San Jorge de Milpe Eco-Lodge Orchid & Bird Reserve
San Jorge de Milpe Private Reserve, Mindo Ecuador
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#4 of 16 hotels in Mindo
Location
4.9
Cleanliness
4.8
Service
4.9
Value
4.8
GreenLeaders Platinum level
San Jorge de Milpe Orchid & Bird Reserve has 2 Eco-Lodges on 260 acres of prime birding property (Upper Tropical Rainforest). Spectacular scenery, pristine trails, rivers, 11 waterfalls, 450+ species of tropical birds, mammals, hundreds of butterflies, wild orchids, a wide array of tropical flora and fauna & swimming at the cascading waterfalls. NEW Forest Eco-Lodge has 8 spacious rustic bungalow Rooms, Views, Private Balcony, queen beds & private bath. See birds from your spacious room, dine in our open air restaurant surrounded by feeders, bar, 45' high covered observation Towers, hummingbird, tanager & toucan feeders. Cliff Eco-Lodge is on the opposite end of the reserve with 8 double rooms, twin beds, private bath & observatory deck outside your door. Dine at our open air restaurants in a beautiful rain forest ambiance offering superb photography options. Both lodges offer the ideal retreat for birdwatchers, photographers and nature lovers alike. San Jorge owns 7 private reserves & 6 Eco-Lodges throughout Ecuador. We are also known as The Magic Birding & Photography Circuit of Ecuador.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Internet
Bar / lounge
Hiking
Children Activities (Kid / Family Friendly)
Car hire
Meeting rooms
Laundry service
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Outdoor dining area
Wine / champagne
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Private balcony
Private bathrooms
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Walk-in shower
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Non-smoking rooms
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HOTEL STYLE
Family
Quaint
Languages Spoken
Spanish
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San Jorge de Milpe Private Reserve, Mindo Ecuador
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Fantastic time birding ... great guides ... great accommodations ... great food! Three friends had birded together ... saw lots of new birds and walked a lot of well-maintained trails. This lodge is situated in a unique location which helps in finding bird species not found at other places.
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Date of stay: November 2022
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The location is like being in the Garden of Eden! The accommodations and food were superb! Dr. George did his very best to accommodate everyone! Birds are abundant and many come directly to the bananas put out for them which makes picture taking a true breeze!
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Date of stay: December 2022Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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As was the case with the other lodges we visited, the rooms at Milpe were spacious, clean, and had excellent views of the forest. On our first night we were serenaded by both Mottled and Crested owls and numerous species of frog. The food was great, and the hummingbird feeders, two of which we could see from our table, were especially active. We spent two nights in the main lodge and one at the cliff lodge. The latter had a moth blind that was especially productive. Our first day yielded 88 species, which we saw from the lodge's balcony, on from forest trails, or from the road leading into the property. The local guide, Jordan--again a protégé of our tour leader, George Cruz--was very capable and knowledgeable. I've said little so far about George himself: he has an encyclopedic knowledge of birds and plants and the natural history of Ecuador in general and is considerate, jovial, pleasant company, and a good conversationalist--the ideal guide.…
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Date of stay: November 2022Trip type: Traveled with friends
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We spent two nights here at the end of a truly fantastic birding holiday. One full day was spent relaxing and Milpe is a great place to do it with very well put together rooms, complete with balconies and hammocks. When you want to head out on the trails these are easily accessible (we did the waterfall trail which was fun - in hindsight we should also have looked at some of the other trails at the top end of the property and would encourage people to do this, they are a bit more open and easier to spot things). We saw a good variety of birds, and know that there are more to come back for that we didn't see. I recommend this lodge as a great place to stay.
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Date of stay: October 2022
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San Jorge Milpe lodge is one of several luxury ecolodges offered by this company. N American bookings are efficiently managed through their USA office which provides comprehensive information on what to expect and advice on clothing, insect repellants etc. The lodge has huge spacious, clean, well-appointed private suites with large balconies overlooking rain forest features numerous species of trees laden with epiphytes - bromeliads, orchids, etc. En-suite bathrooms are clean, large and hot water is plentiful. Food was unexpectedly good featuring local fruits, vegetables and fish - all presented beautifully by friendly well-trained staff. The morning fruit plate was the first of many photographic non-avian opportunities followed by scenic views of the forest from the balconies! Birds, many concentrated around the feeders (nectar, fruit and insect) are numerous in number and diversity, ideal for photography. Hikes led by knowledgeable guides through the forest on well-maintained safe trails afford encounters with more elusive and rarer species, but these walks are not recommended for the infirm or physically-challenged guests. Here, I saw 4 different species of trogon including the rare black-throated trogon (male and female). This lodge is highly recommended for all nature lovers as an extension beyond the Tandayapa lodge as it offers a different ecosystem increasing the diversity of birds plants. …
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Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Traveled solo
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Room Tip: Bring plenty of storage cards for your cameras!
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1 Helpful vote
Helpful
We stayed at the San Jorge Milpe Cliff (1 night) and Forest (2 nights) Lodges as part of the Magic Birding Circuit tour. These are beautufully-constructed and furnished properties. Every room is clean and comfortable with large windows and breathtaking views of the rainforest. Food is excellently prepared and presented...service is impeccable. Birding can be as easy as observing at the numerous feeders near the verandas or around the gardens and grounds, or you can get out on the trails for more exercise and a greater variety of birds. We saw numerous species of hummingbirds and tanagers around the lodge, and had an excellent day out on the trails with our guide, Jordan Lara. He showed us many amazing birds, including tanagers, woodcreepers, becards, parrots, trogans and mot-mots. Dr. Cruz's newest properties are at Guacamayos and Sumaco Bajo. The lodge at Guacamayos was just newly-completed and we were the first guests. Our guest room was spacious and comfortable, with huge windows. This lodge is currently solar-powered only with a back-up generator for charging small devices. The views from the restaurant and the veranda were so incredible, we decided to take a day of rest and totally immerse ourselves in the exquisite beauty of the tropical cloud forest laid out before us. We spent the entire time on the veranda, watching the ever-changing landscape as clouds and sun alternated on the ridges and in the valleys, culminating in a raucous thunderstorm followed by a brilliant sunset. We did get out on the trails on our second day at this site and saw our 2nd highest single-day count of species (65) including 14 species of tanagers! Sumaco Bajo is currently under construction with an expected completion date of December, 2022. The property is beautifully-appointed, with a small lake and island with an observation tower. When finished, it will be an amazing addition to the San Jorge properties. Not far from the lodge site Dr. George has built an incredible 60 foot observation tower, which affords a full 360-degree view of the forest canopy. Here we were able to spot and observe the larger birds...orapendulas, parrots, aracaris, trogans, caracaras, guans, toucans, falcons and hawks. The Manakin Lek at Sumaco Bajo is a challenging walk due to the trails not being completed, but was worth the effort for the 5 of a possible 8 manakin species we were able to find and enjoy. When these last two properties are fully completed, they will be every bit as welcoming and enjoyable as the rest of the San Jorge lodges.…
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Date of stay: September 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
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1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Fantastic room, food and birding! The observation tower affords some great sightings -- my first photo capture of the Collared Trogan. He posed at length for our group. We took home great memories from our great hikes with Dr. George Cruz. A big thank you to our trip organizer and International Sales Director for the Magic Birding Circuit, Cheryl Korowotny.
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Date of stay: March 2022
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Helpful
While we didn’t want to leave the San Jorge de Tandayapa Lodge, little did we know that we were in for an even more spectacular visit to the San Jorge Milpe Cloud and Forest Lodges. Accompanied by the amazing and tireless Dr. George Cruz, owner and founder of all the San Jorge Lodges, this was truly the experience of a lifetime. Our accommodations at both of these lodges featured spectacular views of the rain forest. While the Cliff Lodge is more rustic, due to its incredibly remote cliffside location, we felt as if we were on the edge of the earth in all its glory. We napped in the hammocks overlooking the valley, feasted on more of the beautiful Ecuadorian cuisine we had already been treated to at the other lodges, and spent hours just watching the Hummingbirds in amazement. We then walked through the rainforest to the Milpe Forest Lodge, perhaps the most luxurious of all Dr. Cruz’ lodges. Our room was spacious, spotlessly clean (no small feat given that we were in the heart of the rainforest with plenty of mud), private and with gorgeous views. We saw the most amazing birds at the feeders, the viewing/dining area has 3 levels and cleverly situated feeders where we saw a wealth of Hummingbirds, Tanagers, Purple and Green Honeycreepers, Toucans, Aracari and Toucanets I watched a mother Green Honeycreeper feeding her baby at the feeder! Dr. Cruz, as always, led us on spectacular walks through the forest, and enthusiastically pointed out and identified birds that we would never have seen — he patiently made sure that we saw every bird. We were also accompanied by Jordan, who is training to be a guide, and Jordan was also amazingly helpful and enthusiastic. In all, Dr. Cruz helped us to see 225 new species of birds during our week with him in Ecuador! Every step of the way, from planning the trip with the excellent help of Cheryl (longtime partner of Dr. Cruz based in Connecticut), to our arrival in Quito where we immediately felt safe and cared for, to our wonderful birding adventures with the knowledgeable Dr. Cruz, a birding wizard and font of knowledge of all flora and fauna, to the delicious, fresh local Ecuadorian meals prepared by Marcelita and George’s wife Irina (I savored every bite of every meal!), this was truly the trip of a lifetime! We can’t wait to return, to visit the new San Jorges lodge in the Amazon that is near completion.…
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Date of stay: March 2022
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Room Tip: We chose the upgraded room with two queen beds, huge with beautiful views, deck and hammocks.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Little did we know when Cheryl was booking us into these different San Jorge Eco Lodges that we were going to really experience a true rain forest experience. It was beautiful. And the birds were amazing, the orchids and Bromeliads, too. Food was awesome, and the service was top notch! Did not see the Banded Ground Cuckoo, but there were sure a lot of Toucans, Woodcreepers, Antpittas, Trogons, and Motmots to go around.
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Date of stay: February 2022
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This birding hotspot was not on our radar before we left Maine for 3 months in Ecuador. After visiting our first 4 eco-lodges, this place is tops. Accommodations are excellent - all the amenities: hot water, beautiful, spacious bright rooms with veranda with 2 hammocks, comfy beds; excellent meals. The trails are well maintained, wide, almost manicured. But we’re here because of the birds, and they did not disappoint. There are a number of feeders for particular species like the moth-collector for Banded Ground Cuckoo, which brings in a number of other species to observe and photograph from a nearby hide. At the dining area, you watch as different birds [they interrupt your meal!] come in to the banana and sugar water feeders while you eat on the first level, then go up to the second level for a broader view and finally the third level, or tower, which has you up at the canopy for the toucans, umbrella birds, parrots and crested guans. [For a list of what we saw, check out ebird.] The staff anticipated all our needs and Jordan, the resident [limited English] guide, was great. We birded down the Cascadas trail then had a picnic lunch at the river. [Note to self, bring water shoes next time - we crossed the stream a few times and if we had wellies or tevas, we wouldn’t have had to keep taking off and putting our hiking boots back on. But when you’re birding, no one is in a rush.] We were here in the ‘winter’ so it rained in rainforest each day, but in drier weather, the waterfalls would be perfect places to have a dip to cool off. We highly recommend San Jorge de Milpe.…
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Date of stay: February 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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LOCATION
EcuadorPichincha ProvinceMindo
NUMBER OF ROOMS
20
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Claim Your ListingSAN JORGE DE MILPE ECO-LODGE ORCHID & BIRD RESERVE - Hotel Reviews (Mindo, Ecuador)
Frequently Asked Questions about San Jorge de Milpe Eco-Lodge Orchid & Bird Reserve
Which popular attractions are close to San Jorge de Milpe Eco-Lodge Orchid & Bird Reserve?
Nearby attractions include Choco Toucan Reserve (2.0 miles) and D'Carlos Aqua Park (1.5 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at San Jorge de Milpe Eco-Lodge Orchid & Bird Reserve?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include an on-site restaurant, a lounge, and free parking.
What food & drink options are available at San Jorge de Milpe Eco-Lodge Orchid & Bird Reserve?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant, a lounge, and breakfast during their stay.
Is parking available at San Jorge de Milpe Eco-Lodge Orchid & Bird Reserve?
Yes, free parking is available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to San Jorge de Milpe Eco-Lodge Orchid & Bird Reserve?
Conveniently located restaurants include La Trainera, Parrilladas Argentinas Steak House, and Panadería Pan Pancito.