The Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena and the Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspots, two of the world's hottest biological hotspots, meet in the Ecuadorian region of Intag, where cloud forests can be found. Despite being only the sixth most giant hotspot, the Tropical Andes is the planet's richest one, hosting about 20% of the world's bird species and 15–17% of its plant species. Cloud forests make up a significant percentage of these mountainous woods. Only 2.5% of tropical forests worldwide are cloud forests, with 25% of them located in the Andes, according to the United Nations' World Conservation Center. They are regarded as the most endangered ecosystems because of these factors.

Because humidity migrating west from the Amazon rainforests cools and condenses as it rises the mountain slopes, it condenses into water, creating the spectacular cloud forests of the Andes. 

The elevation range of these cloud forests is from 2,000 feet to 12,000 feet. Because of their great richness and vulnerability to erosion and degradation due to their steep slopes and light soils, Andean cloud forests must be carefully protected. 

These lovely forests have been shielded from human intrusion in the past by their isolation.  However, these cloud forests are becoming increasingly in danger due to modern methods and tools, including constructing highways inside the woods and clearing vast swaths of land for timber or cultivation.

The cloud forests of Peru are home to more than 300 species of birds, 23 of which are endangered. These species include the uncommon long-whiskered owlet, the royal sunangel hummingbird, the ochre-fronted antpitta, and the superb spatuletail. 

The forests are also home to five different frog species and the critically endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey.

A primary forest is one that has never been cleared for cultivation or its timber.  Spending time in a primary forest reveals what has been lost and what we are unaware of having lost: an astonishing diversity of insects, animals, and birds. 

This is especially true in cloud forests, where every cautious step unveils another little universe, expertly crafted and host to drama after drama as species battle for survival.

Of course, this drama is the evolutionary force behind all of the living world's beauty, complexity, and diversity. And that, my friends, is why we should preserve forests.