Chocolate and Cloudforest Self-Guided Motorcycle Tour

Ride out of Quito and within minutes the city begins to fall away behind you. The route climbs through the foothills of Pichincha Volcano before dropping into the farming village of Nono and onto the EcoRuta del Quinde — the Hummingbird Road — where dirt roads, mountain rivers, waterfalls and dense cloudforest carry you west toward Tandayapa and Mindo.

Along the way, you’ll ride through one of the most biologically rich regions on the planet, stop among hummingbirds in the cloudforest, descend into Mindo’s warm subtropical microclimate, and learn how Ecuador’s fine-aroma cacao is turned into some of the best chocolate in the world. The return to Quito takes you past the enormous Pululahua volcanic crater and the Intiñan Solar Museum on the Equator.

It is an extraordinary cross-section of Ecuador packed into a single day: Andes, dirt roads, cloudforest, wildlife, chocolate, volcanoes and the Equator — all within one ride from Quito.

Your ride begins at Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental headquarters in Quito, at roughly 9,350 feet / 2,850 meters in the Andes. Before you head out, one of our team members will fit you to your motorcycle and give you a thorough pre-ride briefing covering Ecuadorian traffic laws, local driving habits, road courtesies, motorcycle setup, changing road conditions, and the particular sections of today's route where you should pay closer attention.

We'll also walk you through your programmed Garmin GPS and Ecuador Freedom Road Book. The GPS handles the navigation while the Road Book gives you the useful stuff behind the line on the screen: information about the places you'll visit, worthwhile stops, restaurant suggestions, practical information, and some of the history and culture you'll encounter along the way.

You'll carry a local cell phone so you can call us whenever you need help or have a question, and our team will monitor your progress from the back office during the riding day.

Over Pichincha and Into Nono

From our shop, the route begins climbing through the foothills of Pichincha Volcano. Quito stretches out below you for a while, but the city does not hang around for long.

The road works its way over the western side of the mountain and the change happens remarkably quickly. Neighborhoods disappear. Traffic falls away. Green pastures, small farms, horses, cattle, streams and mountain valleys take their place.

Then you descend into Nono.

On a map, Nono looks almost close enough to be part of Quito. Standing in the village, that becomes difficult to believe. Small farms surround the town, traffic is light, horses are still part of everyday life, and the pace has very little in common with the capital sitting just over the mountain.

The physical distance from Quito is short. The cultural distance is considerably bigger.

The Hummingbird Road

Beyond Nono, you join the EcoRuta del Quinde — the Route of the Hummingbird — and one of our favorite motorcycle roads anywhere around Quito.

The pavement gives way to dirt as the road follows the western slopes of the Andes through farms, forest, river valleys and tiny settlements. Traffic becomes scarce enough that you may spend long stretches sharing the road with little more than horses, birds and the occasional farm truck.

This is also where the biology starts getting serious.

You are entering the Chocó Andino, where warm, moisture-filled air rising from Ecuador's tropical lowlands collides with the cooler western slopes of the Andes. Small differences in elevation create completely different habitats, helping this relatively compact region support an extraordinary concentration of birds, butterflies, amphibians, orchids, bromeliads and other species.

Hummingbirds really do flash across this road. Toucans live in these forests. Orchids and bromeliads hang from moss-covered trees, and mist can appear around one bend while the valley beyond the next is sitting in sunshine.

Guagrapamba Waterfall

One worthwhile stop along the route is Guagrapamba Waterfall, tucked into a steep forested valley not far from the road.

Cold mountain water drops through thick vegetation while streams and small rivers work their way down the mountains around you. This is your first real taste of the environmental change taking place as you descend from Quito's comparatively dry Andean basin toward the cloudforest.

Bring something you can swim in if jumping into cold mountain water strikes you as a reasonable way to spend part of the day.

Tandayapa and the Cloudforest

The road continues beside rivers and through increasingly dense vegetation toward the tiny hamlet of Tandayapa.

Serious birdwatchers, photographers, biologists and researchers come here from around the world because the western slopes of the Andes pack an extraordinary number of species into a remarkably small area. Different elevations create different habitats, and the combination of moisture, temperature and geography produces an almost ridiculous variety of wildlife.

Some of the photographers you'll see around here carry lenses that cost more than the motorcycle you're riding.

Fortunately, you don't have to know the name of every hummingbird to appreciate the place.

Bellavista Cloudforest Reserve

Your route passes Bellavista Cloudforest Reserve, established by our friend Richard Parsons in the 1990s after he recognized both the extraordinary biological importance of these forests and how easily they could disappear.

Bellavista has since become internationally known among birdwatchers, researchers, photographers and naturalists.

If Richard happens to be around, introduce yourself. He is basically a walking BBC documentary about birds. Ask him a question about something with feathers and there is a reasonable chance your quick stop is about to become an education.

Bellavista is also a good place to stop for something to eat while hummingbirds and tanagers work the feeders around you.

From Bellavista, the route continues deeper into the cloudforest before beginning its descent toward Mindo.

Water seems to come out of every part of the mountain here. Streams cut through the valleys, small waterfalls appear beside the road, and the vegetation gets thicker as the elevation drops.

The landscape changes faster than seems reasonable. Quito's cool, dry high-altitude environment is only a relatively short distance behind you, yet you are now riding through dripping vegetation, tropical plants and warm, moisture-heavy air.

Mindo

Eventually the forest opens and you descend into the broad green basin surrounding Mindo.

Mindo sits inside its own microclimate, and conditions here can be surprisingly different from what you experienced only a short distance away around Tandayapa and Bellavista.

Elevation, moisture, clouds and the surrounding mountains combine to create a warm, humid pocket famous for hummingbirds, toucans, butterflies, orchids, rivers, waterfalls, cacao and coffee.

The town itself is small and slightly eccentric, with cafés, restaurants, chocolate makers and outdoor activities scattered through the valley. Depending on how you want to spend your day, there are butterfly gardens, waterfalls, coffee tours, zip lines and plenty of places to stop for lunch.

Now for the Chocolate

Your Road Book directs you to a bean-to-bar chocolate tour, where you'll see what happens between a cacao pod growing on a tree and the chocolate bar most people only meet at the other end of the process.

You'll learn how cacao is harvested, fermented, dried, roasted, ground and transformed into chocolate — and why those steps matter so much.

Ecuador is famous for its fine-aroma cacao, and the combination of genetics, climate, soil, fermentation and careful processing can create flavors that bear surprisingly little resemblance to mass-produced chocolate.

There will also be tasting.

Education requires sacrifice.

The Ride Back Toward the Andes

After Mindo, you point the motorcycle back toward Quito. This time the route is paved, climbing through Nanegalito as the cloudforest gradually gives way to the cooler, higher terrain of the Andes.

It is a completely different ride from the dirt road that brought you into Mindo, which is part of what makes this loop work so well. You aren't simply retracing your route. You get a second look at the western Andes from another road and another elevation.

Pululahua Crater

Before returning to Quito, stop at the rim of Pululahua Crater, an enormous volcanic caldera immediately north of the city.

Look down from the rim and you'll see farms, homes, roads and cultivated fields spread across the crater floor. People actually live and farm inside the volcano.

It is another good demonstration of how Ecuador works: volcanic soil, steep mountains, agriculture squeezed into unlikely places, and communities adapting to whatever geography gives them.

Stand on the Equator

Your final major stop is the Intiñan Solar Museum, located directly on the Equator.

Intiñan is more hands-on than museum-under-glass. Exhibits explore Ecuador's geography and Indigenous cultures, along with the importance the movement of the sun and the Equator held for people living here long before modern surveying equipment arrived.

You'll also get the obligatory opportunity to stand with one boot in the Northern Hemisphere and the other in the Southern Hemisphere and try some of the demonstrations for which the museum has become famous.

A Lot of Ecuador for One Day

From Intiñan, it is a short ride back into Quito.

By the time you return to Ecuador Freedom, you will have climbed over the foothills of Pichincha, ridden dirt roads through Andean farm country, passed through Nono and Tandayapa, followed mountain rivers into the cloudforest, watched hummingbirds, descended into Mindo's subtropical microclimate, learned how Ecuadorian cacao becomes chocolate, looked down into an inhabited volcanic crater, and stood on the Equator.

All of that happens within one day's ride of our shop.

This self-guided motorcycle adventure starts at Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental's headquarters in Quito's La Carolina neighborhood, one of the city's safest and most convenient areas.

Before departure, you'll receive a detailed pre-ride briefing covering Ecuadorian traffic laws, local driving customs, road courtesies, weather, fuel, the route, road conditions, and anything in particular you should know about the day's ride.

The Motorcycle & Riding Gear

You'll receive the adventure motorcycle of your choice, prepared for the tour and equipped with waterproof luggage, a first-aid kit, tools, tire-repair equipment, and an optional tank bag.

Before departure, we'll review the motorcycle with you and make sure the controls, mirrors, luggage, and riding position are properly adjusted.

If you are traveling without all of your motorcycle equipment, we also have riding jackets, riding pants, boots, helmets, gloves, and other riding gear available for use, subject to availability and a cleaning fee.

GPS & Route Information

Your programmed Garmin GPS contains the complete route along with the locations of the important stops, restaurants, viewpoints, attractions, and other points of interest.

You'll also receive our daily route sheet, which provides the information the GPS can't: background on the places you're visiting, practical information, recommendations, and details about worthwhile stops along the way.

The GPS tells you where to go. The route sheet tells you what you're looking at and why you might want to stop.

The Route

The standard route is approximately 50% paved and 50% unpaved, but this is one of our most flexible self-guided routes.

If you prefer pavement, we can program a 100% paved version. Riders looking for considerably more dirt can choose a route that is approximately 80% unpaved.

Total riding time is approximately six hours, so the one-day version can be comfortably completed within a normal 24-hour motorcycle rental period while still allowing time for stops, lunch, the chocolate tour, photographs, and exploring along the way.

Support

You'll carry a local cell phone so you can contact us if you have a question or need assistance during the ride.

Our team also provides back-office monitoring while you are riding, and 24-hour Ecuador Freedom support is available throughout the tour.

You are riding independently, but you are not out there on your own.

Weather & Temperatures

This route crosses from Quito's high-altitude Andean climate into the much warmer and wetter cloudforest, so you should expect noticeable changes in temperature and conditions during the day.

The morning around Quito and the higher elevations can be cool, while temperatures become warmer and humidity increases as you descend toward Tandayapa and Mindo.

Rain is likely in the cloudforest, particularly later in the afternoon. It may be sunny in Quito while raining around Mindo, or the other way around. Conditions can change quickly as clouds move through the western slopes of the Andes.

We recommend bringing layers and waterproof riding gear. If you don't have suitable gear with you, ask us about the riding equipment we have available.

For more information, see our Weather in Ecuador Guide.

Optional Overnight Extension

If you want more time in Mindo, the tour can be extended to two days.

The extension includes an additional day of motorcycle rental, hotel accommodation, dinner, and breakfast, giving you the evening and following morning to enjoy Mindo before returning to Quito.

Packing & Preparation

For the one-day tour, you need very little beyond your riding gear, rain protection, and personal items for the day.

If you choose the overnight extension, a light change of clothes and basic toiletries are generally all you need.

See our Packing Guide for more information.

• Unlimited mileage motorcycle rental
• All highway tolls using our electronic toll-payment system
• Garmin zūmo GPS with the complete route and pre-programmed daily navigation
• Road Book withroute sheet, maps, points of interest, cultural background, and practical information
• Saddlebags or luggage system
• Local cell phone for communication with Ecuador Freedom
• Back-office monitoring during your riding days
• 24-hour Ecuador Freedom support
• Souvenir decal
• Luggage storage and locker use while riding
• VIP access to the Freedom Riders' Lounge™ with hot shower, jacuzzi, luggage storage, and honor bar

• 100% refundable motorcycle security deposit to cover any damage to the rental motorcycle
• Airfare to and from Ecuador
• Airport transfers before or after the tour
• Hotel accommodations in Quito before and after the tour
• Gasoline or diesel
• Meals not specifically listed as included
• Tours, activities, excursions, and entrance fees not specifically listed as included
• Souvenirs and personal purchases
• Alcoholic beverages
• Travel insurance – including trip cancellation, medical, and emergency evacuation coverage; strongly recommended
• Gratuities for Ecuador Freedom preparation staff who assist with your briefing, motorcycle preparation, departure, and return, at your discretion
• Gratuities for hotel staff, restaurant staff, local guides, and tour or activity providers

Good to know: Ecuadorian tour packages for qualifying non-resident international travelers are not subject to Ecuadorian VAT, so there is no additional Ecuadorian tour tax added to the advertised package price.

Want to spend more time exploring Ecuador? You can extend the Andes Twist with any of the options below. Each extension has a fixed add-on price that includes the additional motorcycle rental days along with the accommodations, meals, activities, and other items indicated in the individual extension description.

The extension price is the same regardless of which motorcycle you choose, which can make these additions especially attractive if you are riding one of our higher-priced motorcycles.

You do not need to decide on an extension before you begin the booking process. During online booking, you can review the available extensions, select the ones you want to add, and see your updated total price before completing your reservation.

Book your self-guided Chocolate and Cloudforest Tour online in just a few steps.

You can book this tour solo or with a group of friends, and self-guided departures are available throughout the year, subject to motorcycle or 4x4 availability.

Our reservation system provides up-to-date availability and pricing. Simply enter your preferred date, select your motorcycle or 4x4, and choose any available tour extension you would like to add. The system will calculate the exact price of your tour based on your selections.

You can also turn the tour into a two-day adventure by adding the Séptimo Paraíso extension listed on this page. The extension includes an additional day of vehicle rental, hotel accommodation, dinner, and breakfast. If you are bringing a passenger, please let us know while booking. An additional passenger charge applies for the overnight extension and must be paid before departure.

We can also customize the Chocolate and Cloudforest Tour if you would like to add extra days, combine it with other destinations, or create a more personalized route. Contact us and we can discuss the possibilities with you.

Our booking system asks for an identification number as part of the reservation process. You may use your passport number, driver’s license number, national ID number, or another government-issued identification number.

If you prefer not to enter that information online, or if you have any difficulty completing the payment, just contact us. We can take your credit card information over the phone and process the payment for you.

You may also select the “Request PayPal Invoice” option at checkout. We will send you a PayPal invoice that can be paid with any major credit card. No PayPal account is required.

If you prefer to pay by bank transfer, we can provide our banking instructions upon request.

If you have any questions, need help configuring a booking for several riders or passengers, or would like to discuss a customized version of the tour, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or click the chat button below.