Tandayapa

Travel Guide

Here we have a very distinctive hummingbird - the Collared Inca. In most lighting they appear all black with a white chest. but if you get them out in some direct light you can make out the blue/violet cap and the green throat. Make sure you hire a birding guide for your visit to the valley. In addition to locating and identifying the birds, a guide is the only way you'll find this amazing hummingbird garden. It's hidden among some dense vegetation, with the only marker being an overgrown footpath leading from the road.
Here we have a very distinctive hummingbird - the Collared Inca. In most lighting they appear all black with a white chest. but if you get them out in some direct light you can make out the blue/violet cap and the green throat. Make sure you hire a birding guide for your visit to the valley. In addition to locating and identifying the birds, a guide is the only way you'll find this amazing hummingbird garden. It's hidden among some dense vegetation, with the only marker being an overgrown footpath leading from the road.
Yesterday I posted a female Violet-tailed Sylph, and today we have the much showier male. It's a wonder that they can fly with such long tail feathers, but clearly the reproductive advantage outweighs any such inconvenience.
The Tandayapa Valley is a birder's paradise. The rugged slopes of this pristine cloud forest offer a spectacle of exotic birds like few places on earth. The mountain roads themselves are great avenues to hunt out mixed flocks, but for a truly amazing experience you need to visit Tony Nunnery's hummingbird garden at Parador Pacha Quindi. Tony grew up in the US but has spent the last fifteen years in a small cottage he and his wife built on 70 hectares in the Tandayapa Valley. They have been reforesting the former pasture and have established a phenomenal hummingbird garden right outside their house. The sight and sound of a hundred hummingbirds whizzing about is something you won't soon forget. It also makes for great photo opportunities, so much so that professionals will even shoot here with their shade umbrellas and strobe arrays. I didn't have anything that fancy, and you'd do quite well here with a 200mm lens and large flash. BTW, I believe that this here is a Speckled Hummingbird.
Here we have a female Violet-tailed Sylph. How do I know it's a female? Because the male has a long blue tail that extends twice his body length. We spotted this beautiful girl at Tony Nunnery's hummingbird garden in the Tandayapa Valley. I love hummingbirds and always hunt down the best places to see and photograph them, and Tony's garden is world class. Hundreds of hummingbirds from at least a dozen species flitted around us in the short couple of hours that we were there. A place you must visit if you ever find yourself in Ecuador.
Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve & Lodge

Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve & Lodge

2.5 out of 5
Km 52 Ruta Antigua Quito - Nanegalito Mindo Pichincha
$204 nightly
The price is $204 total per night from Jan 23 to Jan 24
$204 total
Jan 23 - Jan 24
Stay at this lodge in Mindo. Enjoy free breakfast, free parking, and an airport shuttle (surcharge). Popular attractions Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve and ...
9.8/10 Exceptional! (10 reviews)
A birders paradise
One of the most magical places we have ever visited offering unparalleled access to the cloud forests. Exceptional attention to detail, very friendly and helpful staff, delicious and fresh meals. Seriously heaven on earth and a birders paradise.

Reviewed on Aug 12, 2025

Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve & Lodge
JW Marriott Quito

JW Marriott Quito

4.5 out of 5
Avenida Orellana 1172 Y Avenida Amazonas Quito Pichincha
$147 nightly
The price is $165 total per night from Feb 1 to Feb 2
$165 total
Feb 1 - Feb 2
Book a stay at this spa hotel in Quito. Enjoy a full-service spa, 4 restaurants, and 2 hot tubs. Our guests praise the helpful staff in our reviews. Popular ...
9.2/10 Wonderful! (736 reviews)
Super clean room, excellent staff, lots of little extras like coconut ice cream cones in the lobby one afternoon.

Reviewed on Jan 16, 2026

JW Marriott Quito
Le Parc Hotel, Beyond Stars

Le Parc Hotel, Beyond Stars

4.5 out of 5
República de El Salvador Quito Quito
$101 nightly
The price is $112 total per night from Feb 13 to Feb 14
$112 total
Feb 13 - Feb 14
Book a stay at this luxury hotel in Quito. Enjoy free WiFi, a full-service spa, and breakfast (surcharge). Our guests praise the helpful staff in our reviews. ...
9.2/10 Wonderful! (931 reviews)
Hotel location is very convenient, close to everything, restaurants, metro station, and most of all safe location. Staff members are helpful and friendly.

Reviewed on Jan 10, 2026

Le Parc Hotel, Beyond Stars
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Lowest nightly price found within the past 24 hours based on a 1 night stay for 2 adults. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply.
Old Town Quito Suites, Apartments & Boutique hotel

Old Town Quito Suites, Apartments & Boutique hotel

4 out of 5
José de Antepara E3-61 y Vicente Léon Quito Pichincha
Book a stay at this family-friendly aparthotel in Quito. Enjoy free breakfast, free WiFi, and 24-hour room service. Our guests praise the helpful staff and the ...
10/10 Exceptional! (170 reviews)
Food was provided for us to cook. High quality and lots of it

Reviewed on Jan 11, 2026

Old Town Quito Suites, Apartments & Boutique hotel
Harmony Luxury Apartments

Harmony Luxury Apartments

4.5 out of 5
Av. República de El Salvador 34-127 Quito Pichincha
Book a stay at this luxury apartment in Quito. Enjoy free WiFi, a full-service spa, and a sauna. Popular attractions Botanical Garden of Quito and Parque La ...
8.2/10 Very Good! (23 reviews)
Nice building clean apt. It would have been nice if there were shades on the kitchen windows or a curtain between the bedroom and kitchen. The bed frame is too large for the space and makes it difficult to move around in the bedroom.

Reviewed on Jan 16, 2026

Harmony Luxury Apartments
Top Rentals Qorner

Top Rentals Qorner

3 out of 5
Av Portugal E9-59 Quito Pichincha
Stay at this apartment in Quito. Enjoy free WiFi, an outdoor pool, and breakfast (surcharge). Popular attractions Atahualpa Olympic Stadium and Quicentro Shopping ...
8.6/10 Excellent! (9 reviews)
Beautiful!!!

Reviewed on Dec 5, 2025

Top Rentals Qorner
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Lowest nightly price found within the past 24 hours based on a 1 night stay for 2 adults. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply.

Popular places to visit

Here we have a very distinctive hummingbird - the Collared Inca. In most lighting they appear all black with a white chest. but if you get them out in some direct light you can make out the blue/violet cap and the green throat. Make sure you hire a birding guide for your visit to the valley. In addition to locating and identifying the birds, a guide is the only way you'll find this amazing hummingbird garden. It's hidden among some dense vegetation, with the only marker being an overgrown footpath leading from the road.

Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve

Explore the great outdoors at Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, a lovely green space in Tandayapa. While you're in the area, wander around the parks.

Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve

Maquipucuna Cloud Forest Reserve

Explore the great outdoors at Maquipucuna Cloud Forest Reserve, a lovely green space in Nanegalito. While you're in the area, wander around the forests.

Maquipucuna Cloud Forest Reserve

Things to do

Mindo Ziplines Tour, offers a 10-wire tour through the cloud forest where you can enjoy adventure, nature, adrenaline.

Mindo Ziplines Tours / Canopy Tour / Zip Line

$21
per adult
Mindo Ziplines Tours / Canopy Tour / Zip Line
Cannopy xtream

Private Full-Day Mindo Cloud Forest,Butterfly Farm, Chocolate Tour bird watching

$110
per adult
Private Full-Day Mindo Cloud Forest,Butterfly Farm, Chocolate Tour bird watching
Experience real contact with nature at the best places for hummingbirds and birdwatching

Looking for nature around Quito? Mindo cloudforest Private Tour

$97
per adult
Looking for nature around Quito? Mindo cloudforest Private Tour
Birding Tour

Birding Tour

$180
per traveler
Birding Tour
Butterflies in Mindo

Mindo Cloud Forest Full Day Tour from Quito

$200
per adult
80% of travellers recommend
Mindo Cloud Forest Full Day Tour from Quito
Hummingbirds of Mindo

Mindo Cloud Forest & Adventure Tour

$288
per adult
Mindo Cloud Forest & Adventure Tour
See all activities in Tandayapa

Cities near Tandayapa

Quito featuring landscape views and a city

Quito

Did the full zip line tour here and it was the best zip lines I’d ever done. There are places where you can’t even see the other end of the line that you’re on as you glide at high speeds, hundreds of feet above the jungle.#Adventure

Mindo

Here we have a very distinctive hummingbird - the Collared Inca. In most lighting they appear all black with a white chest. but if you get them out in some direct light you can make out the blue/violet cap and the green throat. Make sure you hire a birding guide for your visit to the valley. In addition to locating and identifying the birds, a guide is the only way you'll find this amazing hummingbird garden. It's hidden among some dense vegetation, with the only marker being an overgrown footpath leading from the road.

Nanegalito

This is the cloud forest and village of Nono, Ecuador where: I rode a horse in the clouds, got impaled on a tree branch, and was blessed by a lovely 100-year-old woman. An amazing little place near Quito for hiking, cycling, bird watching, horseback riding, and generally having your head in the clouds. For more, see: http://www.travelblissnow.com/blessings-nono-cloud-forest-ecuador/

Nono

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