Introduction to Monteverde

167km (104 miles) NW of San José; 82km (51 miles) NW of Puntarenas

Next to Manuel Antonio, this is Costa Rica's most internationally recognized tourist destination. The fame and accompanying traffic have led some to dub it the Monteverde Crowd Forest. Nevertheless, the reserve itself and the extensive network of private reserves around it are incredibly rich in biodiversity, and a well-organized infrastructure helps guarantee a rewarding experience for both first-time and experienced ecoadventurers.

Monteverde translates as "green mountain," and that's exactly what you'll find at the end of the steep and windy rutted dirt road that leads here. Along the way you'll pass through mile after mile of often dry, brown pasturelands. All of these pastures were once covered with dense forest, but now only small pieces of that original forest remain.

The village of Monteverde was founded in 1951 by Quakers from the United States who wanted to leave behind a constant fear of war as well as an obligation to support continued militarism through paying U.S. taxes. They chose Costa Rica primarily because it had no standing army. Although Monteverde's founders came here to farm the land, they wisely recognized the need to preserve the rare cloud forest that covered the mountain slopes above their fields, and to that end they dedicated the largest adjacent tract of cloud forest as the Monteverde Biological Cloud Forest Reserve. Perched on a high mountain ridge, this tiny, scattered village and surrounding cloud forest are well known among both scientific researchers and ecotravelers.

Cloud forests are a mountaintop phenomenon. Moist, warm air sweeping in off the nearby ocean is forced upward by mountain slopes, and as this moist air rises, it cools, forming clouds. The mountaintops of Costa Rica are blanketed almost daily in dense clouds, and as these clouds cling to the slopes, moisture condenses on forest trees. This constant level of moisture has given rise to an incredible diversity of innovative life forms and a forest in which nearly every square inch of space has some sort of plant growing. Within the cloud forest, the branches of huge trees are draped with epiphytic plants: orchids, ferns, and bromeliads. This intense botanic competition has created an almost equally diverse population of insects, birds, and other wildlife. Monteverde Biological Cloud Forest Reserve covers 10,400 hectares (25,688 acres) of forest, including several different life zones that are characterized by different types of plants and animals. Within this small area are more than 2,500 species of plants, including 400 types of orchids, 400 species of birds, and 100 different species of mammals. It's no wonder that the reserve has been the site of constant scientific investigations since its founding in 1972.

The reserve was originally known only to the handful of researchers who came here to study different aspects of life in the cloud forest. However, as the beauty and biological diversity of the area became known outside of academic circles, casual visitors began arriving. For many, the primary goal was a chance to glimpse the rare and elusive quetzal, a bird once revered by the pre-Columbian peoples of the Americas. As the number of visitors began to grow, lodges began opening, word spread, more lodges opened, and so on. Today Monteverde is a place of great and fragile beauty whose popularity threatens to destroy the very beauty that draws people to it. That said, and despite the hordes of ecotourists traipsing its trails, Monteverde is still a beautiful place and offers a glimpse into the life of one of the world's most threatened ecosystems. However, if your primary goal is to sight a quetzal, you should also consider visiting other cloud forest areas around Costa Rica. In particular, consider the San Gerardo de Dota and Cerro de la Muerte areas, which have several specialty lodges, where you'll find far fewer crowds and usually better chances of seeing the famed quetzal.

Monteverde Area Attractions

Birds are not the only colorful fauna in Monteverde. Butterflies abound here, and the Butterfly Garden (tel. 645-5512), located near the Pensión Monteverde Inn, displays many of Costa Rica's most beautiful species. Besides the hundreds of preserved and mounted butterflies, there's a garden and a greenhouse where you can watch live butterflies. The garden is open daily from 9:30am to 4pm, and admission is $8 for adults and $6 for students and children, including a guided tour. The best time to visit is between 9:30am and 1pm, when the butterflies are most active.

If your taste runs toward the slithery, you can check out the Monteverde Serpentarium (tel. 645-5238; www.snaketour.com), on the road to the reserve. This place was recently remodeled and the new enclosures and informative displays are a vast improvement. It's open daily from 9am to 8pm and charges $7 for admission. The Frog Pond of Monteverde (tel. 645-6320; www.ranario.com), located a couple of hundred meters north of the Monteverde Lodge, is probably a better bet. The $8 entrance gets you a 45-minute tour, and your ticket is good for 2 days. A variety of species populate a series of glass terrariums. This place is open daily from 8am to 8pm. I especially recommend that you stop by at least once after dark, when the tree frogs are active. The newest entry in this field is the World of Insects (tel. 645-6859), which features a couple dozen terrariums filled with some of the area's more interesting creepy crawlers. My favorites are the giant horned beetles. This place is located 300m (984 ft.) west of the supermarket in Santa Elena. It's open daily from 8am to 9pm; admission is $7.

Because the vegetation in the cloud forest is so dense, most of the forest's animal residents are rather difficult to spot. If you were dissatisfied with your sightings, even with a naturalist guide leading you, you might want to consider attending a slide show of photographs taken in the reserve. There is a host of daily slide shows around Monteverde. The longest running of these takes place at the Monteverde Lodge, Hotel El Sapo Dorado, Hotel Belmar, and Hummingbird Gallery . Dates, showtimes, and admissions vary, so inquire at your hotel or one of the places mentioned above.

If you've had your fill of birds, snakes, frogs, bugs, and butterflies, you might want to stop at the Orchid Garden (tel. 645-5510), on the main road toward the reserve. This small botanical garden boasts more than 400 species of orchids. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. It's open daily from 8am to 5pm.