Admire the ever green forest by the Tandayapa valley. Learn more about this awe-inspiring ecosystem. Cloud Forest is located on the edge of the western Andes. Mindo is 61 miles away from the Quito city. This area is the transition zone between the highlands into the coast. The altitude ranges from 6,000 and 4,400 feet above sea level. Enjoy a sub-tropical weather and walking through the eco-route to observe the most biodiverse and endangered habitats. Mindo was awarded as a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO in 2018.
Mindo, being in the middle of several protected forests such as the Tandaya Valley, Alambi, San Tadeo, Hermit Trail reserves, and being part of the Andean Choco has an immense variety of birds.
If you want to focus more on birdwatching we suggest starting the tour at 4 a.m. from Quito. And bring binoculars, camera with a 300 or 600mm lens. Please, let us know what is your expectations about Mindo.
Early departure from the city of Quito to go to the northwest of the city. Leaving the city behind, the first thing we will observe is the town of Calacali, this town is characterized by having been a pre-Hispanic area of
great astronomical, commercial and agricultural importance. Later, we will see how the forest and its vegetation change, becoming denser and greener.
Hummingbird watching reserve:
Our first stop will be, in a private reserve, which has an extension of 247 acres. On this reserve, we will only focus on visiting the garden that is adjacent to the house that also works as a hostel. Depending on the weather season in which we will visit the hummingbird sanctuary, a variety of hummingbirds can be seen such as the White-Neckd Jacobin, Rufous Colored, Purple-throated Woodstar, Fawn-Breasted Brilliant, Booted Racket-tail among others. Also, the reserve is full of tanagers, like the golden and silver one. Occasionally, the garden is visited by Oropendolas, woodpeckers, toucans or birds that are distributed over 5,000 feet.
Cable car and waterfall sanctuary
Enjoy the Tarabita from Mindo or cable car, this metal basket powered by a vehicle engine will take you on a journey in the air until you reach the next station. From here, you can take a walk through the vegetation and native trees from this forest. there are several trails to walk, you can choose one of the trails to start the descent and at the end of these, we can see waterfalls of natural origin, where you can take a refreshing swim, or take several selfies with them or simply meditate or admire the natural beauty of the waterfalls.
Chocolate tasting tour
Get to know one part of the chocolate route, visiting an artisanal chocolate factory. If you are a chocolate or brownie lover this is the place for you. In this place, you can learn about the history of cocoa plantations in Ecuador. You will know why they called it the golden grain. You will do a tour to see the entire process that takes to make the chocolate bars. You will find out why Ecuadorean chocolate has been awarded with the best honors in several international chocolate fairs.
Choose three of your favorite activities in Mindo and our friendly and knowledge guide with take you to do entertaining and fun activities.
Other activities that can be done in Mindo are: Tubing, Ziplining, Teleferico of Mindo or visiting the butterfly farm. These activities can be exchanged with those that are in the original itinerary and so you can customize your tour.