​Reserva Las Gralarias is located in the middle of the world, along the equator in South America, on the western Pacific slope of the northern Andes mountains, in the Chocó biogeographic region, in the parish of Mindo, Ecuador.
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Las Gralarias is a 1500-acre wildlife sanctuary, protecting cloud forest, rivers, creeks, watersheds, and home to hundreds of species of birds and other animals, orchids, bromeliads, ferns, ancient trees.

Since our founding 26 years ago in 1998 our goal has always been nature conservation. We have pioneered and documented the regeneration process to successfully recuperate native montane cloud forest from 60-year old cow pasture.

​Ecotourism, the Las Gralarias Foundation and our wonderful donors support our conservation activities.  Join us!
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​    We invite you to visit and explore this magical place.
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                                                     Reserva Las Gralarias                     Mindo, Ecuador 
                                                             http://​www.reservalasgralarias.org

**Located in the middle of the Choco-Andean Bioregion, one of the most biodiverse
​endemic regions in the world**
Click on the links for recent reserve activities. 
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2024:  "Featured Creatures" -  a bimonthly article about what is going on at Reserva Las Gralarias
2024:
​  2023:  
2022:
chirp_jan_2022.pdf        chirp_feb_2022.docx      chirp_march_2022_article.pdf         hum_may_2022_rlg_glassfrogsff.pdf      chirp_article_july_2022.pdf       chirp_sept_2022_articlef.pdf
​2021:
                  potoo_art_for_chirp_fmay_2021.pdf      hum_spring_summer2021_wisps_article_on_orchids_i.pdf
wisps_from_the_cloud_forest_hum_nov_2021.pdf

​HISTORY  OF  RESERVA  LAS  GRALARIAS​

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 ​​​Reserva Las Gralarias (RLG) was launched in 1998 with the purchase of a small farm of 7.5 hectares (19 acres).  On a brief birding trip to this area birders had found a number of uncommon and some rare bird species endemic to the Chocó biogeographic zone which is considered one of the world´s most important endemic bird areas.  Such species included Moustached Antpitta and Orange-breasted Fruiteater, both species very poorly known at that time and still considered very rare in this area.  The reserve continues to harbor these and many other rare species thanks to the ongoing conservation activities and additional lands purchased by by the current owner with the help of conservation-minded donors and birders and with the ongoing work and support of the Las Gralarias Foundation, Inc.  Thanks to large donations from the USA-based Gulf Coast Bird Observatory as well as stock, matching grants, life estates and cash donations from many wonderful donors, the reserve has grown from its initial 18.75 acres to encompass some 1500 acres of cloud forest habitat stretching across the equator and ranging from 1750-2400 m elevation (appr. 5800-8000 feet).  Our ongoing efforts to protect the Santa Rosa River watershed and its beautiful cloud forest habitat still need additional funding for at least 700 acres/280 hectares of additional adjacent land purchases.
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With its twenty-five years of pioneering work in regenerating native cloud forest,  Reserva Las Gralarias now protects the headwaters and watersheds of four important water systems which serve as the source of clean free-flowing water for native wildlife, including mammals such as monkeys and bears, 380+ species of birds and numerous endangered and restricted-range frog species.  Our water within RLG eventually flows downslope to provide water for local communities.  The reserve is made up of eight different parcels of land purchased since 1998 and is located along the equator at 00°00´33"S latitude and 78°44´15" W longitude, within the parish of Mindo, the counties of San Miguel de Los Bancos and Nanegalito, and the Province of Pichincha, two hours by the main highway, northwest of Quito, Ecuador.   
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'Las Gralarias' is the Spanish term for the genus of ground antbirds Grallaria, of which there are five species confirmed as residents on the reserve:  Giant Antpitta, Scaled Antpitta, Moustached Antpitta, Chestnut-crowned Antpitta and Yellow-breasted Antpitta.

This private reserve stretches along the mid-elevation foothills of the western Andes Mountains and its habitat type is known as 'cloud forest'.  It receives an annual rainfall of 2000-3000 mm (72-108 inches) and has an average temperature between 18-22.8°C (appr. 50-75°F).   The vegetation within the reserve includes primary and secondary forest as well as open woodland, grassy and revegetating zones, and gallery forest.  The reserve has 12 km (7 miles) of birdy, well-marked, uncrowded trails to hike, ranging from easy to difficult, as well as three very active hummingbird feeding stations.

Reserva Las Gralarias is home to a variety of rare and endangered plants, frogs, birds and mammals.  In  July 2024 an endangered juvenile Black-and-chestnut Eagle was seen and photographed perched above our main patio, and in May 2024 a Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle was also photographed perched in a tree near our guest house.  Over the summer of 2024 we documented ten species of raptors seen or heard near our guest houses.  In December 2005 and January 2006, an immature male Black-breasted Puffleg was photographed at the reserve, near the guest house, where it fed mostly on fuchsia flowers. This is the lowest altitudinal record confirmed for this critically endangered hummingbird species.  We have also had regular sightings of the very range-restricted Chocó endemic hummingbird Hoary Puffleg, including in 2010 a nest and nestling along Canyon´s Trail and several individuals regularly visiting our feeders.  From November 2007 through January 2024 we have had various sightings, photos, videos and trailcam photos of South America's only bear species, the threatened Spectacled Bear, near the guest houses and along our trails.  We have good photos and several sightings of a troop of the critically endangered Ecuadorian White-fronted Capuchin monkey and have had several sightings, a photograph in December 2018 and a video in June 2003 of the newly discovered Olinguito near the guest houses and along Guan Gulch Tail.  The unique Shape-shifting Rain Frog was discovered at, described from and is regularly seen near our guest houses.  Numerous other rare and range-restricted species are regularly recorded on the reserve and a number of species new to science have been discovered at and named for Reserva Las Gralarias including the Las Gralarias Glassfrog and the Las Gralarias Rain Frog.

In 2001 a preliminary vegetation survey was conducted by a team of botanists from Ecuador´s National Herbarium. Species targeted for collection were those species of plants considered to be of importance to birds or special for some other reason. Of the 82 species of 32 families collected, 11 species found are endemic to Ecuador, with 1 species considered critically endangered, 1 species endangered, 3 species considered near-threatened, and 5 species considered vulnerable. With this information we have been able to better plan our trail system in order to avoid disturbing rare species as well as to cultivate those species of plants and trees of particular significance to birds and to conservation in general. A copy of the plant survey (in Spanish only) is available for reading for anyone interested.  In 2012 Peruvian botanist Wilson Ramirez found a tree species on the reserve that had been considered extinct. And in 2018 botanists studied hummingbird-plant interactions with some very interesting data collected. The project was continued in 2019 both as a stand-alone research project and also as part of an individual’s Ph.D. dissertation field research.
 
Beginning in 2005 frog experts have conducted a series of regular surveys throughout the reserve.  The results have been amazing: eleven species of endangered amphibians are now known to live at Las Gralarias, including 3 species of glass frog that are considered critically endangered and are currently known only from Las Gralarias.  In addition, some 6-7 species of frog that may be new to science have recently been found on the reserve.  Thanks to a multi-year grant received in January 2012 from the "Save Our Species" program of the IUCN-World Bank-Global Environment Facility, researchers from the Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica in Quito studied our amphibian populations.  In 2018 the new Pristimantis gralarias was formally described and in 2019 we hosted university student researchers from University of California Berkeley, Ohio Northern University and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
 
​We have been fortunate over the years to have hosted writers and photographers from National Geographic magazine and the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), as well as authors, photographers, researchers, birders, tourists and volunteers from around the world, in fact, from 39 countries.  We have received international grants for our efforts, and we deeply appreciate all of this help as well as the many individual donors, volunteers, friends, staff and our amazing Board of Directors and Publications Team for all the support they have provided for more than twenty years.
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The continued goal of Reserva Las Gralarias is to conserve the natural habitat found within the reserve, to regenerate disturbed areas with native species, and to purchase additional adjacent properties to form habitat connections along the waterways and forests both upslope and downslope as possible.  We support conservation-oriented field research as well as local environmental education projects.  For more details, see the section on Projects.  
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We will be more than happy to talk with anyone interested in donating to this cause or who would like more information. Donors can also contact the Las Gralarias Foundation, Inc., a U.S.A. 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organization.

                           TOURS
​For birding tours throughout Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Chile we work with the tour company Mindo Bird Tours/Ecuador Bird Tours, a legally constituted Ecuadorian tour  company based in Quito, Ecuador and operated successfully throughout South America since 1999.  We can arrange any kind of birding tour you would like as well as photography tours, general nature tours, culture tours, tours to the Galapagos and the Amazon, and day tours near Quito.
 
​ Check out our tour options at  http://www.mindobirdtours.com