Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve, Ecological reserve in Atacames, Ecuador

Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve covers mountainous land that transitions from dense rainforest in the north to drier forest in the south. The different forest types create distinct zones where various plants and animals find their homes.

The reserve was established in 1996 to protect important natural resources and water sources in this mountain region. This step brought the area into Ecuador's network of protected lands.

The reserve overlaps forest traditionally used by Chachi and Afro-Esmeraldas communities, who harvest its resources on a sustainable basis. The Bilsa Biological Station, run by the Jatun Sacha Foundation since 1994, hosts the Center for Conserving Plants of the Western Forest, which produces about 100,000 trees a year, including 80 tropical fruit species and 50 local timber species, for reforestation and agroforestry outreach.

You can reach the reserve from Quito by two routes: one through La Independencia to Quininde, or another through Santo Domingo to Quininde. Each route passes through different towns and terrain, so choose based on where you want to go.

Cube Lagoon covers 113 hectares and was declared a Ramsar site by UNESCO in 2002. The reserve also holds the sources of the Coaque, Cojimies and Cheve rivers in Manabí and the Muisne, Atacames and Tiaone in Esmeraldas. Reaching the lagoon means a 17 km dirt road from the La Laguna entrance, passable only by all-terrain vehicles in winter.