“EL PASEO DEL QUINDE” (THE HUMMINGBIRD´S TRAIL) ECOROUTE

The Ecoroute “El Paseo del Quinde”, (or “The Hummingbird´s Trail”)  is a private initiative originated by the Mindo Cloud Forest Foundation (MCF). Conceived as an initiative to conserve the birds of this beautiful area of Ecuador, the initiative has grown to involve many  individuals dedicated to conservation, as well as various important private and public organizations, both national and international.

The “Paseo del Quinde” Ecoroute is a 50 km long secondary road that leads out of Quito, Ecuador´s capital, to the northwest of Pichincha Province, joining the communities of Nono, Tandayapa, and San Tadeo. .

An Ecoroute can be defined as ‘a road of outstanding natural beauty that harbors something of particular conservation importance’: In the case of “El Paseo del Quinde” we are aiming to conserve into the long-term future, healthy habitat for more bird species at its various altitudes than can be found almost anywhere else within the Americas. Why the “Hummingbird´s Trail” – because here we find some 50 plus species of hummingbirds, including the rare, sadly endangered Black-breasted Puffleg. And together with the birds are  a great diversity of orchids – among other botanical wonders – and an infinite variety of moths and butterflies, as well as other weird insects, and amphibians, reptiles, , and of course mammals, of particular note being  the elusive and threatened Andean Spectacled Bear.

The human element is of vital importance  to the success of our  Ecoroute.. Right from the beginning, the needs, interests and goals, and hence involvement, of all of us local inhabitants have been part of the guiding philosophy of the project, which is today directed by the “El Paseo del Quinde” Corporation.  

In order to ensure that the project goes from strength to strength, various activities were undertaken, among the most important of which were the following:

• Training of native guides in ecotourism and birding tourism.
• Workshops in handcrafts, tourism services, and more.
• Participation in  tourism fairs in Ecuador, Holland and Spain.
• Visits by international travel agents and journalists.
• Purchase of mountain bikes for trips with local guides along the Ecoroute.

The "El Paseo del Quinde" Corporation will continue to work towards its major goal of offering tourism services of truly top quality to visitors from Ecuador and the world as a whole.