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Home / Ecuador / Mashpi Reserve

Chocó rainforest · Ecuador

Mashpi Reserve

A private Chocó rainforest reserve of dazzling biodiversity — endemic birds, frogs and a famous canopy, deep in the western forest.

Getting there

~3.5 hr from Quito, in the Chocó rainforest north-west of Mindo

Best for

Chocó endemics, rainforest birding, frogs, canopy exploration, biodiversity, photography

The land

Pristine lower Chocó rainforest in a private reserve

Good to know

Mashpi protects a slice of the Chocó — one of the planet's most biodiverse and threatened forests

What it is

Mashpi is a private Chocó rainforest reserve of dazzling biodiversity — endemic birds, frogs and a famous canopy deep in the western forest.

In the lower Chocó rainforest north-west of Mindo, the private Mashpi Reserve protects one of the most biodiverse and threatened forests on earth. Its trails, canopy towers and aerial gondola reveal Chocó endemics, hummingbirds, tanagers, an extraordinary array of frogs and orchids — immersive lower-forest wildlife at close range.

PhotoMashpi Reserve — chocó rainforest.

The reason to come

The Chocó rainforest

Mashpi immerses you in the biodiversity of the lower Chocó.

Chocó endemics

Lower-forest birds found only in this bioregion.

The canopy

Towers and an aerial gondola through the treetops.

Frogs & orchids

An astonishing diversity of amphibians and plants.

Worth knowing

A Chocó stronghold

Mashpi protects one of the most biodiverse and threatened forests on earth, explored from canopy to floor.

PhotoThe Chocó rainforest canopy at Mashpi.

When to come — honestly

A year-round rainforest.

June – September

Best

Drier months — the best forest access.

Year-round

Good

A year-round rainforest reserve.

December – May

Good

Wetter and greener, superb for frogs.

A wet lower-Chocó rainforest — rain is frequent year-round.

Context

The private rainforest

Mashpi adds immersive lower-Chocó rainforest to the cloud-forest circuit.

It deepens an Ecuador birding and biodiversity trip.

We add Mashpi for the lower-Chocó rainforest, its canopy and its extraordinary biodiversity.

Beyond the obvious

More to Mashpi Reserve.

PhotoChocó birding

Chocó birding

Lower-forest endemics.

PhotoThe canopy

The canopy

Towers and gondola.

PhotoFrogs & orchids

Frogs & orchids

Rainforest biodiversity.

Why Wild Voyager

We string together cloud forest, Amazon and islands.

Ecuador packs cloud forest, Amazon and the Galápagos into a small country, but the logistics are fiddly. We handle the lodges, river canoes, flights and cruises so the pieces connect smoothly.