
What to see in Mindo
Mindo is situated in the middle of the Cloud Forests of Ecuador. This region around Mindo is especially known as one of the regions with the highest number of species in the world. So animal watching is one of the must do’s in Mindo. Besides that it is also a place for river tubing and Zip lining.
Night walk
On a guided night walk you can observe different kind of frogs, spiders, millipedes, insects, bats and other mammals. Mindo night walks has two hour walks at 7pm for 15$ in English and Spanish.
Bird watching tour
On a bird watching tour in the early morning, starting at 6 am, you can see lots of different birds. In the region around Mindo there are more than 400 known species of birds. Tucans, carpenters, hummingbirds, finches and vultures are only some of the bird families to see. Depending on the Guide and the weather you can see more birds. Week days are better to observe Tucans, as they come closer to the village when it is more quiet. Bird Paradise has very good guides and tours (75$ per group) in English and Spanish.
Butterfly farms
The visit of a butterfly farm can top off a animals visit. Mariposas de Mindo is a recommendable farm.
Fun Sport
For the adventurous guys there is zip lining, water falls, great hikes, a open air cable cab and river tubing to do. However one should keep in mind where he/she is and that the protection of nature is probably more important than having fun. A good zip lining operator is Mindo Canopy Adventure (20$).
Chocolate tour
Every hour from 10 am to 5 pm there is a tour around the organic chocolate manufacture El Quetzal. The tour is in English and Spanish (10$). The tour starts with an introduction and tasting of the cacao plant, continues with a short walk around the manufacture, where the different steps of production are explained and ends with a degustation of the chocolate. All the chocolates of El Quetzal are vegan, only the browny offered is not. The cacao tea offered is excellent. Of course there is also a shop and a bistro, if you don’t want to take the tour. On reservation you can also produce your own hot chocolate.
For more information about the chocolate production see here.
All tours can be organised via Bird Paradise, which makes sense. Except for the Chocolate tour it is far easier just to turn up at El Quetzal.
I stayed at the Cinnamon Hostel, which has the best value for money relation. The kitchen is not the best equipped on the continent, but it is a comfy quiet hostel to relax at with a lot of hammocks and hot showers. Everything is brand new, as it just opened this year.
