Ensenada de Mompiche

Ensenada de Mompiche
Mompiche Beach
Ensenada de Mompiche Location in Ecuador
Location	Esmeraldas Province
Coordinates	0°34′45″N 80°01′21″W / 0.579098°N 80.022636°W / 0.579098; -80.022636
Ocean/sea sources	Pacific Ocean
Basin countries	Ecuador

The Ensenada de Mompiche (Mompiche Bay) is a bay on the Pacific coast of northern Ecuador.

The bay is in the Esmeraldas Province.^[1] Parts of the bay are fringed by mangroves of the Manabí mangroves ecoregion.^[2] The low-keyed Muisne resort is in the northern part of the bay, on a 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) sand bar among the mangroves of the Muisne River estuary. It may be reached by ferry across the Muisne River from the small town of El Relleno.^[3]

Mompiche village at the south of the bay can be reached by a 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) potholed road from the Via del Pacifico (Ecuador Highway 15). Its accessibility has led to small hotels and hostels being built, primarily for low-income surfers.^[4] The broad Mompiche Beach is almost 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) long and has fine white/gold sand. It extends north from the small fishing village of Mompiche to the river estuary at Muisne. It is a popular place for surfing, and ecotourism is also popular. The Mache Chundul National Reserve, which contains mangroves and dry forests, is near to the beach.^[5]