- Address: northeast of the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador;
- Area: 13.5 hectares;
- It was founded in 1547.
Guayaquil , Ecuador's largest city, rested comfortably on the Pacific coast. It is considered a tourist center of the country, invariably attracting travelers from all over the world. And this is not surprising: in addition to a favorable geographical location, the city boasts many beautiful sights. The Santa Ana hill deserves special attention.
Legend of the Green Hill
The place from where, in 1547, Guayaquil began its inception as a port city, in those days was called the "green hill" or Cerrito Verde. The folk legend says that the Spanish treasure hunter Nino de Lucembury was in mortal danger and called for the help of his guardian angel. Having received salvation, he in gratitude established a cross on the top of the hill with a tablet of Santa Anna. Since then, the hill of Santa Ana (Santa Ana Hill) carries this name.
The first settlers of Guayaquil built a fortress on it and a large lighthouse. For many centuries, the appearance of the structures was damaged, but at the beginning of the 21st century the local authorities carried out a large restoration, after which the Santa Ana hill became one of the most popular tourist points on the city map.
Sightseeing Sierro Santa Ana
The Santa Ana Hill in Guayaquil attracts not only picturesque views that open from its heights. It is a long staircase of 456 steps with cozy restaurants, souvenir shops, cafes, small art galleries. For 310 meters, which stretch to the top of Santa Ana, beautiful squares for walks and green mini parks for recreation are broken. Overcoming more than 450 steps is worth it: from the top of the hill of Santa Anna, you can see fascinating landscapes! Tourists will see the intersection of the rivers Babahoyo and Daul, the commercial center of Guayaquil, Santay Island and Carmen Hill.
The sights of the Santa Ana hill are rightly considered to be the chapel with the same name, a lighthouse and a small open-air museum. The Chapel of Santa Ana is built in several architectural styles, and inside it there are colorful stained-glass windows with 14 episodes of the passion of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The lighthouse of Santa Ana Hill was restored in 2002, but without it, it was one of the symbols of the port city of Guayaquil. The lighthouse was built not only to alert sailors, but also gave it protective functions.
The museum on the hill of Santa Ana is an open-air exhibit of cannons and other weapons that were used in previous centuries to protect Guayaquil.
How to get to Santa Ana Hill?
Sierra Santa Ana is in the north-east of Guayaquil, next to the cliffs on the banks of the Guayas river. The area of the Santa Ana hill is 13.5 hectares. The road from the airport to this landmark takes 20 minutes. From the area of Los Seibos or Urdesa to Santa Ana can be reached in 30 minutes. Go up to the top of the Santa Ana hill in Guayaquil can be an average of half an hour.
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