posted by Travel Cat on May 12
We stayed in the Monteverde/Santa Elena region for 2 weeks which gave us plenty of time to see everything the location had to offer. We met a lot of others who were only giving this place a few days at tops - which was nowhere near enough time to appreciate the point of the rainforests in the first place.
Can you believe it???
Although most people can’t spare 2 weeks here, I can’t believe those travellers who tell their friends that they have ‘been to Monteverde’ after arriving in the afternoon and going straight on a night tour, spend the following day on a zip line or hanging bridges outside of the 2 main cloudforest reserves, then visit the wi-fi cafe over the road before catching the bus off somewhere else.
And believe me, this is what the majority of visitors to this region do.
It’s like going to Paris for a ‘vacation’ and visiting EuroDisney the first day, going to a mall on the second then leaving for Rome the following morning - could you really call that ‘I’ve visited Paris’?
Anyway, here is my quick list of the places in the Monteverde part of town that we loved and why:
Sancturio Ecologica ($10) - The best place for all wildlife, with Capuchins everywhere. Slightly dodgy paths in points, but the scenery was amazing. You cannot fail to see mammals here, along with tarantulas, toucans and huge trees!!!
Valle Escondido ($10) - Also called the Hidden Valley, this little place is great for mammals as well with sloth, agouti, coati and capuchin all running around, not the least camera-shy. Hardly saw another human on this trail all day, and the viewpoints are amazing.
Childrens Eternal Rain Forest Trail ($10) - Also called Sendero Bajo del Tigre (Jaguar Valley Trail) was a bit out of town but well worth the visit. The reception area is brimming with information and this place had insects everywhere; giant stick insects and katydids wait for you in the bathrooms - along with a scorpion in the ladies!!! This place does night treks including transport ($22) where they saw a boa constrictor eating a small mammal one night!
Monteverde Cloud Forest ($30 with guide) - This place is not as crowded as they say in the guidebooks for this April, we virtually had the place to ourselves - and after the 2 hour guided part (thank you Andre) where we learnt a lot about the forest itself AND saw a whole bunch of the famous Resplendant Quetzals!!! Then we were free to wander as we wished until the last bus home - we didn’t see so many mammals here, but the birds, butterflys and plants were truly gobsmacking! At one point we were actually in the clouds ourselves. There is also a little hummingbird garden here with dozens feeding at a time - this doubles up as a bat feeding station for the night tours…..
Mariposa Butterfly Gardens ($8) - Even if you don’t think you like butterflies that much, the place itself is beautiful, the guides are so informative and we actually got to see a Blue Morpho emerging from its cocoon - well worth the entrance fee alone. And check out the view from their veranda…..
Next, I’ll spill the beans on the Santa Elena area - the main town up here in the mountains.
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