Hummingbirds and butterflies: a trip to Mindo Cloud Forest, Ecuador

Mindo Cloud Forest in Ecuador is around two hours away from the capital city of Quito and makes for a fantastic day trip. It’s a great opportunity to immerse yourself in nature and see orchids, butterflies, hummingbirds and perhaps an agouti or two!

There are a few tours available, but I went with Gulliver Expeditions and would definitely recommend them – we had enough time for all the activities and they offered flexibility in what we did (for example, none of us really fancied canopy ziplining so we walked to a waterfall instead!) You will need a bit of spare cash for some of the activities though. (Before I go any further I should probably add that this post isn’t sponsored!)

Orchids, butterflies, hummingbirds!

Our first stop was to visit “El Decanso”, a butterfly farm, orchid house, hotel and birdwatching spot all in one! We started off in the butterfly farm and could wander round the little garden surrounded by hundreds of gorgeous butterflies.

I know this is a bit weird, but for some reason being around butterflies really stresses me out. I think it’s a combination of knowing that they’re super fragile, and also not knowing where they are so it’s really easy to be startled when one of them flaps near your face!

Anyway… I endured for as long as was polite before viewing some of the orchids next door. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll just leave some of the photos I took here.

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After admiring the beautiful flowers, we sat and watched all these green and blue hummingbirds come out of nowhere to sip at the sugar feeders. Of course, with sugar comes wasps, and there was no shortage of them – luckily they weren’t very interested in us! It was actually amazing to see hummingbirds in real life – their wings make a faint buzz as they zip here and there.

Cloud forest walk and river bathing

Our next activity was a walk through the lush forest to a waterfall and bathing pool. Although we only walked for half an hour or so it really felt like we were deep in the heart of the forest. The heat and humidity continued to build despite it being late morning, and as we stripped off and waded into the bathing pool the heavens finally opened and it began to rain. There’s something very peaceful about being in water when it’s raining.

One thing to note though – it was only when I got back to our hotel that I began to itch. Yes, you guessed it – turns out I’d been bitten by a load of mosquitos. I recommend taking bug spray.

After our swim, we trekked back in much more tolerable heat back to the bus, before grabbing some lunch (cheese and potato soup and guanabana juice – both delicious) before heading once more on our way. 

Before our stop to the chocolate factory we stopped by what seemed to be someone’s house. For a $2 fee (Ecuador uses US Dollars) we sat and watched some more hummingbirds, this time accompanied by lots of different birds of paradise and even an agouti scuttling along the forest floor. It was amazing to think that there was just all this nature in someone’s back yard.

Chocolate Factory visit

Our final stop of the day was a visit to a chocolate factory. We started off by trying the seeds of the cocoa plant, which you can’t eat but you can suck. Would you believe it tasted like fruity chocolate?! Shocking right! We then saw the various processes that transform cacao bean to chocolate bar.

Finally, it was time to try lots of different types of chocolate, first trying 70/80/90% chocolate, and then chocolate flavoured with things like chilli, ginger and pineapple (separately of course, although that would be one hell of a chocolate bar). And then, the pièce de résistance – some hot chocolate.

It was HEAVENLY.

I was surprised to discover that Ecuadorian hot chocolate isn’t actually sweet. It is really creamy and thick though, and you certainly don’t need to drink much to feel full! You can buy it at cafes throughout Ecuador, and you can also buy chocolate purely for this purpose too.

And just like that, the day was over and we were on our way back home, back to Plaza Foch in Quito.

Interested in reading about some of my other South America adventures? Check out my highlights of San Pedro de Atacama in Chile here.