Bellavista Cloud Forest Reserve - a Birder's Paradise in Ecuador
Written: Jan 17 '06 (Updated Jan 17 '06)
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Pros: Many birds/hummingbirds, activities, 1.5 hours from Quito, beautiful cloud forest setting
Cons: Lodging decent, awful food, prices high
The Bottom Line: The Bellavista Cloud Forest is a great place to visit, especially if you are into birding - but may be best as a day trip.
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| Javelina's Full Review: Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge, Ecuador |
After about two weeks in Ecuador, we were looking for something to do for the last few days of our trip. One of our tour guides in the Galapagos recommended the Bellavista Cloud forest, and since we were flying out of Quito on our last day, it fit into our trip plans. Ecuador has so many different environments within the country, we wanted to see something different after having been to the Galapagos, two major cities, Cotopaxi, and the Andes.
“The cloud forest is a different type of rain forest, a mysterious enchanted forest with a much more benign climate than the Amazon Basin, and no malaria (2250 metres, 7200 feet altitude).”
Booking & Reservations
We made our reservations over the phone pretty last minute – a day before going to Bellavista. We chose a package for $138 per person, which included transportation from Quito and meals. You can find all the booking information you need online, and we found what we needed off a brochure we found along the way on our trip. We had someone help us call Bellavista who could speak Spanish, but the main owner speaks English, so we were ok.
Getting There
We needed to get to Bellavista from Quito – which is convenient and was fine with us. There is a Bellavista office located near our hotel (the Hilton Colon Quito), which I thought was pretty convenient – about 5 minutes from the airport, right in the heart of downtown. As soon as we arrived at the Bellavista office, the staff there was ready to go. We were able to use their bathrooms quickly before leaving, while they loaded the luggage into the truck.
The drive is about 1.5 hours from Quito. This was the one part of our trip through Ecuador that seemed to have the most paved roads, as we had been traveling dirt roads for days! It takes a while to get out of Quito (it is an amazingly large city), and after going a little way out of the city, the roads started to wind around the mountains, with switchbacks going back and forth. Finally, we reached the turn-off for Bellavista, which consisted of about 15 minutes of off-road driving. There are plenty of signs, and I don’t think you would have a problem finding the place even if you were to rent a car and go on your own.
“We are in the middle of the first Area of International Importance for Birds in South America, designated in 1997 (330 species in the Tandayapa Valley where Bellavista is located!).”
Accommodations
The first night, we stayed in the Geodesic Lodge. I didn’t realize what we were getting ourselves into, since we were winging this part of the trip. I generally research the heck out of things and look at the website, so I have visuals and reviews. So I was a little thrown when we arrived – the Geodesic dome is a bizarre tree-house-like dome.
The dome/lodge is basically made out of bamboo. The first floor is the main lodge area, where you can find books, games, drinks, and it is where meals are served. To get to the second floor, you have to climb a spiral ladder. And to get to the third floor, you have to climb a regular ladder! It’s a bit difficult to get luggage up there, no less climb up or down.
Our room was on the second floor, one of 5 private rooms with private bathrooms (compared to the third floor, a dormitory style setup). Our $200 a night room was really tiny and felt a bit like hostelling. The room was very basic, shaped sort of like a trapezoid, with the bathroom in the corner. The floors, walls, and ceiling were made of bamboo. The outer wall curved outward and had some windows, and there is also a tiny balcony looking out over the forest. Despite the windows, the room is sort of dark
The bathroom was quite small, and was tiled. It was basically a large shower stall with a toilet and sink, divided into halves with a shower curtain hanging from the ceiling, and a drain in the middle of the floor. When we arrived, there was a strip of paper over the toilet seat noting that the toilet had been sanitized.
Our room was clean and neat, and we were provided with bottled water. Although well-maintained, I would characterize the rooms in the dome as pretty rustic.
I found the room rather unappealing, although I appreciated that it was a unique experience. The bamboo was dark and made the room seem old and small (in addition to it already being small). The floor was creaky, and there was a huge gap on the top and bottom of the door (about 6 inches each), which meant a lack of privacy. I could hear people on the first floor and other places in the dome (not quite sure where from), and it was obvious when people were walking by. I found myself speaking in a whisper because I felt there was no privacy. Obviously, if I could hear other people talking, they could help me. There were also no room keys.
The first night we were there, it rained quite a bit. The weather had cooled down and it was really chilly. I spent the whole evening feeling that “damp chill”, and it was a little unpleasant to have such a cold room. I wore a sweater to bed to stay warm enough.
The next day, after we went on a morning birding hike, we passed by the other buildings available to guests. After seeing them, I wanted to switch rooms, and the staff was more than happy to show us our room choices and get us moved.
The second night, we stayed in the “Trailhead House”, which is one of the newer structures made of brick and wood, and consists of several private rooms (I want to say four in a building). I was immediately much happier with this room, which was much more spacious and private. The floors were tile and the walls were brick (inside and out). Our room had a large balcony with chairs and a beautiful view, and we were provided with a room divider for covering up the sliding glass doors. We were also provided with a space heater, although it didn’t seem to have much power.
The bathroom was a decent size, although the bathroom door had a window in it (which doesn’t help with the privacy issue!). It was a little odd that the bathroom door has a big window in it!
Food
“We offer acclaimed gourmet food, emphasis on local trout, vegetarian and chicken.”
I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were preparing us a lunch as soon as we arrived. However, I am a vegetarian, so I was unable to enjoy the trout they serve often. Trout is a popular dish there, as there is a trout (en espanol, “trucha”) hatchery nearby. The rest of lunch was alright, although not particularly good.
I specified to the owner that I was a vegetarian after lunch, seeing as I hate to see food going to waste. He said that he would let the staff know that I was a vegetarian.
For dinner, I received another non-vegetarian meal. I was fine picking around the meat, but again, I was unhappy about wasting food. The food was pretty bad anyway. In general, I enjoyed the soups, but the rest of the food wasn’t very good. Some of it seemed stale (bread, crackers, etc.), or pre/re-cooked – for example, the chocolate mousse dessert had a skin on top and chocolate mix that had settled to the bottom, the rice seemed a bit dried out. The next day at dinner, the owner came in and realized I wasn’t getting vegetarian food, apologize for the inconvenience, and switched out my dinner with a vegetarian one.
Breakfast was a little better than the other meals, consisting of Muesli (pretty traditional in Ecuador), fruit juices, etc. They served guanabana (a local fruit) juice that had been frothed with milk, which was great.
Hot tea cost extra, which I surprised me. We had just come from the Black Sheep Inn for $30 a night and they had unlimited tea and water.
The website touts “gourmet food” and vegetarian food. I didn’t read this on the website until I got home, and I can’t say I agree with this “claim”.
Hummingbirds
The hummingbirds alone at Bellavista are amazing. There are hummingbird feeders placed all around the geodesic dome as well as on the path area leading up to it. There are just dozens and dozens of hummingbirds constantly buzzing around the feeders, chirping at one another. They seem fairly used to people and you can get pretty close. It is amazing to just stand there or sit on one of the benches and watch all the action.
Not only are there lots of hummingbirds, there are 16 different species at Bellavista. Some look like the kind you’d see in the Northeast US – green and brown. (There is actually only one species of hummingbird in the United States). Others were incredible colors, sizes, etc. My favorite was by far the booted racket-tails – bright blue hummingbirds with fluffy white “boots” and long, thin tail-feathers with little squarish tips on them.
You can also hike about a half-hour to a place that holds the record for hummingbird species. It is basically a home in the middle of the cloud forest, surrounded by hummingbird feeders. It was incredible just how many hummingbirds there were. They weren’t as used to people at the ones at the Bellavista lodge, but amazing nonetheless. There is fee of $5 per person when you arrive, which supports the cost of feeding the hummingbirds. We were told that they go through hundreds of pounds of sugar each year.
Activities
Most of the activities at Bellavista are related to bird-watching. We got a trail map shortly after arriving, and there are many choices of trails to go hiking on. You can rent a pair of binoculars for $10 a day. (I thought this was a little steep, and refused to rent one). The trails range in length and difficulty, as well as in focus. There were some that focused mostly on birding, while others involve other things, such as a waterfall.
There is not a whole lot of wildlife in this area, aside birds. The first morning we were there, we took a short hike to go birdwatching. The hike was very short, as you don’t have to go far to hear and see birds. We went with a guide and an older couple. On our hike, we saw a toucan, turquoise jay, toucan, and some other birds. We also saw a pygmy owl, which is a rare species – they only see those about once a year, and it was indeed a sight to see.
The second morning, we did another trail that focused on the natural history of the area. We went with a guide, although it is also designed as a self-guided, interpretive trail, with signs and information along the way. We saw various species of birds, plants, and insects.
There other activities available, such as horse-back riding or birding trips further out in the reserve.
Other Thoughts
There is no malaria in this area. And even with the rain, I didn’t notice any biting insects.
We didn’t find that we had problems with altitude sickness here. The elevation is a little lower than that of Quito, which is around 10,000’. We had, however, experienced some altitude sickness in Quito (which also has very bad pollution) and higher elevations.
Bring some warm clothes to Bellavista. The temperatures were fairly cool here, and I would guess most of the day was in the 60’s. Also be prepared for rain/mud, as it rained for one full day while we were there. It can also take a while for things to dry out.
If you’re into birding, you may want to bring bird guides and binoculars. My husband brought some of his better lenses, so he got some pretty good shots using the zoom. If you have a decent camera, be sure to bring have sufficient memory cards, because you can go through a lot of shots to get just the right photo.
You may want to bring some snacks to Bellavista. After hiking all day, and even after dinner, I was just dying for some candy or an energy bar. Of course, there are no vending machines or snacks available, so take this into consideration.
Overall
Bellavista Cloud Forest was a unique experience. I think the prices, although they included transportation and food, seemed a little high. I wasn’t a big fan of the lodging or meals, but it would be a great experience to at least just visit for the day. This was towards the end of our trip, so I did not feel much like participating in the activities offered, which generally involve getting up early (to see birds) and going hiking. The general amenities were nice, although I personally didn’t like the style of the geodesic dome rooms, and the food wasn’t very good.
I have lots of photos from Bellavista and my other travels through Ecuador, which I would be more than happy to share. Also drop me a line if you have any additional questions. E-mail me at EpinionsJavelina@hotmail.com, and please put something to the effect of "Ecuador" in the subject line so I don't miss your e-mail!
Bellavista Cloud Forest
Jorge Washington E7-23 y 6 de Diciembre, Quito-Ecuador. South America
Office Telefax: (593-2) 223-2313/290-3165.
Cellular: (593) (0) 99-490-891
Phone No. in the reserve: (593-2) 2116232 and (593-2) 2116047
Email: info@bellavistacloudforest.com
My other related reviews:
Galapagos Islands
Hotel Colon Guayaquil
Hotel Hilton Colon, Quito, Ecuador
Black Sheep Inn, Chugchilan, Ecuador
Hacienda San Agustin de Callo, Cotopaxi, Ecuador
Lindblad Expeditions (to the Galapagos)
TAME (the airline of Ecuador)
Coming soon: Guayaquil, Quito
Recommended:
Yes
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