?Que Actividades?

The question arrived about the only way a message can be received out at the Lodge at Reserva Las Tangaras–by a WhatsApp text to +593 99 058 7084—and was short, direct and in Spanish: Que actividades tu tienes? 

As Anastasia and I arrive at the mid-point of our 6-month tenure as co-managers at RLT, it’s clear that the birds–and the conservation science mission and the protection of this unique piece of an equatorial neo-tropical montane forest—drive our enthusiasm for hosting visitors here at Las Tangaras. And, when the day’s work is done, the pure joy of just soaking in the natural beauty and fecundity of this forest seems like the thing to do.  So, when asked without formalities, “What Activities do you have?”, I will admit feeling sour for an initial moment.  “Activities?!?”, I thought to myself.  “As in floating for 5 minutes down a boulder-strewn river in a bramble of inner tubes?  Or harnessing-in and pedaling a “bike” [so “sustainable”!] along a zipline cable over the forest? If that’s what you’re after, cool, but that’s not us.”

But I quickly pulled myself back from the misplaced sarcasm: While it often feels that “adventure tourism” here in Mindo (such as roaring through forested roads on Quads rented by the hour; or whizzing along a sky-tram on a network of cables over the forest canopy) has overtaken this community’s well-earned reputation as a pioneer in locally-led, conservation-based, birding and eco-tourism (see in-depth article here), the question about what one might DO when visiting Las Tangaras Reserve was a sincere and genuine inquiry. And while it often feels to me as though the things to “do” in this particular 120-acre hotspot of global biodiversity are nearly limitless, let’s organize some of our favorite activities and things to do with visitors and volunteers, and have a little fun dreaming up some snappy labels for what you can do in a visit to this verdant and vibrant wonderland!

“Top 15 Activities @ Reserva Las Tangaras—the 2024 Unofficial List”

The Blockbuster Basics

#1 – Adventure to the Wild Side of the Nambillo River!

Reaching our remote Reserve, is an Activity in itself.  Call it walking, hiking or birdwatching, the Reserve is reached by a 2km nature trail that we share with our neighbor “Sendero de las Aves” (for their clients, this IS the Activity).  The 40-45 minute walk passes through several eco-types and the birding is good, so keep your binoculars at hand.  Reach out to us via WhatsApp, and we’ll send you some of our bird-list highlights and favorite vista points and big heritage trees to look out for while you hike in. Oh, and 2-minutes before you reach our Lodge, you cross over to the “Wild Side” of the Nambillo River on our jungle-ready suspension footbridge.  It’s exhilarating. Stay focused and don’t look down at the rushing water below!

#2 -See the Lekking of the Dawn!

Take a guided hike to see one of nature’s oddest displays of the macho-ego! The “lekking” of male Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock. A football-sized bird, with a fire-engine-red head shaped like you-know-what, the males posture, re-position, and thrust their caps at competitors in this age-old mating ritual, slurring and slinging raucous insults at each other (my interpretations, not necessarily those of our avian researchers). With about 20 of these guys going at it for over an hour…Things get violent, the ladies show up and copulations happen, and it goes down at dawn every day on the ridge above the Lodge, for at least the past 80 years.  Reserve your spot & see what all the commotion is about. Overnighting at our Lodge the night before is highly-recommended for this Activity, which sets out at 5:15am!

For those with an Appetite and Half-a-Day

#3 – Reserve your place on our Viewing Deck for our Breakfast and Hummingbirds Special

For early-risers…Arrive at the Lodge between 7am and 9am, and enjoy coffee, tea, and an American-style breakfast on our deck above the Nambillo River.  While enjoying the flavors from Anastasia’s kitchen, we’ll observe up to 15 species of hummingbirds and talk about RLT’s long-standing Choco-Andino Hummingbird monitoring project.  [check out the promo on our Instagram account.]

#4 – Join us for an afternoon Lek & Lunch– Although not as well-attended, nor as raucous as the Lekking of the Dawn (see #1 above), many of the males of our population of Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock do assemble for a “Late-afternoon Lek.”   We’ll enjoy a hearty lunch that Anastasia will serve up at 1:30pm on our deck above the Nambillo River.  After lunch, enjoy tea or coffee and an informal talk and Q&A about the Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock and our 15+ years of research here at RLT.  At 3pm, we’ll gather for a 30 minute uphill walk to the Lekking site.  We’ll all return to the Lodge by 5pm, which will allow guests to get back to the main road/Las Tongas Restaurant before 6pm and dusk.  More details and reservations on our Instagram page.

For those looking to “Connect with Nature” while in Mindo

#5 – Hike our Reserve’s “back-country” Trails.

We have over 20km of backcountry trails on our 50-hectare nature reserve, including secondary and primary forests from ~1250m to 1600m that adjoin the expansive Mindo-Nambillo Bosque Protector Reserve.  Trails can be rough, steep and sometimes slick with mud, but they take you to places you can’t find elsewhere in Mindo. Birds abound of course—Toucans, Motmots and Tanagers—but just immersing yourself in this unique equatorial rainforest –in all its botanical abundance in full florescence–is a most enjoyable activity in itself.

#6 – Track the mammals that are at home in Las Tangaras

Evidence of the cool cats and charmed Spectacled Bear can be found throughout the Reserve.  With our lightly used trails, and rain almost every night, this makes for places near the lodge where fresh animal tracks can be found most every morning.  Use our animal track reference guides, or ask us to show you places where tracks of Margay, Ocelot, Oncilla and—perhaps—Puma can be found.  You can also discover evidence of our bears (teeth marks on discarded bromeliad leaves), find footprints (and see) agoutis and Red Brocket Deer and the markings of armadillos rooting around in the sandy parts of our trails.  Or maybe you’ll look up and see a troupe of monkeys (3 species here), an anteater, a coati or the sleek Tayra, a large member of the weasel family. It’s wild fun out here!

#7  Do the Blue Morpho Dance

The shockingly large Blue Morpho butterfly –with its wildly geometricly “designed” under-wings and iridescent blue upper wings—is a regular visitor at our banana feeders.  If you wear the right shade of bright blue shirt (or borrow one from your hosts) and there’s a little sunshine, there’s a good chance the butterfly will ask you to dance.  Don’t be a wallflower…get out there and show us your flutter!

#8 Go “Orchid hunting” with your friends and discover stunning flowering plants

There are thousands of known orchid species in Ecuador, and a lot of them are here at RLT.  Walk our trails and make a “collection” (with photos only!).  Who can find the smallest orchid flower (size of a pin-head), or the plant producing the most flowers, or the most spectacular flower structure?  Getting tired of hunting orchids?  Do the same for the Bromeliads…or see who can count the number of distinctive epiphytic plants on a single tree (more than 20, or 50 or one hundred?!?).

For those inclined to enjoy Passive and Nocturnal Activities

#9 Do yoga.

We have an incredible yoga deck on the loft of the Lodge, with sounds the river below chanting the mantras.  Bring a yoga mat (we only have one!). There’s no guru to discover here, but we’ll lead you in some stretches, if desired.  Try to keep that tree-pose, while gazing into the forest canopy with hummingbirds buzzing your head!

#10 Watch the River Flow

After Yoga, head down to the Nambillo River to one of our “beaches” to meditate.  New to meditation?  This is a fine place to begin your practice: just find a patch of sand or a driftwood log to sit on, rest comfortably and pay attention to the flow of your breath.  Observe gently what happens around you, and within you. Repeat.  Yeah, wow, “connecting with nature”, right?!?

#11 Join the Band

We’ve got a guitar, ukulele and number of song books here at the Lodge.  Yes, pick up an instrument and learn a new song, or let’s just jam! 

#12 Learn the ultimate “birders” board game: Wingspan

From now until June…come learn how to play this somewhat complicated but super-fun game called “Wingspan”.  We have the base edition (North American birds) and the “Asian Birds” expansion pack…while we wait for them to create the “South American Birds” expansion pack.  Be forewarned though: Anastasia’s pretty serious about winning! This activity is best suited for an overnight stay.

#13. Read a book for fun, or prep for doing a Master’s Degree in neo-tropical ecology. 

We have an excellent little English-language library here.  Two shelves of novels for good old fashioned “book swapping” (this was a big thing last millennium, before the internet: travelers the world-over swapping out reading books at backpacker hostels).  Or, stay with us awhile and work through the volumes of books on tropical ecology, conservation planning, field research methods, and of course field guides to plants, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians and dozens of books on the birds of Ecuador.

#14. Take a night hike to see frogs, reptiles and nocturnal birds

If you’re serious about nocturnal reptiles and frogs, we recommend you contact our friends down the road at Ecuador Reptile Adventures—they bring their clients to our Reserve, because the frogs are better and more abundant on this roadless wild side of the Nambillo.  They are experts, but in a pinch we could lead overnight guests on some amateur “herping” when night falls here at the Reserve.  Maybe we’ll also see owls, or sleeping birds perched motionless in the trees.

#15. Get your groove on at the Sunday Fun-Day Dance party.

Those who enjoy Irie Island music know that most anywhere in the world, reggae fans gather on Sundays for music and dance…if they can find the local venue.  Here in 2024, Reserva Las Tangaras seems to be “the place” for Sunday Fun-Day in Mindo. (Who would have guessed?) With a live DJ and light show, join your RLT hosts and get your jungle groove going strong.  Don’t worry, we play all styles (eg. Roots reggae, Dancehall, Reggaetón, and Rock Steady…we’ll even play Ska and Dub Step upon request) so there’s a groove for everyone!  The party starts when you arrive on any Sunday from now ‘til June (the resident DJ’s contract ends mid-June, so catch this Activity while you can).

As you can see…we have Activities at Reserva Las Tangaras!  And we’ve observed that each of these activities seem to be appreciated (or ignored) by our feathered and four-legged residents…so come visit us before, after or instead of getting your adrenaline racing with Mindo’s popular “adventure” activities.  Send us a WhatsApp, and let’s figure out something awesome for you and your group to do out here at the Reserve!

~You co-hosts at RLT, Jason & Anastasia.