An From Quito to Mindo, there are direct buses that run throughout the day. It’s good time to collect many photos there. A cloud forest is a tropical or sub-tropical forest with a near persistent cloud cover.

Take a taxi to the tarabita, or cable car, perched high overhead Mindo. Mindo is perfect for nature lovers. Mmmm! Also appreciated your tips — I’m going to have to get me a daypack like the Osprey. Traveling in Ecuador can be tricky. Hi, I'm Abi, a doctor turned writer who's worked with Lonely Planet, the BBC, UNESCO and more. Mindo looks absolutely stunning. I highly recommend going to Banos too. Mindo lies to the northwest of Quito at about 1,300 meters (4,000 ft) elevation and is about a 2 hour drive from Quito. Mindo is a lot of fun! I visited in the summer months of June/July. Maquipucuna is a 6,000 hectare (14,820 acre) cloud forest reserve in Ecuador.Located in the Pichincha Province, it is the closest pristine rainforest to Quito, Ecuador's capital.The reserve consists of primary and secondary montane rain forest and cloud forest. I had never heard of the Mindo Cloud forest, but it’ll definitely get into my list.Just in time, Pedro!

And raccoons by day, as I've seen only moments ago.Butterflies use fake snake eyes to scare predators away while hummingbirds flit and fuzz and buzz around so close you can feel the flutter of their wings.In Ecuador's Cloud Forest, if you have a head for heights, you can climb into the canopy and appreciate the wildlife along the way...In short, I'm learning that beneath the green lurks a less flash wildlife. Mindo, Ecuador is set in a valley surrounded by the Andes Mountains. We were in Ecuador earlier this year for a trip to the Galapagos, and we only had one extra day before our trip–I was wishing we had time to get to Mindo and this really makes me wish we had more time! The rivers and elevation combine to create a lush cloud forest more than 100 square miles in size. On that note I would like to mention that Ecuador has some of the best water in the world, it just isn’t near Quito or the coast. The Maquipucuna Reserve is located in the parish of Nanegal, within the Metropolitan District of Quito Went zip-ling and swinging on the swing at the edge of the world and waterfall climbing in Banos, Rode the train in Alausi, Went whale watching and snorkeling in Puerto Lopez.

Loved learning about Mindo chocolates =)Thanks, Meghna! It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.All photos & content are copyrighted & belong to Jackie Sills-Dellegrazie at The Globetrotting Teacher unless otherwise cited and may not be reproduced or used elsewhere without permission. Otherwise, there are also tours that leave from Quito, as well.

It’s never bad to have reasons to return to beautiful places!

Hope you have a great trip to Ecuador! Best to leave the driving to a private driver. I would love to visit Ecuador one day!It is still very much authentic, Barb. One that requires patience, a degree of silence, and a curious and inquisitive eye.Orangutans  do not blaze in orange in this part of the world. Enjoy. I liked its riverside location!You’d be so happy with a stay at Hosteria Saguamby! Tourism is making its way, but you can still get a great feel for Mindo and the Cloud Forest.Love all your gorgeous photos – seems there’s so much to do in Mindo. I love nature and was wondering for 3 days in Ecuador in begining of august this yr , what would u recomend? I have about 3 days in Ecuador and want to do Mindo at least! In Mindo, it wasn’t at all an issue. Cash is king.

According to the International Cloud Atlas, this cloud canopy cover is called the silvagenitus.Mashpi Lodge is one of a number of Eco Lodges in the otherwise unpopulated bioregion of the Ecuador cloud forestThe cloud forests of Ecuador are not awash with colour.

The water comes from the clouds, but not through rain.Mornings start early, with swirling mist and hot swirling coffee, as we stand on the rooftop on the lookout for birds.We slush and swish along leafy, muddy paths and the brave (or foolish) among us (@MrTravelLab in this case) freshen up in waterfalls and later swing right through the trees on a vine like Tarzan (albeit wearing substantially more clothes. Breakfast was included in the rate and served in an elevated, open-air, gazebo-like building with hummingbirds zipping in and out of the flowers. Your comment about Ecuador in general having bad water while Cuenca has some of the cleanest/ best water in the world might be misleading to people reading who are more unfamiliar with the country.Appreciate you reading and sharing, Dolores. How to Spend 2 Days in the Mindo Cloud Forest. Looking at your photos, Mindo reminds me a lot of the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica. If you got an early morning bus from Quito and left the next day in the late afternoon/early evening, you’d have a good amount of time to explore the town and do some activities. These cookies do not store any personal information.Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. The Mindo Cloud Forest in Mindo, a village in northern Ecuador, is set in the Andes Mountains. Hope you have a great trip and thanks for the tips about Banos! I really enjoyed reading this. Very nice shots of cloudforest.
Most international travellers will arrive in Quito and then take a road transfer from there. Great time for 2 days! Enjoy Ecuador!

The rivers and elevation combine to create a lush cloud forest more than 100 square miles in size. It’s amazing there, too! I know a day trip will not be long enough, but we plan to return again in April towards the end of our trip.