The Birdwatcher’s House was designed as a place to relax and enjoy the surrounding aromas of flowers as well as the sounds of singing, central location with easy access to Mindo bus stop and all birding sites, upslope and downslope.
Comfortable, secure, new, clean single and double rooms with private bathrooms and hot showers. We have space for 22 guests. Excellent hearty home-cooked meals; vegetarian or other diets available upon request. Meals served according to birders' schedules; box meals and snacks available. Free coffee, tea and drinking water. Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks available for purchase.
Hotel Facilities:
The Birdwatcher’s House is a 10-room hostel, each with it’s own bathroom with hot water available 24 hours a day.
The hostel also offers: restaurant service, cafeteria, a new Jacuzzi for up to 15 guests, laundry service and expert bird watching guides.
Birdwatcher’s House Hostal
• Clean and comfortable rooms with private bathrooms and hot water available 24 hours.
• Jacuzzi
• We organize bird watching tours.
• We also offer tours to visit the Cock of the Rock.
Activities at Birdwatcher’s House Hostal
Our tours are exclusively organized for those interested in bird watching. In Mindo, we visit the local surrounding and interior cloud forest.
We also offer bird watching tours in other parts of Ecuador. We are the bird watching specialists.
Photography Tours:
We also offer day and night photography tours for professionals or those that are interested in birds and nature.
Hydro Massage:
The Birdwatcher’s House has large and modern hydro massage equipment for up to 15 guests. You can receive a hot, relaxing massage after a long day of walking and bird watching.
Andean Cock-of-the-Rock Tour:
We organize tours to see the spectacular Andean cock of the rock in its natural habitat, the Lek. The Lek is a place in the cloud forest where each morning groups of about 20 male cock of the rock gather to perform a sort of dance. During this spectacle, you can appreciate the shining colours, take amazing photographs, and even video of this famous bird. You will be able to view them from about 10 metres. This special tour requires leaving the Birdwatchers House at 5 am.
Mindo:
Mindo is a small town located Northwest of Quito at approximately 1200 metres. It has an average annual temperature of 18-20 degrees Celsius and a population of approximately 1500 people of which 80% are dedicated to ecotourism.
Of the approximately 1600 species of birds in Ecuador, Mindo is home to at least 428 of them. It is a place famous for its prolific bird watching opportunities and is visited by people from around the world who come specifically to watch birds.
Vinicio Perez
Vinicio Perez was born in the Province of Pichincha 46 years ago and has a great passion for birds and nature photography. Starting as a 10 year old, Vinicio has much knowledge and experience in bird watching. He has seen 1478 of the 1600 bird species in Ecuador and can identify a majority of them by their calls or while they are in flight. Vinicio has also been to other countries in South America and the United States to study birds.
Vinicio was the first to see various species of birds in these places: in Mindo, July 1997, he observed the Common Syipe (gallinago gallinago); In Pedro Vicente Maldonado (PVM), May 1998, he observed the Black-Throated Blue Warbler (dendroica caerulescens); in Mindo, February 1999, he observed the Masked Water-Tyrant (fluvicola nengeta) and the Black-Throated Green Warbler (dendroica virens); at Sacha Lodge in the Amazon, 2001, he oberved the Plain Softtail (thripophaga fusciceps).
Vinicio has been lucky enough to discover and publish a new bird species for Ecuador, Wilsons Warbler (wilsonia pusilla), with his colleagues Alejandro and Roger. This new species was discovered in the gardens of the Birdwatcher’s House on October 27, 2003 and also in the Reserve Paz. This is a new species of bird for Ecuador.
How to get to Mindo?
To take public transportation from Quito, you must catch the bus Flor de Valle from its terminal at Ofelia, the Metro station. The busses leave at 8:30am and 3:30pm everyday. It is about 2 hours by bus from Quito to Mindo.
Upon arrival in Mindo, you can ask at the bus station or anyone for directions to the Birdwatcher’s House and/or Vinicio Perez. If you require private transport from Quito, that can be arranged upon request.
