Bed, breakfast and chocolate in a visa-free paradise called Ecuador

Mindo has carved out a unique niche for itself in the developing world: a tourism hub where long-term goals of environmental conservation have taken precedence over the temptation of overexploitation

Half a world away from India, Ecuador is surprisingly accessible. It’s just a flight away from hubs such as Miami in the US or Amsterdam in Europe, and is visa-free for Indian nationals. In recent years, the country has reaped a tourist windfall owing to its relative economic and political stability. It also helps that Ecuador is stunningly beautiful. Most tourists head to Quito, the capital city, or to the Galápagos Islands, legendary inspiration for Charles Darwin. But there is so much more to see. Take, for example, the town of Mindo, home to a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in an Andean cloud forest.

Ecuador is likely the birthplace of chocolate: evidence points to cacao being first cultivated here several thousand years ago. Today, hillsides west of Mindo produce some of the most prized variants of cacao, making the town a prime destination on an emerging chocolate tourism trail.

Mindo’s town square

Mindo is less than a three-hour drive from Quito, yet the geographical difference is striking. Following the meridian of the equator, the highway linking Quito to the Pacific Coast climbs above the arid, peak-rimmed highlands north of the capital and, then, from a height of nearly 3,000 metres, plunges into a dense cloud forest. Persistent downpours paint Mindo’s landscape in vibrant shades of green, interspersed here and there with waterfalls. The cool, moist air is thick with the sound of tropical birdsong, fast-moving rivers and distant peals of thunder.

Near the town square, a heady aroma of chocolate wafts out from El Quetzal de Mindo. Originally established in 2008 as a humble internet café by an American-Ecuadorian couple, Barbara Wilson and Jose Meza, El Quetzal has morphed into a small-scale chocolate factory with a bed-and-breakfast. 

A “dracula” orchid

Here, guests are promised the quintessential chocolate experience — they can begin their day with a steaming cup of hot chocolate and end it sipping a chocolate martini. An attached restaurant serves up all manner of chocolate-themed fare: tea from cacao pod shells, pungent cacao juice, salads drizzled in cacao vinaigrette and chicken marinated in a cacao barbeque sauce. Most of the ingredients used in these dishes are sourced from an organic garden abutting the restaurant.

The biggest draw, however, is the tour of El Quetzal’s chocolate factory. “Our goal is to demystify the process of chocolate making,” says Wilson. Armed with a degree in public health, she frequently conducts sessions on the therapeutic effects of dark chocolate. “Research suggests that chocolate with over 70 per cent cocoa has tangible health benefits for patients with cardiovascular and neurological disorders,” she explains.

A chocolate bar from Mindo

A college student from Seattle, who was interning at the factory, takes us on a walk through the facility. Inside a humid greenhouse, workers crack open and disassemble mounds of cacao pods. The pods contain a white, fleshy fruit that tastes similar to litchis, but this fruit is cast aside in favour of the seeds. Herein lie the prized sources: cacao nibs. Chalky, bitter-tasting nibs are yielded after a complicated process of drying and fermentation inside banana leaves. This process is so intensive that a vat of fermenting cacao pods is surprisingly hot to the touch.

There is an unexpected Indian link to the chocolate. After much testing and tinkering, small-batch chocolate makers like El Quetzal realised that the best machines for producing chocolate were Indian spice grinders, which yielded a smooth, creamy product after two or three days of continuous processing. Wilson and Meza have imported numerous spice grinders from India and distributed them to cacao farmers across Ecuador. Many of these farmers have since become independent chocolate makers. 

But Mindo is much more than just a paradise for chocolate aficionados — its valleys and hillsides teem with astounding biodiversity. This small town has helped Ecuador earn the moniker of orchid capital of the world. Cabañas Armonía, an estate in Mindo, showcases many of these vibrant flowers, including a carnivorous plant called “dracula” and orchids so tiny that we were given a magnifying glass with which to view them. Not far away, clouds of butterflies, displaying a vivid colour palette, flutter about at Mariposas de Mindo, a butterfly farm that conserves these winged creatures. Birdwatchers also flock to the region in great numbers. The Audubon Society has tallied at least 400 bird species in the region, one of the highest globally.

How has Mindo conserved its ecology while avoiding the pitfalls of tourism-related overdevelopment? During our time in the town, we sensed that environmental consciousness is deeply rooted in its residents. “Mindo is taking the high road,” Wilson remarks, “It is trying to promote tourism that is good for the environment as well as for the people who live here. Local businesses and residents have come together at a grassroots level to chalk out an ecotourism model for the town.” In fact, environmental issues weigh heavily on the minds of voters in this region during elections. This has often nudged national leaders towards taking pro-environmental positions.

Mindo has thus carved out a unique niche for itself in the developing world: a tourism hub where long-term goals of environmental conservation have taken precedence over the temptation of overexploitation. Although half a world away from India, valuable lessons in sustainable ecotourism can be gleaned from this Andean chocolate paradise.