"Mindo - Paradise on earth" Top 5 Page for this destination Mindo by metteks

Mindo Travel Guide: 47 reviews and 295 photos

Hummingbird in Hotel El Descanso (2006)

Two visits to Mindo - 6 years apart

In 2000 I worked in Mindo as a volunteer for a month. I stayed with a local family and worked for the local environmental group: "Los Amigos de la Naturaleza". I enjoyed the stay and work very much and I found Mindo one of the most beautiful places I have ever stayed.

In 2006 I traveled in South America again, and of course I wanted to go back to Mindo again. This time I traveled with my boyfriend, and we enjoyed a couple of days in the tranquility of Mindo.

A lot of things had changed in Mindo, even though only 6 years had passed. The tourist industry is rising, and a lot of small family run hotels have opened, and some bigger ones with swimming pools. Some of the former gravel road to town has been paved, the town now have internet, telephones and connection for cell phones, where it 6 years ago only had 1 telephone in the whole village, and it was located in the telephone office.

Some new restaurants have opened and the police station is now more modern and not the former wooden shack. Before there were only a few cars, now there is more and due to that, a lot of traffic signs have been put up on the few streets (way too many, you don't need full stop on gravel roads in a village)

In the cloud forest you can now cross a gorge in a cable car, an oil pipe goes through the forest and a lot of houses are being built close to the forest. But the cloud forest is still very beautiful, even though there aren't as many birds as before.

Mindo, a town in the rainforrest

The road leading into Mindo (2006)

Mindo is situated 2,5-3 hours drive west of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. The town is at the end of a side road, so it is a very quite place, where the bus only arrives twice a day.
The town is placed between mountains, where the rainforest grow.
It is a very good place to hike the forest or go bird watching.

View of the town

Mindo seen from a distance (2000)

Here one can see how Mindo is surrounded by rainforest. It is also possible to see how the clouds are creating and then rising above the forest. This happens every day, particularly in the afternoon, and I enjoyed every day to watch it happen, as it seemed like magic.

Mindo is situated in a valley and the rainforest is located on the mountains around the town. Because of the altitude (aprox. 1200 meters a.s.l) the mosquitoes doesn't carry malaria, so no need to worry about that.

It is easy to hike around on your own, in the protected area there are even marked trails (remember to pay a small fee to enter). Mindo is well known for great bird watching opportunities, and it is easy to hire guides to take you bird watching.

Pros and Cons

In a nutshell:truly paradise

Last visit to Mindo: Oct 2006
Intro Updated Jun 8, 2007
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Reviews (16)

Map of Mindo Favorites (3)

Here is a simple map of the village and one of the surroundings. They are taken from this homepage where you can find... more travel advice

We also saw beautiful trees on the bird trip (2000 - Mindo

Bird watching Things to Do (4)

There are excellent opportunities for bird watching in Mindo. Several guides offer to take you out. I hired one for my... more travel advice

The football stadium and swimming pool (2000) - Mindo

Football stadium Sports & Outdoors (2)

Behind the park/main square are located the football stadium and public swimming pool. When I stayed here, there was a... more travel advice

Horse and cart collecting garbage (2000) - Mindo

Garbage collection with horse and cart Local Customs (1)

Nearly every morning I woke up to the sound of bells. This sound was to tell the inhabitants that the garbage collector... more travel advice

Hotels (2)
See All Lodge
Warnings and Dangers (1)
Nothing to worry about
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Comments (9)

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MalenaN Sep 26, 2010 at 9:55 PM

The landscape around Mindo looks lovely! I hope to visit and do some hiking when I go to Ecuador next year.
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zlatiq Apr 9, 2009 at 8:57 PM

thanks for the tips; they've helped me see more clearly as what and where an how..hehehe;thanks
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850prc Jan 31, 2009 at 12:33 PM

Nice page, Mette. We visited EC 14 years ago, but didn't get to Mindo. Too bad, my wife and daughter are into birding, they would have loved it. If you like birding, check my new Bharatpur, India page. (Keoladeo National Park)
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nickandchris Jan 8, 2008 at 8:22 AM

Sounds delightful and not too busy.
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atufft Nov 16, 2007 at 11:27 PM

Nicely described pleasant mountain town. I hope the rainforest didn't change that much between your visits.
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barryg23 Sep 6, 2006 at 12:42 PM

Mindo sounds lovely, I hope to see it next year. We are planning to take a year out to travel in South and Central America and we hope to start in Ecuador.
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egonwegh Apr 10, 2006 at 2:10 AM

Great! Apparently, the locals say "Mindo es lindo" (Mindo is beautiful). That's what our niece tells us, she's doing some volunteer work there!
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calcaf38 Mar 8, 2006 at 3:51 AM

Your Mindo page is great. I would like to go to Mindo this Summer, and your page confirmed what I expect to find. Thank you for being the one member with a detailed Mindo page!
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Jim_Eliason Mar 5, 2006 at 11:07 AM

gret tips!