The Mindo Cloud Forst is one of Ecuador’s most visited tourist destinations and an incredible ecosystem of nature and wildlife experiences.
After returning from the Galápagos Islands on our honeymoon we had one day to spare before it was time to leave Ecuador. Originally we had planned to visit the volcano Cotopaxi, but after hearing about a small place called Mindo we decided on a last minute change of plans.
Mindo is a small village in the rainforest with big ecological diversity. Combined with the tall Andes mountains and other stunning nature this is a natural amusement park.
There is a lot to see and do here, but with only a single day at our disposal we had to narrow it down to just a few things to see.
First stop was a butterfly farm. Yes, that’s actually a thing!
As the name suggests the farm keeps butterflies and it is possible to see all four stages of a butterfly’s life. There’s probably no such thing as domesticated butterflies, but these are by far more used to people than most butterflies. That gave us a great opportunity to get some close-up photos that otherwise would have been very hard.
After spending some time on the butterfly farm we carried on towards a series of waterfalls. Unfortunately there was not enough time to visit them all and we therefore went for the closest and biggest one. To get there we first had to cross a deep valley by cable car. Splendid views and excitement kick-started the hike. Having reached the other side it took about 15 minutes to hike down the side of the valley to the river, using a trail hidden within an incredibly lush forest with a constant soothing sound of bird tweeting in the background. As if that wasn’t enough we met no-one on the way down and had the rainforest to ourselves. It felt a bit like one of those travel brochure photos of people walking alone through a paradise forest on a sunny day.
At the bottom of the valley we were greeted by the waterfall and a small suspension bridge, next to a building to shelter people from the rain. Probably useful to have in the rainforest, but for us there was no need for shelter from the clear blue skies.
After a short break by the water it was time to carry on to the final destination, viewing hummingbirds. There is a place in Mindo made for this, but our guide recommended another stop on the way back to the capital Quito. Usually, when guides offer to take us to a “special place” it is just a scam, but in this case the guide seemed very genuine and we took the chance to trust him. That turned out to be a good decision as we were driven to a quiet place filled with humming birds. We guess a picture is worth a thousand words:
In hindsight we realise that we should have scheduled a longer stay in Mindo than just this one day. So if you ever plan on going here we really recommend to stay at least one night to get two full days or more in this wonderful place. And if you ever find yourself in Ecuador this is definitely a place worth visiting.
