Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Violet-tailed Sylph in Mindo-Nambillo Cloud Forest
Birdwatching
Mindo alone is home to over 450 species of birds, not including the surrounding Las
Gralarias Reserve, the Mindo-Nambillo Cloud Forest, the Mindo Forest Reserve and the
Biological Reserve Maquipucuna, all which wrap the city in protected wilderness areas
and thus renders Mindo the premier bird watching destination of Ecuador's mainland.
Standout species include the Chestnut-Mandibled Toucan, the Club-Winged Manakin and
the Toucan Barbet, to name a few. Avian-focused ecotourism is especially important in the
Mindo Valley as many species that call it home are close to extinction and local sustain-
able projects supported by tourists are their only hope.
Tubing
There's probably no better way to spend an afternoon in Mindo than by gliding down the
placid Mindo River between flowering banks, floating under the occasional little bridge.
For speedier currents, ask any operator in town about tubing the nearby Rio Blanco,
where a small Kichwa community runs a sustainable ecotourism organization.
Chocolate Factory
El Quetzal is a restaurant, brewery and chocolate factory all in one. Select shade-grown
cacao beans from a cooperative of small family farmers in the jungle are brought to
Mindo where they are fermented and dried. Visitors can learn how dark and white chocol-
ate are made, watch cacao nibs grinding, chocolate bar molding and the pressing of cocoa
powder seven days a week.
Hiking
