Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, Ecuador

...1 night stay at the Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve is less than 2 hours away from Quito but still deep in the forest. Our reason for visiting Bellavista was to see the many species of hummingbirds at the feeders. There are also many trails to walk.

We arrived around midday after travelling from Quito. It was raining quite hard but we didn’t notice this when we saw all the hummingbirds at the syrup filled feeders around the main area ...
...went to “The Dome” which is a wooden building with 360 degree views from which you can see the rugged peaks of Pichincha and Catacachi in the distance. The Dome also had a restaurant and bar and library and accommodation above and cafe below. There was also a covered outside veranda with seating on one side to view the birds. We were allocated our rooms. There are different styles of rooms. There were the Dome rooms; Trailhead House, Gloria’s House, ... more

On our recent trip to Ecuador, South America we had a 2 day 1 night stay at the Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve is less than 2 hours away from Quito but still deep in the forest. Our reason for visiting Bellavista was to see the many species of hummingbirds at the feeders. There are also many trails to walk.

We arrived around midday after travelling from Quito. It was raining quite hard but we didn’t notice this when we saw all the hummingbirds at the syrup filled feeders around the main area of the lodge. There were also vivid blue Jays. We went to “The Dome” which is a wooden building with 360 degree views from which you can see the rugged peaks of Pichincha and Catacachi in the distance. The Dome also had a restaurant and bar and library and accommodation above and cafe below. There was also a covered outside veranda with seating on one side to view the birds. We were allocated our rooms. There are different styles of rooms. There were the Dome rooms; Trailhead House, Gloria’s House, Bamboo House and they also have budget rooms at the research station. We had the Bamboo house. This house was totally built out of bamboo and we had the top floor (completely to ourselves) reached by a windy staircase. At the top of the stairs we had our very own hammock! Inside were 4 very large comfy beds, a bathroom with toilet & shower. We also had a little sink, a small lounge and a patio with table & chairs which from this led another staircase to another balcony.

After being shown our rooms it was time for lunch. There was some kind of soup, cauliflower cheese for me, chicken for the meat eaters with vegetables and a pudding a bit like instant whip. We were then provided with Wellington boots and huge plastic capes for walking around. We also decided to take up an offer of a walk with a guide. As we walked along the trail the rain had stopped so it was more pleasant. We were not really seeing any birds as such except for a small glimpse if you were quick with binoculars. After about 25 minutes it started raining big time and to be honest all I wanted to do was to be back at the lodge. It really was no fun at all especially as we were not seeing anything interesting and had to keep our heads down to watch where we were walking.

At last back at the lodge. We managed to spend a little time in our lovely bamboo room. By dinner time it had stopped raining so we could lose our plastic capes. Dinner was again soup, some kind of vegetable casserole with rice and a piece of cheese! A cake type thing for desert which was nice. As the dome was the focal point we sat and chatted with fellow guests and retired to our rooms around 10pm.As we walked back to our rooms we were aware of bats flying around. We sat and read on the patio before having a quick hot shower and jumping into our warm comfy beds.

Early next morning after a comfy sleep I woke around 05:30 and looked outside at the new day dawning. Out on the patio I could see daylight creeping in over the Tandayapa Valley. I could hear birdsong although I couldn’t actually see any birds.

I quickly dressed and went outside and could see the Hummingbirds starting to feed on the feeders. There are 14 common species of Hummingbirds that come to the various feeders. As these little birds hadn’t eaten since dusk they were cold and hungry and eager to feed. I called my husband and he too got dressed and we spent some time filming and taking photos of these delightful creatures. There are also 57 common species of other birds plus other birds not seen so often. We also saw a Rhinoceros beetle.

After a delicious breakfast of muesli, fruit and fried eggs and bread we had to decide which of the 9 trails we wanted to do. I had wanted to do the trail with the waterfall in and had made up my mind on this even before we left the UK. Hubby was content to sit and film the Hummingbirds all morning but as I pointed out, although they were great just how much film of Hummingbirds can you watch? The waterfall trail won. We were told the best waterfall trail had ropes and ladders to climb and was this ok. Our group which was made up of 6 Canadians ‘and ourselves and we all felt we were up to it. Our ages ranged from late 30’s to over 50. Our young guide Pablo carried a huge Machete as we had had a lot of rain and that there were fallen branches etc he might need to clear. We set off at a comfortable pace. We found this huge dead worm and I mean huge! We spotted several butterflies which had now come out in the sun. We were not seeing many birds but the walk was pleasant enough. We were going down a little fairly steep track and our guide was pointing out various flora n fauna to us. He gave us a twig to chew that apparently contained aspirin and it did actually taste like aspirin. After about an hour or so it was apparent we were coming near the waterfall as we could hear it. We had to scramble carefully over wet rocks to see the cascading water. As I had my swimwear on under my clothing I stripped off and jumped in complete with my wellies as it was so rocky ( I looked a treat!!!) God it was cold er I mean refreshing. We all took the obligatory photos, got dressed and moved on. Now the fun was to really begin. The guide was unsure if we could go on as the water was maybe too deep due to all the rain we had had. He checked it out and he gave it the OK and we walked on through rocks and water. Next we had to negotiate a rope to get ourselves over a rock face. We were told to hold on with both hands and under no circumstances to let go! It was steep and slippery. I went first and it wasn’t as bad as it had looked. The guide & I watched the rest negotiate it and encouraged them. We walked further on and the guide said we could go back or we had to do another rope and also a ladder. We all decided we didn’t want to go back so onwards it was. This rope was over a very sheer rock face which was difficult reach as we had to be careful not to slip. We had to virtually abseil. My heart was pounding & for a few minutes thought I wasn’t going to be able to do this but I didn’t want to go back. I hung on for grim death and managed to clear the face and was soon beside the guide. The others clapped. Now I had to encourage them. Soon they were all down. By now most of us were wet, muddy and a bit musky smelling but we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves. We carried on a bit further and found the ladder going down another sheer face of rock. Again a bit difficult to get on to, but we all managed it and we continued through some quite fast running water. We continued walking another 20 or so minutes when the water ended and we were on a path. We had a steep climb of about 30 minutes (which was harder than the river bit) and we came to the wide tarmac path to take us back to the lodge. We were all elated. Pablo said his parents wouldn’t have completed the trail. It had taken us about 3 hours.

After hurriedly packing up our belongings from our room we made for the dome for our lunch which we felt was more than well deserved.

After lunch it was time to head back to Quito.

Recommended. For hard core twitchers ( we are not) Just for the humming birds and cute accomodation. 

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