Ecuador Days 9-11 Bellavista Cloud Forest

Three days in a beautiful cloud forest reserve north west of Quito. 

We were picked up from our hotel early at 6:30am, our driver picked a few other guests up along the way in Quito then we drove a couple of hours north west to Tandayapa and the Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve, the last 10km or so up a dirt track deep into the heart of the cloud forest arriving around 8:30 in time for breakfast.  It was a beautiful warm sunny morning with clear sky's for a change and great views of the forest.  We checked into our room in the 'trail' house', quite basic again but clean and with huge windows looking out into the forest.

After breakfast we met our guide for the day, Nelson, and he took our group on a three hour  guided tour through the cloud forest, or more correctly named pre-montane/sub-tropical rain forest, forests of high biodiversity.   First though we stood a while admiring the myriad of beautiful hummingbirds constantly coming and going, feeding from lots of nectar feeders set up for them.  Nelson pointed out lots of plants and birds as we were walking, the highlight some Plate-billed Mountain Toucans.

We headed back to the lodge for lunch and then back out again in the afternoon, a smaller group this time (us plus Anna, an English girl who lives in Spain and a Japanese guy, Hero) for a shorter, very slow, guided tour.  These naturalists like to take their time, stopping and looking in case something flies by!  For us non-birders it was a little boring.  Being in a cloud forest it got very cloudy in the afternoon and cold too when the sun disappeared.  We had a couple of hours to relax before dinner at 7pm. After dinner the highlight of the day for me, seeing some 'Olinguito's'.  A new species, the first new carnivore species discovered in the western hemisphere for 35 years last August.  A slender cat-like shape and long tail, with a fuzzy, brownish coat. The reserve had been putting bananas out every night for them and a few now come regularly every evening to feed.  The staff think there are about six that visit, we saw two of them.

Day two after breakfast we went on another trek for a couple of hours through the forest, up and then steeply down to a waterfall with our guide, Christina plus Anna, Hero, a German couple and an Argentinian family.  An easy but proper trek this time, a lovely walk.  We didn't see many birds but a few lovely plants and orchids.  Back for lunch and then we stayed put at the lodge and had a relaxing afternoon.  We saw the Olinguito again in the evening, this time feeding from the nectar feeders, very cute.

Day three we got up early for a 6:30am bird watch when the birds are most active for an hour with Christina again.  We saw a few new birds.  After breakfast we went on a self guided trek for about an hour and a half through the forest, steeply down past another small waterfall, past a couple of rustic houses in the woods and then back up to the main lodge again.  The reserve has lots of trail to wander along.  Once back the remainder of the morning we had a relaxing time sat reading and watching the hummingbirds in the sun, you could sit watching them for hours.  We had a three course lunch again, the food we've been served whilst at the reserve has been great, good breakfast's, three course lunches and three course dinners.

After lunch we returned to Quito via the Mitad del Mundo, equator line, visiting the equator museum, Museo De Sitio Intiman.  A fun museum with lots of exhibits depicting different regions/tribes of Ecuador.  Plus they had the usual display of water going clockwise/anticlockwise when south/north of the equator or no spin on the equator line.  We then returned to our usual hotel Vieja Cuba for our last night in Quito before flying to Peru.  We've had a fantastic time in Ecuador, we've only seen a fraction of what we'd have liked to see, we'll have to come back again one day.

For any birdy people interested, below is a list of the birds we saw whilst at the reserve:
Green Violetear Hummingbirds
Sparkling Violetear Hummingbirds
Speckled Hummingbirds
Booted Racket-tail Hummingbirds (my favourite)
Purple Throated Woodstar Hummingbirds
White throated Quail-Dove
White tipped Dove
Sickle-winged Guan
Common Potoo
Toucan Barbet
Plate-billed Mountain Toucan
Montane Woodcreeper
Spillmanns Tapaculo
White-tailed Tyrannulet
Blue and White Swallow
Glossy Black Thrush
Turquoise Jay
Russet-crowned Warbler
Slate-throated Whitestart
Grass-green Tanager
Beryl-spangled Tanager
Blue-winged Mountain Tanager
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Golden Crowned Flycatcher
Masked Flowerpiercer
Crested Quetzal

We also saw red squirrels and of course the lovely cute Olinguito's.