Guayas Capital Guayaquil Guayaquil is Ecuador's largest city and its main port, on the banks of the Guayas River. Malecón 2000 runs along the river with gardens and monuments; at the northern tip, the Las Peñas neighborhood climbs Cerro Santa Ana up to the lighthouse. In the center are Parque Seminario, with free-roaming iguanas, and the cathedral; to the west, Malecón del Salado; on the other side of the river, Parque Histórico and Isla Santay.