Monteverde / Santa Elena

The Monteverde / Santa Elena area is a great destination for those who wish to experience a Costa Rican mountain village set amidst rolling green hills with access to unique cloud forest reserves. The community of Monteverde was founded around 60 years ago by a few Quaker families from the United States. Cheese became the primary industry and later farmland quickly began to swallow up the area. Fortunately the environmental value of Monteverde was realised and a new mentality of preservation now exists. The major concentration of hotels, shops and restaurants are found within the town of Santa Elena, which lies between the Monteverde and Santa Elena cloud forest reserves.

The plants found within cloud forests are nourished via the moisture left by clouds (horizontal mist), as opposed to rain forests where moisture comes from regular downpours. As a result of this special environmental circumstance, unique plants and animals are found within the forests. Some of the flora and fauna identified here include over 400 types of birds, 100 species of mammals and more than 2,500 species of plants including 200 species of ferns. The added advantage of Monteverde's location is that it lies upon the continental divide allowing views of both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea when the clouds eventually dissipate long enough.

A stay of several days in the area can either be a great excuse to do nothing but soak up the mountain air or to get busy with the many activities available. These activities include guided tours of the nearby nature reserves, coffee tour, horse riding, and touring the frog pond, serpenterium (snake house), insect house and butterfly garden. Plus a visit is not complete without taking a ride on arguably the best canopy tours Costa Rica offers. Canopy tours allow you zip high across valleys and through forest canopies via cables connected to a series of platforms.