Mindo Cloud Forest
The small village of Mindo is nestled in a lush cloud forest 2 hours drive north of Quito. After the dusty streets of the city, it was a breath of fresh air to be surrounded by nature again.
The cloud forest is a bio-diverse paradise with over 650 species of birds and butterflies. While we were there we visited the Mariposas de Mindo butterfly garden, where they research and breed native butterflies.
Mindo is also a centre for such adrenalin pumping adventure sports as waterfall canyoning, river rapid tubing and canopy zip-lining.
We thought zip-lining through the cloud forest canopy like a monkey sounded like heaps of fun so signed up with Mindo Canopy Adventure. The canopy route included 10 zip-lines ranging from 75m to 400m in length and speed, criss-crossing steep ravines of the cloud forest.
Check out the movies below for some footage of our monkey madness …
Where we stayed
For our 2 nights in Mindo we stayed at Casa de Piedra in a double room with shared bathroom. The house was a short walk from the village centre, across a stream into the cloud forest and was a very tranquil place to stay.
The hostal has hammocks to chill out in, as you watch the hummingbirds flit around the beautiful gardens. It also has a swimming pool and games area with billiard table, darts and foosball for your enjoyment.
Casa de Piedra had decent wifi and mosquito netting on the windows but we found the bed and shower a bit lacking. Overall it was a decent budget option for Mindo and we would recommend staying there.
