Posted on April 16, 2019
By Ramune Jagelaviciute, Marketing Intern
Before arriving in Ecuador, I had places in mind which I wanted to visit. Mindo’s cloud forest was a destination on top of my travel-bucket-list. When I finally arrived, it did not disappoint me! The scenery was by far more beautiful than I expected. The cloud forest experience started way before arriving in Mindo, as you could see the landscape change every few minutes. The deeper you drive into the forest the cloudier and more magical the landscape starts to look like.
We decided to leave Quito quite early to have two full days to spend in Mindo. We made a good choice by doing so because even though the town is small; there are many activities to be busy all day long. The first day was dedicated to exploring the surroundings by foot and take by far too many pictures (it’s just too beautiful not to). We also visited Mindo’s butterfly garden, an indoor garden with more than 25 species of beautiful, colorful butterflies. Unfortunately, we arrived quite late in the afternoon and got told that the best time to visit is in the morning as that’s when the butterflies are most active.
The same day we also visited the hummingbird garden, which was definitely the highlight of my day as I love hummingbirds. It is not only the birds that were beautiful to look at, but also the place itself. Although it is located in town, it is very quiet as it is right at the edge of the town and the garden has beautiful trees and tropical plants, which sort of gives the feeling of a jungle. It’s the perfect place to take pictures of hummingbirds, as they tend to fly very close to the terrace. Even though the hummingbirds take most of the attention, it is possible to spot other interesting bird species, like toucans, as well.
After a lot of animal watching on the first day, we decided we needed some action on our second day in Mindo. For this reason, we decided to do canopy (ziplining) for some adrenaline! First, I was scared as I had never done it before, but after the first line I started to love it. It was an opportunity to have a panorama that you would normally not get; as far as your eyes can look you can see green surrounding you. At some point I didn’t mind being that high up anymore, because the view was truly magical.
I enjoyed our short trip to Mindo a lot and I hope to visit it again soon. I believe it is a great destination for a short escape from Quito (only two hours by car). The food is delicious, affordable and there is a great variety of typical Ecuadorian food. And of course, the scenery is beautiful, the many outdoor and nature attractions create great experiences and the diversity of animals is endless. Mindo is located lower than Quito, meaning the climate is warmer, but it can be rainy too, so make sure your clients are prepared for different types of weather.
If you would like to have some more information about Mindo cloud forest, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Read our last blog about the enchanting Galapagos Islands here.
