The Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve protects the forests of the Mache Chindul mountain range on the coast of Ecuador.

It is isolated from the Andes, which are about 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the east,[3] The reserve is very near the coast a few kilometers south of Muisne.

[1] The reserve may be reached by driving north along highway 20 from Quinindé for about 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the entrance of La Laguna.

[3] In 1991 there were still large patches of forests with sizeable timber trees, but deforestation was in progress.

The Bilsa Biological Station is now part of the Mache Chindul Ecological Reserve.

Common trees include Virola dixonii, Quararibea soegenii and Symphonia globulifera.

Trees include the canalón, anime, tangaré, caoba (mahogany), cuángare and palms such as pambil and tagua.

The dry forests contain trees such as fernán sánchez, guayacán, tillo, hobo de monte, amarillo, piñón and muyuyo.

[5] Fauna recorded in Bilsa include large mammals now rare in western Ecuador such as jaguar (Panthera onca), mantled howler (Alouatta palliata), white-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons aequatorialis) and giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla).

[7] Mammals photographed in the reserve's buffer zone by automatic cameras and published in 2016 included lowland paca (Cuniculus paca), northern naked-tailed armadillo (Cabassous centralis), nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata), common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), brown four-eyed opossum (Metachirus nudicaudatus), Tome's spiny rat (Proechimys semispinosus), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), margay (Leopardus wiedii), jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi), tayra (Eira barbara), northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana), white-nosed coati (Nasua narica), lcrab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus), red-tailed squirrel (Sciurus granatensis) and collared peccary (Pecari tajacu).

[6] Resident Important Bird Area trigger species include Banded ground cuckoo (Neomorphus radiolosus), Black-tipped cotinga (Carpodectes hopkei), Blue-whiskered tanager (Tangara johannae), Brown wood rail (Aramides wolfi), Chocó poorwill (Nyctiphrynus rosenbergi), Choco toucan (Ramphastos brevis), Chocó woodpecker (Veniliornis chocoensis), Dusky pigeon (Patagioenas goodsoni), Grey-backed hawk (Pseudastur occidentalis), Guayaquil woodpecker (Campephilus gayaquilensis), Long-wattled umbrellabird (Cephalopterus penduliger), Ochraceous attila (Attila torridus), Orange-fronted barbet (Capito squamatus), Pacific flatbill (Rhynchocyclus pacificus), Pallid dove (Leptotila pallida), Plumbeous forest falcon (Micrastur plumbeus), Plumbeous hawk (Cryptoleucopteryx plumbea), Red-masked parakeet (Psittacara erythrogenys), Rose-faced parrot (Pyrilia pulchra), Rufous-headed chachalaca (Ortalis erythroptera), Stub-tailed antbird (Sipia berlepschi) and White-whiskered hermit (Phaethornis yaruqui).

[10] Reptiles include boa constrictor, various false coral species, spectacled caiman, common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and iguanas.