Manta is a mid-sized city in Manabí Province, Ecuador. Manta is recognized thanks to its international film festival featuring groups from different places in the world.

Tourism, attractions

Manta receives numerous visits from foreign as well as local tourists. The most visited beaches include "El Murciélago", "San Lorenzo" and "Barbasquillo". Surfers often travel to San Lorenzo to find powerful waves (regularly head high).
Nearby, also, is the small town of Montecristi, founded in the early 1600s. With its colonial architecture, this small town is best known for its wickerwork weaving, and as the original birth place of the Panama hats which, despite their name, were historically produced in Ecuador.
Montecristi is a great place for shopping for local crafts at a number of shops across from the main plaza, featuring ceramics, wickerwork and Panama hats in a variety of shapes and colors.
The evenings are full of activity: partying people, loud music and groups of young people gather around the waterfront Malecón (jetty) that arcs around the bay and its nearby side streets. The Malecón is always a pleasant area to walk in the evening with its refreshing evening breezes.
The refurbished Playa Murciélago (Bat Beach), very popular with locals, is in the Malecón area; it features a scenic boardwalk, restaurants serving excellent seafood fresh out of the ocean, recreational sports, craft markets, bars and other places for fun and relaxation.
Other important sites include Iglesia La Dolorosa, the "Mirador" at San Lorenzo beach, the Teatro Chusic, the "Parque de la Madre", and the "Plaza Civica".