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Chirije (chee-ree-hey) is the newest and most attractive ecological and archaeological park along the Ecuadorian coast. Completed in 1996, Chirije is surrounded by 238 hectares of dry tropical forest and miles of unspoiled beaches. This valley was the home of many consecutive pre-Columbian settlements. Chirije is one of the many interesting archaeological sites of coastal Ecuador. The archaeologist Emilio Estrada discovered the site in the 1950s, and named a new culture called the Chirije culture here. Chirije, an ancient seaport, was the site of the great settlement of the Bahia culture (500 BCE-500 CE). These seafaring merchants traded skillfully crafted ornaments or whole shells as far north as Mexico and as far south as Chile, for gold, copper and other precious items.