Mindo lies at 1,224 metres, in the subtropical cloud forest of the Chocó Andino, on the western slope. The Mindo-Nambillo Protective Forest, created in 1988, covers 19,537 hectares, and UNESCO declared the Chocó Andino de Pichincha Biosphere Reserve in 2018. More than 500 bird species have been recorded here, some 32 of them endemic.
What you will see
World-class birding
Mindo was the world’s number one count in Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, with more than 400 species tallied.
The cable car and the Nambillo waterfalls
A 530-metre cable car, 150 metres above the valley, leads to the Nambillo waterfall sanctuary.
Butterfly farm and chocolate route
The Mariposas de Mindo butterfly farm and the chocolate route, with cacao workshops, work for every age.
Wildlife & flora
Andean cock-of-the-rock, grey-breasted mountain toucan, toucanets, hummingbirds and tanagers, plus between 170 and 400 orchid species depending on the source.
From our own visits
One of our favourite places, good for a full day or for a longer stay. You drop from the highland páramo into cloud forest and the change of scenery is startling. There is plenty to do: canyoning down the waterfalls, the cable car, quad bikes and the butterfly farm, which we find lovely and which pleases all ages. The food is good. One nuance about the páramo you cross on the way: it is not exclusive to Ecuador and Colombia, as is often said. It runs from Venezuela to northern Peru, with pockets in Costa Rica and Panama, though Ecuador and Colombia hold most of it and the best access.
What you should know
This is cloud forest and it rains much of the year, with muddy trails, so bring shoes with grip and a rain layer. Birding means an early start, because activity peaks at dawn. You drop from 2,850 metres to 1,224, so altitude is not an issue here, but humidity and mosquitoes are.
