Monteverde Costa Rica

For those adventurers that like to travel high among the clouds, the Monteverde Cloud Forest is truly an adventure to behold! A cloud forest, often referred to as a fog forest, and it is in a tropical atmosphere surrounded by low hanging cloud formation, at a high resting canopy level, which Costa Rica is widely known for. The canopies of Costa Rica are a very popular exhibit since there is so much fresh and fertile beautiful greenery to be seen throughout our exotic country.  One identifying fact about cloud forests is that they typically are heavily covered in moss, layering the ground and foliage, which is why they are also often referred to as “mossy forests”. The reason for the heavy moss growth is because of how the precipitation is heavily captured and held in the environment, making growth plentiful and abundant.

Set atop the backbone of Costa Rica’s Interior Division, Monteverde is an incredible habitat that resides high above the beach town’s seaside shorelines. The city of Santa Elena is petite and charming, with famous cozy, down to earth restaurants and a very warm small town feel. Located nearby is the famous Monteverde Cloud Forest, which houses a very diverse amount of plant and animal life. At an incredible height of almost four thousand feet above sea level, it is truly a sight to see, and the way that the forest captures the fog and transfers the captured water to bring life to an incredible amount of wildlife is truly breathtaking.  The ecosystem of this environment is grandiose, spanning over a hundred different species of wild animals, four hundred different species of birds, several thousand types of insect and over twenty five hundred varieties of plants. A fun fact is that out of all these different plant families, almost four hundred and twenty different species of these plants are wild orchids.

Some of the animals that this beautiful forest is home to include the jaguar, the Baird’s Tapir, the Bare necked Umbrella Bird, and of course we couldn’t forget to mention the renowned and famously shy quetzal. Adventurers can visit this exciting outdoor escape via trails or by bus. While there, you can experience the forest even further through canopies and the incredible Monteverde Museum. How did this begin one might ask? A brief background on the history of the Monteverde Cloud Forest has it that in the mid nineteen fifties, a group of Quakers from America came to Costa Rica from deep in the heart of Alabama to avoid being drafted in the Korean war, and began a living in Monteverde, creating an industry centered on cheese and dairy. While there, the family that traveled over helped establish Monteverde, and the beloved cloud forest. Those seeking adventure should certainly sign up for one of our adventure guided tours to experience all of the exotic animal and plant life that has to be seen to believe!