Piñas is a canton

Cantons of Ecuador

The Cantons of Ecuador are the second-level subdivisions of Ecuador, below the provinces. There are 226 cantons in the country, of which three are not in any province. The cantons are further sub-divided into parishes, which are classified as either urban or rural...

 in the El Oro Province

El Oro Province

El Oro province is the southernmost of Ecuador's coastal provinces. It was named for its historically important gold production. Today it is one of the world's major exporters of bananas. The capital is Machala.-Geography:To the north and east the province has borders with the provinces Guayas,...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

. Its seat is Piñas. It is also known as the "Orchid of The Andes" because of the many orchids grown nearby. The town was named Piñas by Juan de Loayza, in honor of his homeland Piñas in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. It is located 1,126 metres above sea-level.
The canton was created on November 8, 1940. It is bordered to the north by Atahualpa, to the south by Loja

Loja, Ecuador

Loja is the capital of Ecuador's Loja Province. It is located in the Cuxibamba valley in the south of the country, sharing borders with the provinces of Zamora-Chinchipe and El Oro, and with Peru in the south...

, to the east by Portovelo

Portovelo

Portovelo is a town in the El Oro Province of Ecuador. It is the seat of the Portovelo Canton.- Sources :*World-Gazetteer.com*www.portovelo.com with permission from author....

 and Zaruma

Zaruma

Zaruma is a town in SE El Oro, a province in Ecuador. Zaruma is the seat of the Zaruma Canton, one of the oldest cantons in the province. It is located in the western range of the Andes, at 1500 m high....

 and to the west by Balsas

Balsas, Ecuador

Balsas is a canton in El Oro Province, Ecuador. Its seat is Balsas.It is the location of one of three official border crossings into Peru. The name, Balsas, refers to the balsa wood rafts that travellers used to take over the river to make the crossing, though there is now a bridge spanning the river...

 and Marcabelí. Economic activity includes agriculture such as cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 raising and cocoa and sugar cane growing.

Parishes

The canton has 10 parishes (6 rural and 4 urban) totalling approximately 40,000 inhabitants.

• Urban parishes:
  • Piñas (administrative centre)
  • La Susaya
  • Piñas grande
  • San Jacinto

• Rural parishes:
  • Piedras
  • Saracay
  • Capiro
  • La bocana
  • San Roque
  • Moro Moro

Tourism

• The "Orquideario" is an orchid garden located in the town and managed by the Fundación Piñas Oasis Ecologico.
• Buenaventura Forest, located on the road to the coast a few minutes away from Piñas, is a private nature reserve whose attractions include 30 species of hummingbird
  Hummingbird
  Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
  
   and the rare El Oro Parakeet
  El Oro Parakeet
  The El Oro Parakeet, Conure D'Orcès, Cotorra De El Oro, or Perico De El Oro is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family, endemic to Ecuador...
  
   and Ecuadorian Tapaculo
  Ecuadorian Tapaculo
  The El Oro Tapaculo or Ecuadorian Tapaculo is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Scytalopus, a genus of tapaculos. It is restricted to a small area of southern Ecuador and was not described until 1997....
  
  . It is administered by the Fundación Jocotoco and its infrastructure includes paths and interpretation stations for visitors.
• The Patagrande Mirador is a center of Catholic Christian adoration. Processions take place here during Holy Week
  Holy Week
  Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
  
   and on May 3 (Finding of the Holy Cross).
• Other attractions include the tourist complex at Tarapal and crafts at Piedra Blanca and Palo Solo.

Cuisine

Typical dishes of the area include "repe" (a creamy banana soup) and "biscochuelo", among others

External links

• VisitaElOro.com Tourism , Travel, History, Picture Gallery of Piñas "Orquidea de los Andes" in El Oro, Ecuador and "Parte Alta"
• :: El Porta de los Piñasienses :: - Portal convivial, informativo e interactivo de su gente
• The Best of Ecuador: Piñas
• Rincon de la parte alta
• radio impacto
• radio lluvia
• www.ciudadorquidea.com Portal Turistico,informativo y comercial de Piñas
• Radio elite Piñas