Your guide will pick you up from your hotel at 8 am for a scenic 2 hour drive towards the western slopes. Mindo is surrounded by forested mountains and offers a wide variety of activities for all interests and tastes. You'll will start the day with a hike in the Mindo Nambillo Reserve. This is a transitional sub-tropical rainforest also known as cloud forest that ranges from 950 to 2800 m.a.s.l. where 2 of the most biologically diverse ecoregions in the world meet: the Chocó lowlands and the Western Tropical Andes. The reserve is home to an outstanding number of orchid, bird, mammal, insect and reptile species. The Nambillo Waterfall Sanctuary is one of the main attractions and invite you to test the refreshing waters of the river. On the way back, it is possible to ride a cable car above the canopy where you'll have an amazing perspective of the beauty of this unique ecosystem. If you are afraid of heights, it's possible to walk back instead.
The town of Mindo is full of options to suit all tastes and interests. Time permitting, once you are done exploring the forest interior, you can opt for one or more of the several additional activities available in the area (entrance fee not included). Talk to your guide about your interests and expectations and he will make sure to run the tour accordingly. You can admire an interactive butterfly farm where you'll witness at close range all the life stages of these wonderful beings; or you can visit a local chocolate factory that processes organically grown cacao, and allows you to participate in the chocolate making process- from plant to bar. If you are in a more adventurous mood, you can choose to go the a Canopy Zip-line Park instead, and enjoy the thrill of exploring the forest from a different perspective or venture down the river in a tubing adventure.
Enjoy a delicious lunch in a local restaurant
After a delicious lunch you'll start your way back to Quito. A final stop before reaching the city will reveal another hidden treasure of the cloud forest: Alambi Reserve. This is one of the best places in Ecuador to watch hummingbirds at close range. Up to 18 species have been recorded in less than 30 minutes!! You'll be amazed with the beauty of this winged jewels. Drop-of at your hotel around 5 pm.
OPTIONAL ADD-ON: In the afternoon you can add a visit to a lek of one of the most iconic bird species in the cloud forest; The Andean Cock of the Rock. This species exhibits marked sexual dimorphism, the male has a large disk-like crest and a very unique vivid scarlet plumage. Gatherings of males compete for breeding females with each male displaying its colorful plumage, bobbing and hopping, and making strident calls. This visit would take place after your lunch in Mindo. The visit to Alambi reserve in this case will be in the morning, on your way to Mindo. If you take this trip extension you'll be dropped off in your hotel around 7:00 pm. Make sure to choose the right option that includes the entrance fee to this reserve
We had a great day with Dario who was a very professional and informative guide. He attended to what we were most interested in, and we would recommend this private and very flexible tour. The hummingbirds were amazing!
Dario was punctual and very well organized. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. We really appreciated his willingness to show us the birds ! The driver was also very good.
David has been an excellent guide with a broad knowledge about the area and Paulina has been the perfect companion with her safe driving us and guided us safe to our destinations
If you like bird watching, this excursion is for you. We saw some many types of hummingbirds and other birds. It was a must! It was our favorite! Santiago was so knowledgeable about the birds. He was incredible!
The entire experience being so close to so many birds was a dream come true. A adventure that I can share with others. Our guide (Neotropical Nature & Birding Trips) was an excellent guide and very personable. The day was the highlight of our 12 day trip to Ecuador. We have been expecting a list of the birds we saw that day. I took over 1200 photos that day and would love to be able to correctly identify the birds. I wanted to verify my e-mail address. Thank you again for such a great experience.
Our Mindo tour was wonderful. Santiago Salazar is an outstanding birdwatching guide, and his local knowledge really made the tour exceptional. I recommend this full day tour and the cock-of the rock add-on option for any birdwatchers coming through the Mindo or Quito area. Great day!
This was my second trip with Neotropical Nature and Birding trips. On short notice, I approached them for a day trip to the Chocó rainforest, and they orchestrated a splendid experience. They organized a wonderful day trip with an early pickup and and a drop off at the airport. Santiago expertly guided me through remarkable locations, highlighting the rich diversity of tropical bird species. I highly recommend booking a trip with them.
We took the Mashpi-Amagusa Nature and Birding Full Day Trip with the Andean Cock of the Rock Lek add on. The tour started with our guide, Lelis picking us up at our hotel at 4:30 in the morning. We drove to the Mashpi reserve where we spent the morning observing birds from the beautiful grounds. There were different observation points which were set up well in case it rained (and it did rain for some time). We saw countless species of beautiful birds. Our guide, Lelis was amazing, he was able to spot and very clearly explain where to look to find them. He was also patient in us learning the species, repeating the names several times. There were also many vantage points where the birds came pretty close and where you could just sit and watch. The land owner Sergio setup natural feeders placing bananas for the birds to enjoy. Highlighted species include the glistening-green tanager, flame-rumped tanager, rufus-throated tanager, golden-naped (blue) tanager, moss-backed tanager, toucan barbet, honey creeper, and so much more. There was also an area where several species of hummingbirds, coronets and sylphs were spotted, a highlight being where you could hold a bunch of flowers and have the hummingbirds eat off of them! After a very tasty lunch made by Sergio's wife, we headed off to our next adventure. We ended the day going to Reserva la Victoriana to see the interesting Cock of the Rock species. The walk to the observation platform was breathtaking and the observation platform was really well done. We did get to see the species, but a bit off in the distance. We brought 8x42 binoculars and a DSLR camera with a 80-400mm lens which worked out very well. The drive back to the hotel provided great views as well. Lelis was a fantastic guide and great company, we had an amazing experience with this private tour!
Sebastian was great and customized our trip to perfection. After seeing the hummingbirds, we went to the butterfly farm and too see orchids. He let us pick lunch and stopped for ice cream. The best for last: we saw nine cock of the rocks!
If you like seeing exotic birds in the wild and cloud forest flora and fauna, this is the tour for you. It was fascinating to be surrounded by many species of hummingbirds, and the walk in the forest and the view of brilliant birds were very interesting. Our tour guide was quite knowledgeable, and his photography skills helped us to get the best photos. We really enjoyed lunch at a scenic location.
Our guide Santiago, and Driver Vladimir took us high up into the Andes mountains cloud forest to Remote preserves where few other people were present. We met the families who run the preserves and saw 79 species of birds. Santiago was very patient with Photography, and had a vast knowledge of the flora and fauna of the cloud forests of Ecuador. We even had lunch at a small outdoor café, where we could continue to observe the inhabitants of the forest. Perhaps the best day trip I’ve ever enjoyed!
We brought our 2 adult daughters & daughter-in-law on this trip because they have always been animal & bird fanatics. (One daughter is a biologist who did her masters thesis on hummingbirds.) No one was disappointed in this trip! We saw a large percentage of the huge number of hummingbird species, which Ecuador is home to. The birds came so close we could feel their wing beats and they sometimes landed on our hands while we held feeders. Our guide Santiago Salazar was exceptional and his enthusiasm was infectious. We didn't get to see the courtship dances of the cock-of the-rock, but we did get fleeting glimpses of quite a few males, while they hopefully searched for mates.
Many of the tours to Mindo stop at tourist spots along the way, and we wanted to focus on bird watching and enjoyment of the cloud forest. This tour with Neotropical was perfect for that. Our guide, Santiago, is an avid birdwatcher, and he was able to help us identify the hummingbirds and other birds that we saw. He is also extremely knowledgeable about the ecology and environment of Ecuador, and we had great discussions with him during the trip. If you want to focus on nature instead of tourist stops, this is the tour that you should sign up for.
The guide was a genius in spotting birds and helping you to see them on the telescope. The tour company was very professional and responsive to my requests. In addition to seeing so many birds, you also get to travel through gorgeous scenery. A great bonus! I highly recommend this trip.
What an exciting birding day through Mindo with the add-on of the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock Lek! Santiago was a wonderful guide knowledgeable about everything from the birds to the volcanoes, and much more. We saw so many species on our list and the spots offered excellent photography opportunities as well. If you can only choose one day trip with Neotropical- this is the trip! Thank you Neotropical for a wonderful trip!
My guide, Sebastian, was wonderful: interesting, conversant, attentive, highly knowledgeable. I especially enjoyed the hummingbirds, butterflies, and orchids.
David, our guide, took us to beautiful places to see the incredible variety of hummingbirds and other native birds of Equador. He told us about the different birds and explained about them. He also took us to a Butterfly farm where we could interact with the butterflies. He was fun, nice, patient, and very helpful when it came to our tour. We had a wonderful lunch overlooking a river. The town of Mindo is so quaint and just nice to look around in. I would definitely recommend going with this company and doing this particular tour if you like birds. The staff that I interacted with during a time when our cruise was cancelled, twice, was very understanding about changing our reservation. They made it unstressful and very nice. I hope to someday return to Quito, Equador and use this company, again. They did exactly what I asked for and I was so appreciative of this. Thank you, Terri Schur
Santiago was an incredible guide, very knowledgeable in every aspect of the outdoors from wildlife to plants, geology, history and a dozen other topics. He is highly recommended as a guide and you are lucky to have him as part of your team*****. Jeff H.
Hiked the Mountains and made various stops for birding and photos. Came away with several Lifers and superb photographs. I am a serious amateur wildlife photographer, and have used guides from several other countries, including Central America, Europe and Scandinavia. This tour was the most friendly and informative I have ever experienced. Special thanks to our guide, Santiago Salazar and his driver, Jesus for being so very kind, perceptive, sensible and knowledgeable of the area. An experience I will never forget.
We arrived in Quito with our travel plans with family cancelled by circumstances beyond our control. Our hotel, Holiday Inn Express (which was excellent) suggested Neotropical for nature day trips. This was truly a miracle. We visited the oficina de Turismo in the Old Town and spoke with Neotropical’s representative, Ms. Yale Cueche. She spoke perfect English, was very friendly, and knew and presented her tour packages in a most professional manner. We elected three days of day-tours and were given a very good package price. Day three, our Mindo tour, we are back with guide Santiago. We thought day one at Antisana was the best, but were to be bested. As before He is absolutely outstanding, the best guide of our birding career, superb knowledge of local history, flora and the myriad bird species. He also retained an electronic copy of all our bird spottings and locations which he emailed and we've used extensively to revisit our wonderful trip. To top it off, the included lunch at the Dragonfly Inn in Mindo was excellent. We can certainly recommend the Dragonfly!! Genny and Ingo were the consummate hosts. All and all, a perfect and most affordable day’s excursion. We will definitely book with Santiago and Neotropical for an 11 day Amazonian next October. Folks, it doesn’t get any better than this. Ava and I have travelled extensively and we can recommend NeoTropical with out reservation. Mike
A shout out to Neotropical... both the sales rep at the office in Quito’s historic district and our guide were spectacular! We decided on a day trip to the cloud forest with a stop at Cock of the Rock. Our guide, Santiago, was incredible from the moment he introduced himself. He was superbly knowledgeable and was a treasure of information regarding Ecuador’s history and ecological systems. Not to mention he is kind, generous and has a sense of humor. Also, if you like beautiful tropical birds swooshing down right before your eyes then Paz de las Aves (Cock of the Rock) is a must see for you! Make sure to add it to your trip. Thank you for everything Santiago!!
Thank you Santiago for introducing us to your beautiful country through the Mindo Cloud Forest tour. We were amazed by the variety and beauty of the birds we encountered throughout the day and delighted to be in the midst of the hummingbird feeding frenzies. Your extensive knowledge of the cloud forest and its avian, combined with your desire to share that information made this part of our trip a truly memorable experience. Your passion and love of country was contagious.
Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about his work. He gave us several options for activities during our day in the Mindo Cloud Forest. The hummingbird reserve was amazing, the hike down one side of the gorge to see the waterfall, up the opposite side and cable car back to our starting point was challenging and we learned so much about the ecosystem. We had a great lunch in Mindo, then visited the Lek of the Cock of the Rock which was truly exceptional and we feel privileged to have had this experience. Our guide, Santiago, added enormously to our experience.
This was an unbelievable day. Our guide was so knowledgeable, helpful and pleasant. A month later I am still not quite able to absorb the incredible amount we say this day. Scenery, birds, flowers, hummingbirds, little villages and the most incredible lunch. It was totally amazing.
The trip to Mindo was wonderful. It was a spectacular ending to our Ecuadorian adventure. David, our guide, was kind and knowledgeable. All in all, the day was perfect.
We experienced a top-notch guide in Santiago, who picked us up at our Quito hotel at 5:15 a.m., drove into the Cloud Forest area northwest of the city, and ably led us through visits to three private reserves - first to Alambi, then Bellavista (where we had delicious breakfast and lunch), and finally San Tadeo, before returning to the city by 6 p.m. Because the day was quite rainy and cloudy, we saw the majority of the +/- 100 species close up at the preserves' feeders (lots of hummingbirds); however, having said that, walking two hours first on an "easy" uphill trail and then along the old highway through and surrounding Bellavista provided the most memories as we squinted through our rain-speckled binoculars at birds Santiago miraculously located, often by sound, in the misty grey environment. If you do a similar Cloud Forest tour and if conditions warrant, ensure you have a good rain gear, waterproof footwear, and an umbrella, which helps to keep binoculars dry. (At Bellavista, we eagerly opted to use their ponchos and rubber boots as extra protection; it was wet). Throughout the day, we were very happy with Santiago's articulate knowledge of birds as well as his grasp of Ecuador's natural history and current eco-issues. In addition, we have only high praise for Gaby's operational work in the NeoTropical office, promptly responding to emails and accommodating our requests. We would definitely trust them to set up another excursion.
Pancho our guide was terrific, a real expert on both birds and photography. Organization was seamless. We had a wonderful time and Pancho was an excellent host. Thank you so much for organizing a splendid day in Mindo for us.
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