| Page Views: 1,138 Last Visit to Mindo: October, 2006 | Mindo - Paradise on earth by metteks - last update: Jun 8, 2007 |
Two visits to Mindo - 6 years apart | Hummingbird in Hotel El Descanso (2006) |
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. |
| The road leading into Mindo (2006) |
|  | Mindo, a town in the rainforrest 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 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. | | | Mindo seen from a distance (2000) |
|
> Add to your Custom Travel Guide [What's This?]
| In A Nutshell: | "truly paradise" |
metteks' Mindo Travel Tips
 Comments for metteks about Mindo | | | | |
zlatiq Fri Apr 10, 2009 04:57 UTC
thanks for the tips; they've helped me see more clearly as what and where an how..hehehe;thanks | pchamlis Sat Jan 31, 2009 20:33 UTC
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) | nickandchris Tue Jan 8, 2008 16:22 UTC
Sounds delightful and not too busy. | atufft Sat Nov 17, 2007 07:27 UTC
Nicely described pleasant mountain town. I hope the rainforest didn't change that much between your visits. |
|
|
email me
add as friend
