Ecuador: Pahuma Orchid Reserve
If you drive 2 hours northwest from Quito, you cross the Cordillera range and end up on the wet western slopes of Pichincha volcano in the spectacular cloud forest. Still at 6k feet, it’s perpetually in the clouds. It’s cool and very moist and it’s ideal for hundreds of orchid species. Just a short 1 hour hike yielded over 20 species of orchids, some showy and spectacular, some tiny and almost unnoticeable.
