Aguas Verdes (literally "green waters") is a town in the Zarumilla Province of the

Tumbes Region Tumbes () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru bordering Ecuador. Due to the region's location near the Equator it has a warm climate, with beaches that are considered among the finest in Peru. Despite its small area, the re ...

in northwestern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. It has a population of 2,390 (1999) and is capital of the Aguas Verdes District. Aguas Verdes is located in the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. An international

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

that goes over the

Zarumilla River The Zarumilla River is a river in South America that marks the border between Peru and Ecuador. It is named after the Peruvian town of Zarumilla. It is part of the Gulf of Guayaquil-Tumbes mangroves Sanctuary and its currents, sediments, and ti ...

connects it with the Ecuadorian town of Huaquillas. Both towns have an intense

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

life and many formal, as well as informal street sellers that sell goods both in Peruvian soles and

US dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

, which is the only currency in Ecuador. A free transit agreement exists and people from both countries can travel freely between these towns. Peruvian and Ecuadorian

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

control posts are located further inland to both sides of the border. Aguas Verdes is located 27 km northeast of Tumbes, the regional capital. Since it is a rather chaotic town, tourists are advised to take a cab when visiting Aguas Verdes. The northern terminus of the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...

, the largest road in the country, is located in Aguas Verdes at the border crossing.

References

Ecuador–Peru border crossings Populated places in the Department of Tumbes {{Tumbes-geo-stub