El Monte Lodge

El Monte Lodge has six individual thatched cabañas and a natural swimming pool filled from the fast-flowing river that borders the property. The main house includes the kitchen and dining area, a game area, a bar, plus two open “fogatas” or fire pits. The majority of the house is open air, with expansive views of the garden and surrounding forest. Meals are mostly vegetarian, created from locally-grown organic vegetables.

To enter the lodge, you cross the river by “tarabita,” a hand-pulled cable car that is large enough for two people to cross at a time. (Your luggage will be pulled across separately.) The cable car gives the lodge a sense of privacy from the outside world, while also providing access to the lodge and the buffer zone to the Mindo-Nambillo Protected Reserve.