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Getting There 

The Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve is located about 20 minutes south (by bus) from the coastal town of Pedernales, in the province of Manabí, Ecuador.  Pedernales can be reached by paved road from Quito (6 hrs) via Santo Domingo, or from Guayaquil (5 hrs) via Manta and Bahia de Caraquez.  The reserve entrance is just south of the town of Tabuga, and just north of the Camarones River.  A trail from the road leads to the biological station, a few hundred meters into the forest. 

Detailed Directions from Quito:

Take the 9 a.m. bus from Quito to Pedernales (5 ½ hours, $6.50 approx). The bus departs from the Quitumbe bus terminal in Quito (South of Quito). Once in the bus terminal look for the “Transvencedores” bus company office to purchase your ticket to Pedernales. At the Pedernales bus station, take a bus heading south towards Jama, Canoa or San Vicente (25 mins., $1.00). After leaving Pedernales, you will pass through Coaque, Palmar, Cabuya and Tabuga. The Lalo Loor Reserve is 2 km after the town of Tabuga. You must mention to the bus driver that you want to be dropped off at the “Reserva Lalo Loor” after Tabuga. At the entrance to the reserve you will see a round, yellow, thatched building which is our environmental interpretation center and a large sign that reads ¨Reserva Bosque Seco Lalo Loor¨. The entire trip takes around 7½ hours. Estimated time of arrival to the reserve is 4:30 p.m.

Once you have arrived at the reserve the will be staff members to greet you and walk you up to the volunteer accommodations. If there are no staff members in the environmental center when you arrive, you can reach the volunteer station by entering the gate on the far right hand side of the front garden next to the large tree (not the gate that says Entrada al Bosque). Follow the path along the barbwire fence until you reach a second wood gate, after passing through the second wood gate, continue another 300 meters until you reach the station. Please close all gates behind you so cattle do not enter the reserve. If you arrive at night please use a flash light, and keep a look out for snakes.

An additional map indicating local attractions of the coast also is available.

 

Trail Map - Entire Reserve

This map (also in Spanish) depicts the complete trail system of the reserve, and is available for download in pdf format. A closeup map of trails near the reserve entrance is provided below.

 

Trail Map - Entrance and Near Trails

This map (also in Spanish) depicts the trails located near the entrance, as well as the reforestation and regeneration zones.

 

Download Reserve Maps

A map of the complete trail system is available for download in pdf format.  Any of the above maps can be downloaded by right-clicking on the image and selecting Save Target As (or Save Link As, in some browsers).