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Mindo Cloud Forest: Nature's Hidden Gem
4.9
59 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
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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. Here, visitors can observe a wide array of native plants,…
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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. Here, visitors can observe a wide array of native plants, including bromeliads, orchids, and several medicinal species. - San Tadeo Birding - Interested in feeding hummingbirds by hand? This is the ideal spot! Visitors will also see toucans and tanagers at the feeders. Agoutis, squirrels, orchids, and bromeliads enhance this incredible experience. Remember to bring binoculars and a camera with a good zoom.
- Mariposas de Mindo - After birding in San Tadeo, the tour arrives in Mindo town and heads 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, where participants will explore trails leading to the waterfalls. A short drive from Mariposas de Mindo to Cascadas Nambillo is followed by a cable car ride to another section of the Cloud Forest, culminating in a hike to the Nambillo waterfall or the Waterfall Route. This adventure takes approximately 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 experience. The tour then returns to Quito.
What's Included
- National tour Guides
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Admission fees
- National tour Guides
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Admission fees
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Gratuites are welcome
- Lunch
- Gratuites are welcome
Additional Information
Enjoy a unique day trip to the Mindo Cloud Forest, one of the last remnants of the Choco Darien Region. Discover diverse and unique natural spots. Engage in various activities such as hiking in the Cloud Forest, visiting a butterfly farm, photographing hummingbirds, bird watching, and exploring waterfalls along the Nambillo River. Experience fun and…
Enjoy a unique day trip to the Mindo Cloud Forest, one of the last remnants of the Choco Darien Region. Discover diverse and unique natural spots. Engage in various activities such as hiking in the Cloud Forest, visiting a butterfly farm, photographing hummingbirds, bird watching, and exploring waterfalls along the Nambillo River. Experience fun and adventure with additional activities like tubing and zip-lining in the Mindo River. This is a tailor-made experience, so please share your preferences 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
4.9
(59 Ratings)
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Calamityjaimie
May 5, 2025
A wonderful day! - Kathy was an amazing tour guide. I had a wonderful day. She helped me identify birds at San Tadeo Birding & then showed the corresponding picture in the guidebook. I was able to take a photo to refer to later. Otherwise I’d never remember all the names! It was thrilling to feed hummingbirds & have them land ion my hand. At the butterfly garden we watched a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis.
I have knee issues so probably should not have hiked down to the waterfall. Many thanks to Kathy that I was able to climb back out! Afterwards we had a delicious lunch before returning to Quito.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bkktrav1
Apr 30, 2025
Interesting and enjoyable trip to Mindo - I had a private tour with Kathy who was easy to chat with and a very careful driver. The scenery once you leave Quito is very beautiful.
Our first stop was at a bird viewing platform with lots of colorful birds and hummingbirds which can be hand fed. We then went to a butterfly farm and then did a 40 minute hike in the rain forest. A good lunch was enjoyed at a nearby ecolodge. The trip ended with a visit to a chocolate factory in Mindo followed by chocolate tasting.
All in all it was an interesting and enjoyable day and Kathy was a great guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ashleyhr8959yo
Apr 30, 2025
Great value day trip from Quito - We had a great time with Marcial as our guide. Got to pack a lot in and definitely recommend this trip for travelers who are short on time like we were. I especially loved the birding and butterfly experiences and the chocolate tour/tasting at the end!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rebecca
Apr 12, 2025
Wonderful day! I loved all the stops especially the hummingbirds & so many butterflies! My guide was very knowledgeable. - Wonderful Day! I loved all the stops especially the hummingbirds & butterflies. My guide was very knowledgeable & set a perfect pace up from the waterfall.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Leahgb6169el
Apr 4, 2025
10/10 Experience! - This excursion was an amazing experience for a fair price. Our tour guide, Pato, was kind and very knowledgeable about geography, animals, and history. We had fun and learned so much as well. The birding experience was unforgettable. The butterfly garden was very pretty (I haven’t seen one with an outdoor component before) and the hike through the cloud forest was beautiful, moderately challenging but rewarding. Lunch was at a really nice restaurant with a great view and we all enjoyed our food. Would recommend to any nature lovers who are looking for an experience other than the typical “adventure” tours in Mindo (although he mentioned you can add additional excursions like tubing if you wanted).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mobile547870
Mar 29, 2025
Great guide for Mindo visit - Pato was an excellent guide. We spent 10 hours with him and he is well versed on Ecuador history, culture, wildlife, and the Mindo Cloud forest. His English is fantastic. He was very attentive to our needs, planned a beautiful lunch overlooking the cloud forest, a chocolate tasting, hummingbird and butterfly reserve tour, and a hike to see the falls. You won’t be disappointed
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Travelwriter08
Mar 6, 2025
Excellent Mindo Cloud Forest Tour - We had a wonderful day exploring the Mindo Cloud forest with guide Misael and driver David. Our first stop was at the top of the Pululaua volcanic crater, which now houses a lush town. We proceeded to visit a number of family owned farms providing wildlife experiences. Misael was very knowledgeable about the birds and habitats. We watched hummingbirds come nearby to feed and perched with their tiny claws on our hands. At San Tadeo Birding we watched up close as birds came to feed on banana peels. We walked through an area alive with various varieties of butterflies at the Mariposas de Mindo. Due to rain, we had an abbreviated hike near the Mindo river where we also saw more birds. We finished the day at Mindo Maya Artesan chocolate, where we participated in a chocolate making demonstration, starting with the raw fruit and slimy seeds, fermentation, roasting, skinning, crushing into paste, tempering. We were able to use the finished chocolate as a face mask. We tried a variety of flavored chocolates and enjoyed hot chocolate and chocolate tea with fruit. We stopped for lunch at a charming restaurant in the town of Mindo where we enjoyed fresh prawns and trout with lemon sauce (not included in tour price). Highly recommend this tour. Note: other tours that list less expensive prices raised them when you I tried to book and tried to charge me more for hotel pickup
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Catherine
Feb 18, 2025
2/8/25 Mindo Cloud Forest with Mileal - Our guide Mileal was required to vote the morning of our trip, so we started a bit late. But he made every minute of the day count in an effort to complete the full promised itinerary.
Mileal was very knowledgeable. He was able to answer our NUMEROUS questions about Ecuador and the Mindo Cloud Forest.
Mileal kindly took a beautiful selfie of us all at the Pululahua Crater rim that we plan to share with friends and family.
The San Tadeo birding adventure will forever be burned in our memories❤️. And we also loved the Mindo waterfall, Mariposas, and Yumbos chocolate facial.
Our driver was very efficient and got us everywhere we needed to go!
Thanks so very much,
Catherine Sesing & Jorge Sierra
Review provided by Tripadvisor
S2848fmjohnw
Feb 4, 2025
Mindo cloud rainforest, birds, butterflys, and the biodiversity of Ecuador - We were picked up on time by our guide Pato, he had sent us a message before with very helpful tips on what to bring and what to expect, we left for the Mindo cloud fotest day tour. He was the best guide. Excellent, he was very knowledgeable relating to just about every subject on Ecuador, its culture, people, pre and current history, the rainforest its animals. Biodiversity, the countries pasion for ecology and the preservation of its resourses. He was an EXCELLENT guide took time to explain what we were seeing and its importance and beauty, was very patient and was concerned as to what was important to us, no rushing. Took time when and where it was warranted. Planed out the day perfectly, we did and saw everything on our itinerary in a relaxing but informative way, like i said we keep to a scedule but at our pace as things became more or less important, we also went to a fabulous place for what actually became dinner, (the food and the establishment was absolutely wonderful, cannot say enough about the food!!!! ) because of our excursion in the Mindo cloud forest and the time we took to enjoy all the sights and sounds of the rainforest as well as a picturesque waterfall, The day was an absolute joy, highly recommend it to anyone, But be sure to ask for PATO, HE MADE IT SPECTACULAR!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mdanio
Jan 4, 2025
Mindo cloud forest trip - I had an amazing time with Kathy having stimulating conversations and seeing so many colourful birds in one day, including some that are hard to spot. The butterfly farm was cool too, although hummingbirds are definitely my favourites. Lunch was so delicious I polished the plates. Highly recommend the tour and Kathy as your guide
Review provided by Viator
