El Pahuma Orchid Reserve — Attraction in Nono

We visited the Pahuma reserve at the beginning of October, which is considered a relatively low season for wild orchids. Even though, we were pleasantly surprised to find (though not easily) 4 different species of orchids in the wild! 😍 We spotted many other beautiful and impressive plants and flowers, at least 4 frogs, and tons of butterflies! We were also absolutely transfixed by the hummingbirds! We believe we saw between 3 to 5 different species. We totally recommend visiting the Pahuma reserve and supporting these great people that chose to conserve the jungle in their private land and make a beautiful natural reserve open to the public out of it.

How we got there - We took the public transport (colectivo) bus from Mindo to Quito, (the full trip costs 3.6$) and checked the schedule for the day at the station in advance. After around 65-70 mins the driver stopped at Pahuma, (it cost us 2.25$ per person) we got off, spent some time there, and then caught a later bus according to the schedule we checked. It stopped for us, we got on, paid an extra 1.75$ per person, and continued with it all the way up until Quito's northern central station.

Regarding the wild orchids - There are some orchids grown in pots near the entrance, and near the cabin at the beginning of the trail. They are beautiful, but we came primarily for orchids in the wild. As I said, we were positively surprised by the 4 species we found! Even though, we only found them after walking very slowly, and searching carefully and attentively. I believe that on a higher season (April, May, etc.) it would've been much easier. If you're not arriving in the high season - make sure you're ready to search...

La reserva se encuentra a un lado de la carretera. Si gustas de una caminata rápida, es la opción ideal. La reserva cuenta con una zona de parqueo y los encargados te cuidan el carrito :) A penas entras a la reserva te encuentras con una variedad increíble de animales (si tienes buen ojo). Las cascadas están cerca unas a otras, por tanto no es un viaje largo; exagerando son 30 minutos de caminata para lograr ver todas las cascadas. Yo recomendaría que lleven, a parte de unos zapatos cómodos de caminata (impermeables), una segunda parada de ropa o en todo caso, terno de baño, ya que es irresistible no querer meterse en el agua. Además, recomiendo llevar repelente ya que hay muchos mosquitos. Una de las cosas que deben estar pendientes es la señalización del sendero, si bien algunas rutas mantienen está norma, otras no, y por tanto es confuso caminar por el lugar, para evitar perder tiempo buscando el camino ideal, deben hablar con el personal adecuado. Creo también que es prudente mencionar que no hay lugares de venta de comida cerca, por lo que también recomiendo llevar su propio refrigerio ( obviamente deben llevarse su propia basura). Y para los que disfrutan ir de paseo con sus mascotas, pues les comento que la reserva es petfriendly, eso sí, deben mantenerla con el collar y obviamente hacerse cargo de los desechos...

Incredible place. Bring your loved ones, take in the mountain air, walk the trails and reconnect with what's important. Marixa and Rene Lima are very kind and helpful with parking and entering the reserve. There's a restaurant, cabins for camping, waterfalls, look out points, switchbacks, biodiversity that's unmatched. Highly recommended. Was able to observe and photograph Capsicum...