Hummingbirds
Dozens of speciesRufous-tailed hummingbird, booted racket-tail, violet-tailed sylph, white-necked jacobin. At the gardens around Mindo they feed an arm's length away.
Chocó Andino de Pichincha · UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
Ecuador's cloud forest, where the clouds touch the Andes
Two hours from Quito, the Andean Chocó climbs from lowland rainforest to misty ridges above 4,000 metres. At its heart lies Mindo Cloud Forest: hummingbirds by the dozen, waterfalls, cacao, and a boutique lodge where the valley comes to you.
Where is the Chocó Andino?
Larger than Luxembourg, forty-five minutes from the capital
The Chocó Andino de Pichincha stretches north-west of Quito along the Pacific slope of the Andes: 286,000 hectares of forest, farms and villages across the parishes of Calacalí, Nono, Nanegal, Nanegalito, Gualea, Pacto and Mindo.
UNESCO declared it a Biosphere Reserve on 25 July 2018, the only one awarded in Latin America that year. It belongs to the Tumbes–Chocó–Magdalena hotspot, one of the richest and most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Here the warm, humid air of the Pacific climbs the mountains, cools, and settles as the near-permanent cloud that gives the forest its name, and its orchids, mosses and bromeliads their water.
Schematic map. Mindo sits at about 1,250 metres, two hours by road from Quito's airport along the Calacalí–La Independencia highway.
The soundscape
Listen to the cloud forest at dawn
In March 2026 Ecuador proposed the Andean Chocó to UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List under a telling name: Andean Chocó Cloud Forest – Soundscape. Before the mist lifts, the valley fills with motmots, tanagers and the hum of hummingbird wings. This is what mornings sound like from a terrace at Las Terrazas de Dana.
Cloud forest, not jungle
Not the Amazon. Something gentler, and rarer.
A cloud forest is a mountain forest wrapped in mist for much of the day. In the Chocó Andino it occupies the band between roughly 1,000 and 2,500 metres, where temperatures stay mild all year and every branch is a hanging garden.
For travellers it means comfort: no stifling heat, far fewer insects than the lowlands, and an altitude lower than Quito's, so most visitors breathe more easily here than in the capital.
- Mild, all yearExpect roughly 16 to 24 °C by day, cool nights under a blanket, and afternoon showers that have lifted by morning.
- Lower than QuitoMindo lies at about 1,250 metres, well below Quito's 2,850. Many guests choose it precisely to ease into the altitude, or recover from it.
- A continent of life in a few kilometresFrom river to ridge the reserve climbs more than 4,000 metres. Each belt keeps its own birds, frogs and orchids.
Wildlife
Birds that look painted, and the people who come to see them
Mindo is one of the world's great birding destinations: more than 500 species recorded, dozens of them hummingbirds. Beyond the birds live the spectacled bear, the Chocó toucan, glass frogs, hundreds of orchids and butterflies the size of a hand.
Andean cock-of-the-rock
Rupicola peruvianusEcuador's most flamboyant bird gathers at dawn to dance for a mate. The lek near Mindo is a pilgrimage for birders.
Plate-billed mountain toucan
Andigena laminirostrisA toucan of the high cloud forest, found only on the western slope of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador.
Toucan barbet
Semnornis ramphastinusStocky, many-coloured and loud. Another Chocó near-endemic, and one that sings in duet.
Tanagers
Glistening-green tanager and many moreMixed flocks move through the canopy in flashes of green, blue and gold. Patience at a fruit feeder is rewarded.
Butterflies
Heliconius, Morpho and moreMindo's butterfly gardens show the whole life cycle. Along the rivers, blue morphos drift past at walking pace.
At first light the forest performs. The cock-of-the-rock begins before the sun reaches the valley, and by breakfast the hummingbirds have taken over.
Dawn at the lek, Mindo Cloud Forest
Experiences
Slow days in Mindo Cloud Forest
Everything is close: hummingbird gardens, waterfalls, cacao farms and the lodge's own spa. The hosts at Las Terrazas de Dana arrange each one privately, at your pace.
Hummingbird gardens
Sit with a coffee while a dozen species hover around you. The gardens around Mindo are the easiest wildlife encounter in Ecuador.
Birdwatching programmes
Waterfalls and the tarabita
A hand-pulled cable car crosses the Nambillo gorge to a trail of waterfalls. Swim, or simply sit and listen.
Mindo All-Inclusive programmes
Cacao and chocolate
Follow Ecuador's celebrated Arriba cacao from pod to bar: roasted over a wood fire, ground by hand and tasted with fruit from the garden.
Mindo All-Inclusive programmesBirding at dawn
Leave before sunrise with a private guide for the cock-of-the-rock lek, then antpittas and toucans along the old Nono–Mindo road.
Bird photography tours
Spa and pool
Return to a massage at the lodge's own spa and a pool that looks out over the valley. Afternoons here are for doing very little.
The lodge
The table
Breakfast facing the valley, dinner from the lodge's restaurant, and coffee grown a few kilometres down the road.
The restaurant
Where to stay
Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge & Spa
A family-owned lodge on the hillside above Mindo: six bungalows and four master suites, each opening onto the cloud forest valley, a spa, a pool and a restaurant that guests return for.
Ranked first in Mindo on TripAdvisor, Booking.com and Expedia, the lodge hosts in English, Spanish and French, arranges private transfers from Quito, and designs birding, photography and all-inclusive programmes of two to four days.
- Six bungalows, four suites
- Spa and pool
- Restaurant
- Private Quito transfers
- English · Español · Français
Or write to the lodge directly: WhatsApp +593 93 956 5819
Questions
Planning a visit to the Chocó Andino
Where is the Chocó Andino?
North-west of Quito, in Pichincha province, on the Pacific slope of the Andes. The Biosphere Reserve begins about 45 minutes from the city and reaches the lowlands beyond Pacto and Mindo. Mindo, its best-known village, is about two hours from Quito's Mariscal Sucre airport.
How do I get from Quito to Mindo?
By road along the Calacalí–La Independencia highway, about two to two and a half hours. Las Terrazas de Dana arranges private transfers from the airport or from your hotel in Quito. There is no airport in Mindo.
What altitude is Mindo? Will I feel it?
About 1,250 metres, far lower than Quito at 2,850. Most visitors feel better in Mindo than in the capital, which makes it an ideal first or last stop in Ecuador.
When is the best time to visit?
Any month. June to September is drier, with clearer mornings; October to May is greener, with more afternoon rain and more orchids in flower. The birds are present all year. Daytime temperatures stay between about 16 and 24 °C.
Is a day trip from Quito enough?
You can see hummingbirds and a waterfall in a day, but the forest reveals itself at dawn and dusk. Two or three nights is what most guests at Las Terrazas de Dana choose; birders often stay longer.
Is the cloud forest the same as the Amazon?
No. The Amazon lies east of the Andes at low altitude, hot and humid. The Chocó Andino is on the western slope: cooler, misty, and with a different set of species, many of them found nowhere else.
Can I combine the Chocó Andino with a Galápagos cruise?
Yes, and it is the natural pairing. Every Galápagos cruise booked with Dana Tours includes complimentary nights at Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge & Spa, usually two to three, more on request, with all meals and private Quito–Mindo transfers. Departures marked ★ include the Mindo All-Inclusive, with your own private guide throughout.
Is Mindo suitable for travellers over 60?
Very. Trails can be chosen to suit, the hummingbird gardens need no walking at all, the climate is mild and the altitude is gentle. The lodge arranges private vehicles for every activity.
From the cloud forest to the Galápagos
Two UNESCO landscapes, one journey
Ecuador's two natural icons are a short flight apart: the Galápagos Islands, a World Heritage Site since 1978, and the Chocó Andino, a Biosphere Reserve now on the World Heritage Tentative List.
Every Galápagos cruise booked with Dana Tours includes complimentary nights at Las Terrazas de Dana Boutique Lodge & Spa in Mindo Cloud Forest, usually 2–3 nights, more on request, with all meals and private Quito–Mindo transfers. Departures marked ★ add the Mindo All-Inclusive: your own private guide throughout.
Planning help: a Mindo extension after your Galápagos cruise