Mindo (also known as the Mindo Valley) is a mountainous

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

in the western slopes of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, where two of the most biologically diverse ecoregions in the world meet: the Chocoan lowlands and the

Tropical Andes The Tropical Andes is northern of the three climate-delineated parts of the Andes, the others being the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes. The Tropical Andes' area spans . Geography and ecology file:Andes_clima.png, 200px, Map of the climatic regions ...

. In this transitional area — which covers an area of and ranges from

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

— three rivers (

Mindo MINDO, or Modified Intermediate Neglect of Differential Overlap is a semi-empirical method for the quantum calculation of molecular electronic structure in computational chemistry. It is based on the Intermediate Neglect of Differential Overlap ( ...

, Saloya and Cinto) and hundreds of streams irrigate the landscape, which is a patchwork of

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

s, agricultural land, and human settlements. Politically, Mindo is a collection of rural parishes (Gualea, Nanegal, Nanegalito, Pacto) that make up the Noroccidental Administrative Zone of

Quito Canton Quito, officially the Metropolitan District of Quito ( es, Distrito Metropolitano de Quito), is a canton in the province of Pichincha, Ecuador. Governance The canton is governed by the same mayor and city council that govern the city of Quito ...

, and parts of

Los Bancos Canton San Miguel de los Bancos, or simply Los Bancos, is a canton in the province of Pichincha, Ecuador. The long name of the town refers to dedication of the area to the archangel Michael. Local tradition attributes the "Los Bancos" part of the nam ...

within

Pichincha Province Pichincha () is a province of Ecuador located in the northern Sierra region; its capital and largest city is Quito. It is bordered by Imbabura and Esmeraldas to the north, Cotopaxi and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas to the south, Napo and ...

in the northern sierra region of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Tourism

The Mindo Valley is among the most heavily visited tourist locations in Ecuador. Mindo was recently named the Ruta de Cacao by The Ecuadorian Ministerio de Turismo. Nearly 200,000 tourists visit the area annually to enjoy activities such as

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

, tubing, trekking, mountain biking,

canyoning Canyoning (canyoneering in the United States, kloofing in South Africa) is a type of mountaineering that involves travelling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include other outdoor activities such as walking, scrambling, climbin ...

, horseback riding,

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

, Chocolate Making and

herping Herping is the act of searching for amphibians or reptiles. The term, often used by professional and amateur herpetologists, comes from the word "herp", which comes from the same Greek root as herpetology, ''herpet-'', meaning "creeping". The t ...

. Besides its well-developed tourism infrastructure, it offers several private reserves and lodges known for their montane forests, waterfalls and unique cloud forest biodiversity. Much of the land is privately protected, and an additional falls within the Mindo-Nambillo Ecological Reserve ( es, Bosque Protector Mindo Nambillo). File:Mindo-Cloud-Forest-05.jpg, Landscape in Mindo Image:Tubing in South America.JPG, Tubing in Mindo Image:Zip lining in Mindo, Ecuador.JPG, Zip lining Image:Ecuador_Mindo_Bamboo_house.jpg, A bamboo and palm thatch house in Mindo Image:Waterfall in Mindo.JPG, Waterfall in the Mindo-Nambillo

References

External links

* Parishes of Ecuador Geography of Pichincha Province Tourist attractions in Pichincha Province {{Ecuador-geo-stub