Visiting Ecuadorian Cloud Forests

I have to admit, I almost considered deleting this page since my pictures are so old and terrible! This was one of my very first trips when I had just started my career. Even though the pictures aren’t so great, they’re also a reminder of how I got started. While hiking alone in this forest, I realized how beautiful the world was, and I felt like I’d be missing out if I didn’t do my best to experience as much of it as possible.

It was seriously here that I decided to attempt to visit every country in the world. It’s been well over a decade since that experience, and since then I’ve visited dozens of other countries and climbed several more of the Seven Summits.

My trip to Ecuador was focused on the Amazon, which in terms of nature will always be one of the highlights of South America for me. However, Ecuador’s cloud forests should never be overlooked. After being satisfied with my Amazon experience, I returned to the capital of Quito and made a trip to the town of Mindo, one of the main gateways to the cloud forest.

Mindo feels far removed from the capital, but it’s actually only a few hours away by bus and relatively easy to reach. My camera at the time wasn’t even an SLR, so long-range shots like the one above often turned out blurry. This unique plant was growing on a tree branch high in the canopy.

Above is another one of the unusual plants I came across while exploring the cloud forest.

There seemed to be countless trails throughout the cloud forest, and most were easy to follow. I hiked alone without much worry about getting lost. The photo above shows one of the trails ascending a small hill.

The constant moisture creates an incredibly lush environment. Moss covers the forest floor, trees, rocks, and just about anything else that stays still long enough.

Since the cloud forest rarely sees long stretches of sunny weather, it’s often extremely humid and wet. Countless creeks and rivers run through the mountains, and one of the larger ones I came across is photographed above.

Above is Nambillo Waterfall, the biggest waterfall I came across during this part of my trip. Looking back, I regret not climbing the ladder!

My ant and butterfly photos might make you think otherwise, but Ecuador’s cloud forests are a haven for wildlife. The enormous changes in elevation across a relatively small area create dramatically different habitats, so even a short journey through the mountains can bring noticeable changes in the plants and animals around you.

The Mindo area is particularly famous for its birdlife and is considered one of Ecuador’s great bird-watching destinations. Unfortunately, my camera equipment and photography skills at the time weren’t exactly prepared for photographing birds high in a rainforest canopy.

Of course, one day I plan to return here and do a much better job sharing the experience. The old photographs may not be among the best on my site, but this page represents something much bigger to me. This was one of the places where traveling stopped being just an occasional trip and became something I wanted to pursue for the rest of my life.