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Mindo Cloud Forest: Nature's Hidden Gem
5.0
132 Ratings
Quito
Embark on a private day tour from Quito to Mindo Cloud Forest and immerse yourself in the wonders of nature. Experience hiking, birding, and discovering breathtaking waterfalls in this unique destination.
Embark on a private day tour from Quito to Mindo Cloud Forest and immerse yourself in the wonders of nature. Experience hiking, birding, and discovering breathtaking waterfalls in this unique destination.
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Pululahua Volcano & Geobotanical Reserve - The Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tour kicks off at 8:00 AM in Quito, heading northwest through Pichincha Province, showcasing a variety of climatic zones. The first stop is at Pululahua Volcano, offering a breathtaking view of the impressive crater. Visitors can admire a wide array of native plants, including…
- Pululahua Volcano & Geobotanical Reserve - The Mindo Cloud Forest Day Tour kicks off at 8:00 AM in Quito, heading northwest through Pichincha Province, showcasing a variety of climatic zones. The first stop is at Pululahua Volcano, offering a breathtaking view of the impressive crater. Visitors can admire a wide array of native plants, including bromeliads, orchids, and several medicinal species.
- San Tadeo Birding - Ever wanted to feed hummingbirds by hand? This is the ideal spot! Toucans and tanagers can also be seen at the feeders. Agoutis, squirrels, orchids, and bromeliads enhance this incredible experience. Don’t forget to bring binoculars and a camera with a good zoom.
- Mariposas de Mindo - After birdwatching in San Tadeo, the tour arrives in Mindo town, heading straight to the butterfly farm to learn about butterfly anatomy and reproduction in their natural habitat. Hummingbird feeders along a small trail are perfect for photography enthusiasts.
- Nambilla Cascadas - The journey continues to the cloud forest, exploring trails along the waterfalls route. A short drive from Mariposas de Mindo leads to Cascadas Nambillo. There, a cable car ride takes visitors to another section of the Cloud Forest, followed by a hike to the Nambillo waterfall or the Waterfall Route, lasting about 1.5 hours. Lunch is enjoyed in a serene and beautiful setting.
- Mindo - After lunch, a relaxing activity awaits: learning about and tasting the finest artisanal chocolate. Yumbos is the top spot in Mindo for this delightful experience. The tour then returns to Quito.
What's Included
- Admission fees
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- National tour guides
- Admission fees
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- National tour guides
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Gratuites are welcome
- Lunch
- Gratuites are welcome
Additional Information
Join us for a unique adventure on a day trip to Mindo Cloud Forest, one of the last remnants of the Choco Darien Region. Discover diverse and distinctive natural sites. Engage in various activities such as hiking in the Cloud Forest, visiting a butterfly farm, photographing hummingbirds, observing numerous bird species, and exploring waterfalls in the…
Join us for a unique adventure on a day trip to Mindo Cloud Forest, one of the last remnants of the Choco Darien Region. Discover diverse and distinctive natural sites. Engage in various activities such as hiking in the Cloud Forest, visiting a butterfly farm, photographing hummingbirds, observing numerous bird species, and exploring waterfalls in the Nambillo River. Enjoy plenty of fun and adventure with additional activities in the Mindo River, including tubing and zip-lining through the forest. This experience is customized to your preferences, so please share your interests with us.
Location
Pululahua Volcano & Geobotanical Reserve
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(132 Ratings)
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Jilby1966
Jul 7, 2026
A wonderful adventure in Mindo Cloud Forest! - I can’t speak highly enough of the wonderful day we spent with our lovely guide Carolina and courteous, safe and skilled driver Winson! This was a private tour and Carolina organised our day’s activities to perfection, accommodating our preferences and going above and beyond. Such a fabulous variety of adventures and experiences 🤗 Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ginafasano
Jul 5, 2026
Great day in Mindo, great guide! - We had a wonderful day in Mindo but we give our guide Carolina all the credit for making it seamless and fun! Both her and our driver were great. Carolina was knowledgable, friendly, flexible and listened to what was important to us and tailored our tour accordingly. We never felt pressured for time and really felt like our enjoyment was her top priority. We returned to Quito ~7:30pm after a long hike to the furthest waterfall, zip lining, quad motor tour, dinner, and hummingbird visit. Mindo itself is a charming town and there were plenty of fun things to do. We highly recommend this tour group primarily because of Carolina and our safe and friendly driver!
Review provided by Viator
Passport14375424477
Jun 18, 2026
Good guide for Quito - Wonderful day with Pato to Mindo. He speaks perfect English, and we could chat on different topics for the whole day. He is like a friend now. He also does his job professionally, and he has good experience running the trip. I will highly recommend him if you are looking for a tour in and around Quito.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mobile13913633030
Jun 13, 2026
A great guide - We had an excellent day. Our driver was on time, knowledgeable, made good suggestions on the order we did our tours and picked a great place for lunch.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen
Jun 12, 2026
Great day to Mindo with Pato - This tour was fantastic. We were given options for our day based on our personal preferences so that everything was exactly what we wanted. It is hard to imagine that we fit so much in to one day. We stopped to visit a dormant volcano, picked up some fresh bread to share during our ride. Pato took us to see so many wonderful tanagers and hummingbirds. We were able to feed the hummingbirds out of our hand, what a wonderful experience. We took a cable car ride went on a hike to a waterfall and then went to lunch at a wonderful restaurant where we could view more birds and the food was excellent. We were given a wonderful tour at a butterfly farm where we saw more birds and finally a chocolate tour and tasting before our ride back to Quito. If I could rate this tour higher than a 5/5 I would. A wonderful day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julian_h
Jun 6, 2026
It's a really full day... - It's a really full day full of wonderful experiences. Pato is an excellent guide, very knowledgeable and excellent company. The volcanic crater, the birds, the butterflies, the cloud forest and waterfall, the artisan chocolate making, even the lunch spot were all fantastic.
Review provided by Viator
Julian
Jun 6, 2026
A day of wonderful experiences - A great day with a great guide in Pato. Everything was spectacular - the volcano crater, the birds, the butterflies, the cloud forest and waterfall and the artisan chocolate making at the end. And the lunch spot. And it's a full day. More than ten hours but the time flew by.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gaucho90
Jun 5, 2026
Excellent Tour - Awesome Guide - In late May 2026, I took a tour with Ecuador a Color and could not be any more pleased. The places we visited were beautiful, not crowded with tourists, and represented what I felt was the true essence of the Ecuadorian countryside outside of the environs of Quito. We visited a wonderful bird sanctuary, butterfly conservatory, forest / jungle with waterfalls, among other very interesting / non-commercialized locales. My guide was Galindo and I highly recommend him for your tours. Knowledgeable, engaging, well informed and a good guy for great conversation!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
999deberac
May 25, 2026
Fabulous Mindo tour. - I had the best trip to Mindo with Pato! What a fantastic guide. Knowledgeable about all aspects of the region and Ecuador in general. Wonderful visits to see hummingbirds, birds, and butterflies. Lots of orchids too! Great waterfall hike and fantastic lunch stop. I like that all visits were to locally owned and operated businesses. Pato’s English is superb and his driving is top notch. I highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to go to the Mindo cloud forest.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Niall_b
May 23, 2026
Great introduction to Ecuador nature, bonus general insights from guide, ask lots of questions. - This is a full day experience with a great mix of sights and activities. This is a great way to get out of the city and see the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains and forests and get close to the wonderful hummingbirds and butterflies native to the area. Ismael was very knowledgeable and flexible in adjusting the itinerary to my interest. I found that the driving time was well occupied by a very interesting conversation with Ismael that provided me with many insights to life in Ecuador as well as the sights we were seeing. This made the tour an excellent introduction to the country on a much broader scale than I expected. I finished the day with a very good impression of Ecuador as well as good recommendations for activities to be pursued thereafter. All in all a great tour to get a feel of the nature of the area but the highlight was all background knowledge and cultural information gleaned from my conversations with the guide.
Review provided by Viator
