Stand up Paddleboarding (SUP)

Stand up Paddleboarding

(SUP) in Ecuador

Paddleboarding is a popular water sport which satisfies the need of most humans: Moving. Stand up paddle boarding works your core, improves our cardio fitness, and challenges your balance and flexibility.

This sport is so good as fun but it is not something new. Its roots come around 3.000 years B.C. very close to the discovery of the Nile boat which was a rock art pictograph that dates to the Mesolithic.

For thousands of years, mankind tried a lot of ways to travel across rivers or fishing in the sea. Remember the famous biblical story about Moises, where the Princess was floating over the Nile river using a watercraft where she stood up to have a better view of the tiny baby.

The ceramic of the Mochi and Chimu cultures from Peru evidence that the fishermen used to paddle on their knees or standing up on a boat made of Totora. It is possible to observe a similar fact with Totora horse (watercraft used by fishermen in Peru for the past 3000 years) in the Huanchaco beach.

This Totora horse is used in a similar way as the paddleboard, people can be on their knees and standing up on the Totora Horse to surf the waves and/or fish.

All this type of activity contributed to a kind of surf mode that nowadays is getting famous all around the world because of competitions. But the most important part of Paddleboarding is the physical and emotional benefit, the knowledge you acquire by being connected to nature, and the respect for aquatic ecosystems. Paddleboarding is a sustainable sport.

Paddleboarding is attractive because of the low learning curve and accessibility for everyone. People of different ages, genders can practice it. Besides, it can be done in different aquatic areas such as the sea, rivers, lakes, and so on.

In Ecuador, with different types of ecosystems in four regions, people can practice Paddleboarding almost everywhere. I’ve practiced paddle boarding for 9 years in different places like Protected Area of El Salado mangroves where I did 42 kilometers in a river estuary surrounded by mangroves and the great bay of Bahía de Caráquez with my friend Fernando Icaza for the first time in this city.

Other places for enjoying Paddleboarding in Ecuador?

Our country has 2000 km of beaches where you can find some places to practice, for different levels of difficulty. For example, you can go to Ayangue if it’s your first time, but if you’re an expert surfing on your paddleboard, you can surf the waves of Salinas, Montañita, Ayampe, Mompiche, etc.

There’s a group of enthusiasts that sometimes go to Quilotoa lake, a crater volcano full of beautiful light blue water. Others prefer the San Pablo Lake in the north highlands of Ecuador. All in these places in the Andes Mountain range.

If you go to Galápagos, it is possible to rent paddle boards to have fun, this is the best way to see the aquatic animals if you can’t go snorkeling for any reason. Ecuadorian amazon rainforest has lots of bodies of water and the best places to make this sport with all the securities.

I have the opportunity of teaching this sport to tourists in Guayaquil, where there are two spots to do paddle boarding. I’ve had people of different ages: from kids old to enthusiastic elderly people who did paddle boarding for the first time in their lives.

Practicing this sport permits people to enjoy a place from a different point of view. Besides, the board permits to practice yoga with the help of a yoga instructor. It is possible to practice paddleboarding with your kids, your dog and it is possible to go fishing or enjoy birdwatching. It all depends on what you want to do.

In addition, the Ecuadorian Federation of Surf (F.E.S. in Spanish) has been doing a lot of competitions where local and international athletes can enjoy this sport in different and beautiful ecosystems. So, keep on mind Paddleboarding for your next visit to Ecuador!

We have professional tour guides and coaches to give you a great experience of this sport within wonderful landscapes.

By Allyson Alemán
National Tour Guide
Personalized Experiences Producer
Founder at Ven.Ec