SACACHUN COMMUNE – “SAN BIRITUTE”
The cultural wealth of Sacachún, full of tangible and intangible elements and its struggle to recover its deity inherited from its Guancavilca ancestors, make it a commune that is seen as a heritage conservation center for the region.
San Biritute is a 2.35-meter-high monolith carved from marine conglomerate from the Tablazo formation; it is an icon of the ancestral Ecuadorian cultures settled in the area of the Santa Elena Peninsula, which represents fertility, rain and love.
1) Chongón Parish – “Mono de Chongón” Monolith 2) Chongón Reservoir 3) Limoncito Commune – Plum Processing Plant 4) Chongón Colonche Mountain Range 5) Juntas del Pacífico Commune – “Negrito” Monolith – Artisanal Plum Production 6) Julio Moreno Commune – “Cira” and “Cirilo” Monolith 7) Las Negras Hill 8) Sacachún Commune – Community Tourism Center – “San Biritute” Monolith 9) Sube y Baja Commune 10) Buenos Aires Precinct
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