Private Mindo Cloud Forest Tour from Quito
Description
The Ecuador cloud forest is one of the top ten biodiversity hotspots on earth and a dream come true for bird and nature lovers. Countless different species of hummingbirds, other birds, and orchids thrive in this amazing ecosystem. Visitors to the Mindo-Nambillo Ecological Reserve can hike, try trappelling, go tubing or ride a mountain bike on one of the many great trails available through the reserve. All these activities offer a whole new dimension and are very popular with tourists.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Early morning departure to the northwest of Quito, our guide will be commenting on the attractions that we see in the landscape and that are left behind until we reach the conservation project of the cloud forest of the Choco Andino and one of its protected reserves in which we will have a short tour to observe more than 30 species of hummingbirds and a variety of birds in their natural habitat, here we will have the opportunity to enjoy nature, relax and take the best pictures of landscapes and birds.
Our adventure begins with the tarabita ride that will take us deep into the cloud forest, so called because most of the year it is covered by fog that originates in the western mountain range and is one of the reasons for its biological richness and mega diversity.
Upon reaching the other end we will walk through the forest until we reach the Nambillo Waterfall, a perfect place to enjoy nature and take the best photographs. At the end, our transportation will be waiting for you to return to the town where our guide will recommend places and give you the time needed for lunch. Then we will walk among butterflies and finally, we will visit a chocolate factory where we will have the opportunity to taste one of the best chocolates made with fine Ecuadorian cocoa and learn more about its history.
In the afternoon return to Quito and our guide will drop you off at your hotel.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
In this map you will find a selected radius, but if you are staying in Quito, just let us know your hotel to arrange the pick up.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Dress code is sport clothes
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Adult pricing applies to children
- Bring sunsblock, wear a hat, bring mosquito repellent
- Bring a camera, bring a raincoat, bring an extra set of dry clothes
Reviews(7)
The travel time for the round trip to Quito is about 2.5 hours each way, which is very high. I recommend visiting the impressive cloud forests as part of a 2-day tour.
Sehr geehrter Gast, vielen Dank, dass Sie sich die Zeit genommen haben, uns Ihr Feedback zu hinterlassen. Es tut uns leid zu hören, dass Sie die Fahrtzeit als belastend empfunden haben. Da es sich um unberührte ökologische Reservate handelt, liegen diese naturgemäß etwas abseits der Stadt. Das normale Verkehrsaufkommen kann die Reise manchmal zusätzlich intensiv erscheinen lassen. Wir glauben jedoch fest daran, dass das Erlebnis, tief in die Natur einzutauchen, jede Minute wert ist. Ihre Empfehlung, Mindo im Rahmen einer zweitägigen Tour zu besuchen, ist ausgezeichnet! Wir würden uns freuen, Ihren nächsten Besuch mit einem Aufenthalt direkt im Herzen des Nebelwaldes zu organisieren, damit Sie dieses Naturparadies ganz ohne Zeitdruck genießen können. Herzliche Grüße,
First of all the tour guide did not reach out to us at all after we booked the tour to confirm the scheduled pickup time. He showed up at the hotel while we were having breakfast and said the pickup time was 7:30 instead of 8:30 on our voucher. He talked us out of going to the bigger waterfall because it would take longer time to get there and longer track to see the fall. The overall tour took less than 8 instead of 9 or more hours.
Do not book with this tour company. Their communication is very, very poor. They did not confirm the tour I was supposed to take with them today, with any prior notice, in spite of a Viator agent emailing them twice, once last night and once this morning. I am waiting for my full refund. Fortunately I was able to book with another tour operator this morning, to go to the Mindo Cloud forest, so my day was not wasted.
Dear Barbara, Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that the communication regarding your tour did not meet your expectations. Our team attempted to reach you directly prior to the tour to reconfirm the meeting details, as guests are often already in destination. At the scheduled time, our guide was present at the meeting point and also tried to contact you, but we understood during the call that you had decided not to join the tour. We regret any confusion caused and truly appreciate your feedback as it helps us continue improving our communication with our guests through the platform. We are very glad to hear that you were still able to visit the beautiful Mindo Cloud Forest and hope you enjoyed your time there. Ecuador has many incredible places to discover, and we wish you a wonderful rest of your journey.
Andres was a fantastic guide making this experience exactly what our family wanted. We started by hiking a few minutes to see a majestic 100+ ft waterfall. Then we were able to stop at the highlight of our trip, a bird sanctuary where we saw many varieties of tangiers, hummingbirds, finches and some toucans. You can feed the hummingbirds from your hand!!! We then went to a butterfly experience where we saw 20+ varieties of butterflies and their cocoons. Finally we stopped at a chocolate making experience where we learned the full process of chocolate making. We tried nearly 20 varieties of Dark Chocolate. Each of the tours were $3-$10 extra.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience. We are pleased to know that Andres was able to provide such a memorable experience tailored to your family's expectations. The majestic waterfall, bird sanctuary and butterfly house are certainly special places to explore, and we are glad to hear that you enjoyed each stop so much, including the unique experience of feeding the hummingbirds. We are also happy that you enjoyed the chocolate making experience. We appreciate your feedback on the additional costs, and will take note of it to continue to improve the clarity of the information provided. We look forward to welcoming you back on future adventures!
Really recommend this, as you can tailor the day to your own interests. I lucked out with a guide who knows a lot about plants, butterflies, hummingbirds, and birds in general, so I learned a lot on the hike to cascada reina, which I really recommend. It’s an hour each way, so beautiful, and includes a fun teleférico ride. The chocolate factory tour is great, with samples and description and demonstrations, and the bird watching stop is peaceful, beautiful, miraculous.
<p>Omar, our guide was excellent. He explained aspects of our tour with patience and professionalism. However, my wife and I are in our upper 70s, so we decided to forego the long hiking part of the tour, and Omar rearranged our schedule accordingly. Instead of the long hike, we spent our time at a place to observe hummingbirds, a butterfly sanctuary, and an orchid exhibit. The hummingbird observatory was extraordinary, and a fantastic place to take pictures. The butterfly and orchid exhibits were nothing special the botanic garden in Quito is much better for orchids, and we have better butterfly exhibits in the U.S. My wife also went on a really interesting chocolate making tour in Mindo, and the town of Mindo is quite charming. Still, we had to pay separate entrance fees for each of the exhibits, and for people like we, who can't do the long hike, those fees should have been included as part of the package.</p>
