A few years back, I discovered what became my favourite country to date: Costa Rica. I was there with an organized trip, and even though I did not know that we were planning to visit Monteverde, I was pleasantly suprised: it was one of the most enjoyable stops of the trip!
This national park has a name that literaly translates as the green mount. And the name couldn’t fit any better: in a small elevated area (hence the name monte), the most leafy forest I’ve ever seen (for the “verde” part).
If you are planning to visit Monteverde, don’t be surprised to find yourself in the perfect setting for any of the movies of the Jurassic Park franchise. If you ask me, it was not by chance that the books are based on islands in the coast of Costa Rica.
How to visit Monteverde
In our case, we spent the previous night by the Volcano Arenal in the town of “la Fortuna”. This is a magnific place where you can spend one or more days before heading to visit Monteverde. The volcano is beautiful and the natural Spa next to it, from out of this world.
From la Fortuna to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve there are about three hours by car. Besides private car or tour operator vehicle, you can reach Monteverde by public bus. This is the cheapest alternative but from most locations you will have one or two buses per day. And scheduled is also quite limited. For example, the trip by car will take you 3h, by bus, 8h. In dry season, since it will take even longer in the rainy months.
In addition, having your own vehicle will also help you when moving around the country. And it is a country where driving on your own is quite safe. In addition, renting your own vehicle will translate in you being able to make a stop at the Fortuna waterfall, or other amazing locations in this beautiful country.
In any case, independing on how you plan to visit Monteverde, be prepared for lots of bumps and jumps. Most roads to the park are not pavimented and because it rains a lot, the water often washes away parts of the road. So, drive safely and bring a pillow. For your butt.
Read more about other interesting places to visit in Costa Rica here: Visiting La Fortuna Waterfall
Bumps left aside, the views from the road connecting La Fortuna and Monteverde are amazing. The hillsides are filled with coffee plants, creeks and even a lake. Well worth the bumps.
Visiting the Biological Reserve of Monteverde
Purchasing a cheap entry ticket (and curiously, cheaper for foreigners), you can access more than 13km of trails. Through these paths, it is possible to visit plenty of waterfalls, enjoying of the singing of hundreds of different birds and watching the most impressive combination of vegetation I have ever seen. According to their own website, in this Reserve you can find a third of all the known species of orchidaes. It’s truly amazing.
The flowers in Monteverde
In the park there are many areas with this flowers. But also all around the country there are many gardens dedicated to orchidaes. While in most countries we are accostumed to see these flowers in pots, they often grow wild in Costa Rica. Why you may ask. Well, because of Hummingbirds!
In several parts of the park (and the country) there are multiple areas like the ones in the picture. These small things that ressemble lightbulbs are actually filled with water and nectar that attract these beautiful birds. They take care of the polinization and keeping the insect population sort of controled. And they make for beautiful pictures too.
The bridges to the clouds
Even though the birds and plants of Monteverde are exceptional, there is another part of this park that is even better. The bridges. Walking around the paths is a fantastic experience but climbing up the trees and walk around the clouds takes it all to another level.
Several sections of the park are connected by hanging bridges that interconnect different tree tops. If you remember, earlier in the post, I gave you the full name of National park: Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. Even though the “cloud” in the name comes from the type of forest original from this area of Costa Rica, the name is quite appropiate for its most usual visitor: the clouds.
Because of the high humidity of the region, it is common to find low clouds almost all year long. Because the hanging bridges are built around the tree tops, these often fall above the clouds. This makes for a completely different type of visit. You can literaly say that when you visit Monteverde… you can walk on clouds!
It is a lovely experience, but think twice about it if you are afraid of heights!
Why visiting the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve?
If this is not enough to convince you to go to this Park, the Reserve was created with scientific ends to preserve the biodiversity of the zone. All the benefits collected from the entry ticket are used to keep the park running and to help preserve the animals and plants of the region.
So you have an idea of the importance of the work they are doing, only in this “small” park, it is possible to find 5% of all world biodiversity. Quite impressive, isn’t it?
The park’s office also offers some organized tours focusing on different aspects of the park such as plants, animals… or even a night tour!
Have you already been to Monteverde? Did you like it?
