Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
Attracting visitors in their droves, the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde is one of the last sizeable pockets of primary cloudforest in Mesoamerica. At an altitude of 1440m and straddling the Continental Divide, the reserve was established in 1972 by George Powell (an American biologist) and Wilford Guindon (a local Quaker) to protect the country’s rapidly dwindling pristine cloudforest. Today, it encompasses ten square kilometres of protected land and is administered by the nonprofit Centro Científico Tropical (Tropical Science Centre), based in San José.
The reserve’s sheer diversity of terrain – from semi-dwarf stunted forest on the wind-exposed areas to thick, bearded cloudforest vegetation elsewhere – supports six different life zones, or eco-communities, hosting an estimated 3000 species of plants, more than 100 types of mammals, some 490 species of butterflies and over 400 species of birds, including the resplendent quetzal and the three-wattled bellbird. The cloudforest cover – dense, low-lit and heavy – can make it difficult to spot wildlife, though the amazing diversity of tropical plants and insects more than makes up for this, with guided walks leading past thick mosses, epiphytes, bromeliads, primitive ferns, leaf-cutter ants and poison-dart frogs.
Costa Rica's Monteverde Trails
Nine trails wind through 13km of the reserve and most are contained in a roughly triangular pocket known as El Triángulo. They’re clearly marked and easily walkable (at least in the dry season), and many of them are along wooden or concrete pathways that help prevent slipping and sliding on seas of mud.
Sendero Bosque Nuboso Trail
If you’re keen to plunge straight into the cloudforest, make for the Sendero Bosque Nuboso (1.8km). The forest canopy along this trail is literally dripping with moisture, each tree thickly encrusted with moss and epiphytes. You’ll probably hear howler monkeys and the unmistakable “boink” of the three-wattled bellbird, but it’s difficult to spot either in this dense cover – your best bet for bird-watching is at the beginning of the trail. The spongy terrain efficiently preserves animal tracks, and in the morning especially you may see tracks from agouti or coati. One creature that you will see on this trail is the clearwing butterfly, whose transparent wings are as fragile as the thinnest parchment.
At the end of the trail, a small mirador, La Ventana, has vistas of the thickly forested hills on the other side of the Continental Divide. It’s reached via a staircase of cement-laid steps that lead to a lookout point suspended over an amazingly green expanse of hills – a surreal place, with only the sound of wind as company.
Sendero Camino Trail
The Sendero Camino (2km), higher in elevation than the others, is stony, deeply rutted in spots and often muddy, but as this trail (which also leads to La Ventana) is wider than the others, it gets more sunlight, attracting greater numbers of birds and butterflies. Often quite steep, the Sendero Pantanoso (1.4km) passes through sun-dappled swamp forests and leads past magnolias and the rare podocarpus – the reserve’s only conifer. It links with Sendero El Río (1.1km) to bring you, in a long arch, back to the park’s entrance. The Sendero Wilford Guindon features a 100m suspension bridge that takes you high up into the trees for great birds’-eye views of the cloudforest canopy.
Reserva Santa Elena
Less touristed than Monteverde, the Reserva Santa Elena, 7 km northeast of Santa Elena, offers an equally memorable cloudforest experience. Poised at an elevation of 1650m, the three-square-kilometre reserve is higher than Monteverde and boasts steeper, more challenging trails and a slightly better chance of seeing quetzals (and three-wattled bellbirds) in season. Established in 1992, the self-funded reserve is supported by entrance fees and donations and depends largely on volunteers, particularly foreign university students. It’s run by the local high school board, whose students help maintain the trails year-round.
Reserva Santa Elena Trails
Santa Elena’s 12km network of trails are confined to an area just east of the entrance – cut wood and mesh cover some trails, while others are rough tracks. The easiest is the hour-long Youth Challenge Trail (1.4km) with an observation tower halfway along, from where it’s possible to see Volcán Arenal on clear days; for the best chance of viewing the volcano, arrive early before cloud, mist and fog roll in to obliterate vistas. The longest, the Caño Negro Trail (4.5km), named after the river that flows from here north to the border with Nicaragua, takes about four hours to complete and crosses two streams en route. There’s also a wheelchair-accessible trail that loops from the visitors’ centre, passing a couple of lookouts and a small orchid garden.
When to visit Santa Elena
The dry season in this region is from December to May, when temperatures are pleasant. The wet season is from May to December, but don't let this put you off - the temperature is around 30 degrees all year and with sufficient rain gear your trip will still be great.
Watching wildlife in Monteverde and Santa Elena
You’ll see plenty of hummingbirds – strung along the entrance path is a line of feeders that draw many of the multicoloured birds – but for a better chance of viewing all the wildlife that lives here, sign up for one of the highly recommended guided walks.
What you might see…
Ever since National Geographic declared that Monteverde might just be the best place in all of Central America to see the resplendent quetzal, spotting one has become almost a rite of passage, and many zealous, binocular-toting birders come here with this express purpose in mind. This slim bird, with a sweet face and tiny beak, is extraordinarily colourful, with shimmering green feathers on the back and head, and a rich, carmine stomach. The male quetzal is the more spectacular, with a long, picturesque tail and fuzzy crown. About a hundred pairs of quetzals mate at Monteverde, in monogamous pairs, between March and June. During this period, they descend to slightly lower altitudes than their usual stratospheric heights, coming down to about 1000m to nest in dead or dying trees, hollowing out a niche in which to lay their blue eggs. Your best chance of seeing one is on a guided tour, or arrive on your own just after dawn, the most fruitful time to spot birds.
Another bird to look out for, particularly in Santa Elena (and from March to August), is the bizarre-looking three-wattled bellbird, whose three black “wattles”, or skin pockets, hang down from its beak; even if you don’t see one, you’ll almost certainly hear its distinctive metallic call, which has been likened to a pinball machine. The far rarer bare-necked umbrella bird can only be seen in Santa Elena, and not very often at that, but those lucky enough to witness its spectacular mating routine will never forget it.
Several types of endangered cats, including puma, jaguar, ocelot, jaguarundi and margay, live in the reserve, which provides ample space for hunting. You’re unlikely to come face to face with a jaguar, but if you’re lucky, you may hear the growl of a big cat coming out of the dense forest – usually unnerving enough to cure you of your desire to actually see one.
And what you definitely won’t…
Another famous resident (now thought to be extinct) of the Monteverde area is the vibrant red-orange sapo dorado, or golden toad. First discovered here in 1964, the golden toad hasn’t been spotted in many years and is thought to have either been killed off by global warming – the mean minimum temperature in Monteverde has risen from 15°C in 1988 to 17°C in 2010 – or to have succumbed to the chytrid fungus that has decimated amphibian populations worldwide over the last few decades.
Top image: Monteverde cloudforest, Costa Rica © Simon Dannhauer/Shutterstock