Mindo Waterfall Trails: Cloud Forest Hiking
Mindo's cloud forest trails lead to multiple waterfalls — the Nambillo, the Reina, and the Cascada de Mindo are accessible on half-day hikes; the trails combine extraordinary birding with the physical beauty of the cloud forest canyon landscape
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Nambillo River Canyon
The Nambillo River canyon below Mindo - carved through the cloud forest - has vertical walls of dark volcanic rock dripping with mosses and ferns; the canyon trail follows the river through pools and cascades to a series of waterfalls accessible only by a cable car (tarabita) crossing
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Tarabita Cable Crossing
Tarabita - a hand-pulled cable car that crosses Nambillo Canyon 50 meters above the river - is the only access to the waterfall trails on the other side; the crossing, which pulls you along the cable above the river, is a distinct Ecuadorian adventure tradition
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Cascada de Mindo
Cascada de Mindo - a 30m waterfall that crashes into a pool in the cloud forest - is the most accessible waterfall from the village; the half-hour trail through the cloud forest to the cascade, combined with excellent birding, is Mindo's most popular hike
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Swim in the Cloud Forest Pools
The pools below Mindo Falls are crystal clear and cold — the pure water flowing from the cloud forest is mineral-rich and refreshing; swimming in the pool at the base of the waterfall, surrounded by the canopy of the cloud forest, is a perfect Mindo afternoon
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Night Wildlife Walks
Guided night walks on Mindo's trails reveal the nocturnal community of the cloud forest — the tree frogs call from the mossy branches, the stick insects in the undergrowth, the sleeping birds resting on exposed perches and the luminescent fungi on dead wood create a completely different forest world
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Cloud forest frogs
Mindo's cloud forest has an extraordinary frog diversity — the glass frogs (with transparent stomachs through which the organs are visible), the poison dart frogs and the large leaf frogs that call from the bromeliads represent different ecological strategies for life in the wet cloud forest