Racing to Waterfalls in Mindo
Mindo is a quiet town in the foothills of the Andes. After capturing the hearts of backpackers and bird watchers, it has grown into a glorious weekend retreat. While planning our next stop, it seemed obvious that a trip to an Ecuadorian cloud forest was a must. We had two days, so we chose Mindo for its proximity to Quito. In Mindo, the magic of the forest is highlighted through orchid farms, butterfly parks and artisanal chocolate workshops. Although we did not end up having the time to visit all of these spots, it did seem like an ideal way to spend a few days.
We planned to catch a bus from the station on the north end of Quito, the smaller of the two city bus stations. We were not actually sure if we could catch the bus to Mindo from this station, or if there was a bus that actually went to Mindo! Once we arrived at the station, we went window to window hoping someone would sell us a ticket. Finally, someone sold us a ticket and we hoped that it would get us to our desired destination.
The ride was quick but scenic, past some of Ecuador’s fields and forests. At around the two-hour mark, we began to wonder if anyone would alert us when we reached our stop. Soon enough, the bus driver shouted, “Mindo!” and we scrambled to pull all of our baggage off the bus before it zoomed off.
As the dust-clouds settled, we took a look around and noticed there was nothing remotely resembling a town in any direction. We figured it must be close since the bus dropped us off at the “Mindo stop,” so with the sun low in the sky, we threw our packs onto our backs and walked. About an hour later, a car pulled over and, to our surprise, the driver asked if we wanted a ride. Since it was nearly dusk, we took him up on his offer. It was a good thing we did because we would have still been walking well after sunset!
Our first mission was to find our adorable hotel, Hosteria Mindo Ananaw. After meeting the young owners and settling into our room, we headed to town for dinner. Mindo was clearly on the backpackers’ trail. There were several tourists (now semi-permanent residents) selling handmade hippie necklaces, and every other restaurant served delicious-looking, brick-oven pizza. I was happy.
The next day was our only full day in Mindo, and we had planned to spend it walking the waterfall-filled forest trails. To get to the hiking trails, we had to take an open-air cable car across a lush, forest canyon. We’d obtained a map at the cable car, and the race was on to see all seven waterfalls before the last returning cable car crossed the canyon.
After our high-altitude hike in the Colombian Paramo, Mindo’s trails seemed like a walk in the park. Speeding along, we went up hills, across bridges, and down ladders. Around lunchtime, we took a break on a deserted, rocky riverbank. We had some Doritos and took a very chilly swim. We managed to make it to the final, mother-of-all-Mindo-waterfalls, just in time. We caught the last cable car across the ravine and took a leisurely walk back into town.
The next morning, we woke up early to catch the bus back to Quito. This time, we caught the bus leaving from the center of town. Although it was a quick trip, Mindo was a perfect place to spend a quiet, relaxing weekend.
Traveling in Ecuador – see what towns we visited
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