Mindo, in the cloud forest

Mindo is a small town on the western slope of the Andes, roughly two hours from Quito when the road behaves. It sits in cloud forest: wet, green, and louder with birds than with traffic. For a lot of visitors it is the first time Ecuador feels tropical without feeling like the Amazon.

Birds

Hummingbird gardens on the edge of town are the easy introduction. Sit still. The rufous-tailed hummingbird is a regular. Toucans and tanagers show up on the forest trails if you are out early.

The Andean cock-of-the-rock, the scarlet bird birders cross continents for, leks at dawn in a few guarded spots. You go with a local guide, in the dark, and you may or may not see the display. That uncertainty is the honest version of the trip. The wildlife chapter puts Mindo next to the islands and the Amazon, which is where it belongs.

Water and chocolate

A series of waterfalls south of town is reached by trail and, at one point, a tarabita, a cable basket across the gorge. It is not a theme park. It is also not a place for slick shoes.

Cacao grows on this slope. Several makers in and around Mindo run chocolate tastings. Go for the process, from bean to bar, and skip any promise of a fixed schedule until you are there.

Staying the night

Mindo works as a day from Quito and works better overnight. Lodges in the forest are the point if birds are the reason you came. Rubber boots are not a costume. The cloud sits on the ridge most afternoons, and the trail will be mud.

The road continues down toward the coast. Mindo is the hinge between the capital and the Pacific, not a resort on either.