Costa Rica guide

Monteverde

Spanish for 'green mountain', it is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. However, the name has come to represent a much wider area around it - at least to (eco)tourists, for whom this is one of the better known destinations in the country. Since the town itself is too small for an article and there is no proper name for the wider area, which deserves to be treated as a whole, this article is about that wider area, which includes the nearby Tico town of Santa Elena (which has also started to cater to (budget) tourists and is closer to some of the attractions).

The region lays claim to some of the best-kept cloud forest in the entire country and is a paradise for bird watchers. Several nature preserves have sprung up to make sure this stays the case. Because of the beauty of the area, it is only natural that Monteverde has become a major part of the Costa Rican tourist trail - despite the poor roads leading up to and through it. This being a cloud forest of course one has to count with the possibility of continuous fog and/or light rain.
There are many types of animals including howler and white faced monkeys, non-venomous and venomous snakes, frogs and toads, and thousands of beautiful birds, including hummingbirds that are lured to places where they can be easily observed with sugar water feeders (posing for flowers with nectar). Here, one can expect to be surrounded by swarms of all sorts of hummingbirds.

To the West of Monteverde proper lies the Bosque Eterno de los Niños, a project in which schoolchildren from all over the world protect this area that is not really in the cloud forest and therefore better for some animal-observations. Guided night-walks can be done here.

Farther North, nearer Santa Elena, are a butterfly garden, a serpentarium and a ranarium (frogs).
Still farther north, past Santa Elena, is the Reserva Santa Elena. Nearby one can do the Sky Walk, with seven suspension bridges (see photo), some as long as 300 m. This is a unique opportunity to see the forest from a completely different angle; from above.

A less tranquil way to go through the forest (not for nature lovers but for thrill seekers) is the Sky Trek in which one zips through, and occasionally above, the forest along cables. The Monteverde Canopy Tour is similar to this.

Apart from all this there are many other, less official, tracks, such as the one up Cerro Amigos, where there are radio masts (the operators of which may be happy to meet someone - it's lonely up there).

Other activities include horse riding and mountain biking. There is some controversy over these activities since they make the tracks unusable for hikers. The horse riding tours have been attacked for abuse of the animals, but have responded by enforcing satisfactory humane practices. But in recent years this has improved. Make sure to use a conscientious operator.

Lodging

Monteverde has a well developed lodging infrastrucuture. You will find places for all budget ranges. The Santa Elena village harbors most of the backpacker places, where prices range from $5 dorm or shared-bath bedrooms to $10 for a room with a private bath. In the last few years the area has developed to offer a variety of hostels which are yet not published in guidebooks so look around, you might just find a great place for you. Some of the most popular budget places to stay are the Pension Santa Elena and Camino Verde, all though they are really good for meeting other travelers and sharing experiences & travel tips, the noise of the town is quite loud (specially on weekend nights), so you might consider places more outside the main street. A few close places to Santa Elena are the Atardecer and Casa Tranquilo B&B who offer a much more tranquil ambiance but are still near the village of SE. More torwards the Monteverde reserve you will find the more upscaled hotels such as the Hotel El Establo and the Hotel Montaña. These places offer the highest quality in Costa Rican mountain lodges (3 star grade)where prices range from $60 standard rooms to $150 Master honeymoon suites. There also are mid range places in Monteverde, probably the most popular place would be the Hotel el Bosque, that offers space for $35 for 2 people. Most of the lodging facilities in the area will be more than willing to point you in the right direction of things to do and activities in the cloud forest area.

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• List of birds of Costa Rica
• Wildlife of Costa Rica
• Tamarindo
• Manuel Antonio
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• Osa Peninsula and Corcovado National Park
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Monteverde".