Parque Bolívar

Lonely Planet review

Guayaquil may be the only city in the world that has land iguanas, some over a meter in length, living downtown. These prehistoric-looking animals, a different species from those found in the Galápagos, are a startling sight in one of Guayaquil's most famous plazas, Parque Bolívar which is also known as Parque Seminario. Around its small ornamental gardens are many of Guayaquil's first-class hotels. On the west side of the park is the cathedral, and a block south you'll find the Museo Municipal and the municipal library. The archaeology room on the ground floor has mainly Inca and pre-Inca ceramics, and several figurines from the oldest culture in Ecuador, the Valdivia (c 3200 BC).