Located two hours west of Quito, Mindo is a small town in the cloud forest. It’s a great little getaway from Quito and I spent two nights there learning about and eating chocolate, hiking waterfalls and relaxing!
Chocolate Tour at Yumbo’s
Home to some of the best cacao beans in the world, Ecuador’s chocolate reputation is growing! Mindo has several chocolate factories and a tour is a great way to learn about the chocolate making process.
At the end of my walking tour in Quito, we went to Yumbo’s chocolate shop. Upon discovering that Yumbo’s had a chocolate making base in Mindo, I decided to do a tour when I was there.
I joined another couple for the tour. The guys giving the tour was English and had swapped Bournemouth for Mindo on meeting his wife!
We were shown the fermentation and refinement process, tried the cacao fruit which was really nice, and did a chocolate tasting at the end with their different flavours and percentages. We also got a taster of the incredible brownie and hot chocolate!
I really enjoyed it and wish I could remember more, need to start taking notes!
When cooling the liquid, 29 degrees is the temperature for type 4 crystals to form. Type 4 crystals are the ones you want for good chocolate. Type 5 crystals form after storing type 4 chocolate at the right temperature for several years. This is when the best chocolate is produced!
Producing the best chocolate is a combination of using the best cocoa beans and refining for longer. Cheap chocolate will be refined for a day, whereas the better more expensive chocolate will be refined for several days. Yumbo’s does it for three.
Info: Tours are an hour long, cost $8 and start on a walk in basis.
I bought brownies (only there once!) and got the recipe!! I’m keen to try making them when I’m home!
Nambillo waterfall sanctuary and Tarabita
On my full day in Mindo, I went to the Nambillo Waterfall Sanctuary.
The waterfalls are 7km from town. The easiest and quickest way to get there is by taxi. It takes 20mins and they cost $6 (pricey for what it is!). I went with a guy from my hostel and got it for $5. You can also walk there, it’s uphill and will probably take 1.5hrs.
The taxi dropped us off at the Tarabita, basically an open cart on a wire that crosses the valley and goes above the forest. It whizzes across in minutes and the views are great! Really cool!
When we arrived, the Tarabita wasn’t running. It was getting a check up! There’s a trail (apparently 20mins) through the valley you can take if this is the case, or you don’t want to go on the Tarabita. We decided to wait for the Tarabita and I’m glad we did because it was fun!
Cost: The Tarabita and Waterfall Sanctuary cost $5. The price is the same whether you take the Tarabita or not.
On the other side, we started with the trail to five waterfalls. The first one was Cascada Ondinas, the smallest and where lots of butterflies were fluttering around.
The second was Cascada Guarumos. It was slightly hidden from view by a rock wall. I needed to paddle to get a better view and pic!
Cascada Colibries was the third and one of my faves. It was the first fall where the guys went under the drop. It looked a pretty strong hydro massage!
The fourth fall, Cascada Madre, was also very pretty. I loved the natural light and all the greenery framing it.
To get to the fifth and last fall, Cascada de los Maderos, we had to cross the river at the fourth fall to join the trail again. There was no dry route to cross. Shoes came off and we paddled across.
The last one was again pretty and the water chute very strong! The guys couldn’t go directly under it!
The walk to the five falls was pretty gentle with a few ups and downs and not busy. We only saw one group cross the river and go to the last fall.
To my amazement they crossed the river in their trainers!! Soaking socks, shoes and jeans!! I couldn’t work it out! Why not just take the shoes off!! Also jeans and waterfalls are never a good mix if you’re getting close!
We then went to Nambillo waterfall, which is a 15min walk down from the Tarabita. It was the busiest waterfall of the day as it’s the best one for swimming and requires the least walking. There were quite a few families.
I ate my avocado sandwiches there and we then got the Tarabita back across the valley. We’d been thinking of walking back, but felt lazy and got a taxi back with a couple we’d walked the waterfalls with and two other girls who’d finished at the same time as us. It worked out at $1 each which was fab!
Footwear tip: Wear walking sandals if you have them. I wore mine and they were great! The trail can be wet and muddy and I paddled in each waterfall. Sandals were so much easier than taking off and putting on hiking shoes all the time.
For the rest of the afternoon, I relaxed at my hostel. The chill space was so nice and hummingbirds would come and go!!
How to get to Mindo
The easiest way to get to Mindo is from Quito. The bus company, Flor del Valle, run the route. The journey takes 2hrs approx and costs $3,10.
Buses leave at 8am, 9am, 11am, 1pm and 4pm Mondays to Fridays. At the weekend, times are: 7.40am, 8.20am, 9.20am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm, 4pm (Saturday only), 5pm (Sunday only)
Their buses depart from La Ofelia bus station in the north of the city*. To get to La Ofelia, the easiest way is to take a taxi or Uber for around $6-8.
Public transport is another option and the way I did it. It’s longer but cheaper! From the Centro Histórico, I caught a metro bus from Marin Central station ($0.25) to La Ofelia. It took 40mins and was very straightforward.
I was very watchful of my bags; theft on Ecuadorian buses seems to be very common and something backpackers and tourists are frequently warned about.
*You can also get to Mindo from Carcelén bus terminal. The buses will most likely have a coastal destination and take the road passing Mindo. Ask for Mindo and the bus will drop you off at the turn off to town. From there, get a taxi into town.
Final thoughts
I liked Mindo! Being so close to nature and in a relaxing environment was really nice! Cinnammon Hostel had a really good vibe and I could have stayed longer! It’s an easy place to get to from Quito, perfect for a city escape!
The chocolate tour and waterfall walk were both great and activities I’d recommend doing in Mindo.
If you’re in Mindo for longer, there’s more to do: birdwatching, horse riding, tubing, canyoning, butterfly and orchid gardens, night walks…
I’m now getting a bus back to Quito and then another one straight on to Otavalo, my last stop in Ecuador before Colombia!
