Mission
Cinto Cloud Forest is matchless because of the beauty of the Forest. Our mission is to provide a rejuvenating experience in this cloud forest. We are also working to help protect the forest through consistent sustainable environmental and cultural practices. This entails educational outreach efforts of our Mindo cultural region to our online and onsite visitors. We are proud to have stayed small, cozy and personal.
Cinto Cloud Forest is operated solely by Mindo region families who are all linked together by farming cooperatives and common objectives.
Welcoming You
Cinto Cloud Forest welcomes all, families, partners, couples, friends, researchers, student groups, ecologically focused travelers and backpackers. It is our hope that with more visits to this wonderful ecosystem we will be able to further promote knowledge and conservation of this area. All our lodgings although modest, are comfortable, natural and thoroughly relaxing.
The Lodgings
The main house is where most of our visitors stay. We also have more rustic lodging; a simply delightful rock lodge on the Cinto River.
The Main House
The main house is a natural and spacious two-story hard wooden home. Our bamboo and guava branch decors are used for supports and natural aesthetics. The 2,100 square foot house contains:
* An open kitchen
with a dining
area.
* Large
living
room areas
in each
of the
floors
* Medium/large
bedrooms
* Long
balconies
with hammocks
* An orchid
and flower
garden
and park
* An entertainment
gazebo
Our potable water comes from a natural undisturbed mineral-rich spring located on the property. The architecture of the house has been designed to flow naturally with the surrounding environment. It is open throughout both floors so that the gentle breezes keep the interior dry and cool. Feng Shui philosophy and elements have been implemented when building the home. Local and natural materials have been used in its construction to keep with our sustainability efforts. These building materials include local hard woods (structural, walls, doors), bamboo (aesthetics throughout), guadua (kitchen ceiling) and guava branches (rails for balconies). Everything in the property has been built and hand-made by our caretaker Efrain and several other families from Mindo, including the cabinets, tables, chairs and beds.
The Gazebo dwell (Guadua and palm thatch)
Adjacent to the house we have the bar/social area gazebo that is open to the environment and built entirely with material from the property, including guadua (a harder, thicker and larger bamboo) columns and beams and kade (palm thatch) for the roof.
Greenhouse, orchid, flower and herbal garden
An herbal and spices greenhouse, an orchid and flower garden, and the caretaker’s cabaña are situated near the house. Orchids and local flowers abound throughout the ½ hectare dwelling area.
Meals
There is very little that we need from the Town of Mindo. Our diet is highly nutritional, organic, and fresh. We have tomatoes, greens, herbs and spices for our salads, as well as a great variety of fruits for juices and snacks.
Crops
About 2 hectares are being used for organic production of maracuya and tomate de arbol, two popular fruit varieties; and sugar cane. Some of the other crops throughout the property for year-round consumption are bananas, plantains, lemons, tangerine, oranges, papaya, guava, sugar cane, avocado, bamboo, guadua and kade (for roof palm thatch), as well as yucca, peanuts and blackberry bushes scattered throughout and near the main house, and property in general.