Exploring a Magical Forest
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Extension
Overview
Explore Monteverde, one of the outstanding nature reserves in the New World tropics, with its complex forest canopy and distinct ecological communities. More than 400 species of birds—including toucans, tanagers, barbets, hummingbirds, and bellbirds—have been recorded here, and this is the place to see the resplendent quetzal, the venerated bird of early Central American mythology.
Arrive: San Jose, Costa Rica
Depart: Arenal, Costa Rica
Highlights
- Explore the walking trails with your naturalist guide, visit the reserve's butterfly garden
Itinerary
Arrive in San Jose, where you are met and transferred to the Hotel Grano de Oro (this hotel night is part of your Private Journey itinerary)...Meals on your own
Morning transfer to Monteverde, a world-famous reserve set at 4,600 feet in the Tiláran Mountains straddling the Continental Divide. Monteverde was founded in 1951 by a small group of Quakers from Alabama, attracted to Costa Rica by its lack of an army and its peaceful policies that matched Quaker philosophy. They bought land and brought dairy farming and cheese production to the region (today, Monteverde's cheese is sold throughout the country). They preserved about a third of the land they purchased to protect the watershed above Monteverde, and in 1972, after visiting biologists noted the richness of the flora and fauna, the Quakers turned it into Monteverde Biological Cloudforest Reserve, owned and operated by the Tropical Science Center of San Jose. After settling into the Monteverde Lodge, explore the grounds with your guide. The gardens are teeming with plants like tree ferns, bromeliads, and anthuriums, as well as several varieties of orchids, agapanthus, and hydrangeas. In addition to butterflies and a wide variety of birds, it's not uncommon to see mammals like white-nose coatis, agoutis, and white-faced capuchin monkeys. On a night tour this evening, you'll head to the nearby El Refugio Reserve to walk along the trails with a naturalist who will point out sleeping birds and nocturnal animals. Wildlife is unpredictable, but with your well-versed guide you may spot armadillos, scorpions, two-toed sloths, porcupine, bats, frogs, and many others. Regardless of what you see, the experience of walking in the forest after dark is unique. Overnight at Monteverde Lodge...BLD
In the cloud forest of Monteverde, the forest floor is carpeted in fern, mosses, and shade-loving plants, while high above is a thick, green canopy made by the branches of tall trees reaching for sunlight. In addition to the more than 400 species of birds, there are also more than 100 species of mammals, including howler and capuchin monkeys, deer, tapirs, sloths, and five species of cats. Enjoy a morning walking tour with your private guide and visit the reserve's butterfly garden (the Jardin de las Mariposas), with its gardens, greenhouses, and netted flyway. The nearby Saint Elena Forest Reserve, which you can visit on your own, is home to quetzals, ocelots, howler and capuchin monkeys, and spider monkeys. Overnight at Monteverde Lodge...BLD
A scenic 3.5-hour journey brings you down the mountain road by 4WD vehicle to beautiful Lake Arenal. Boarding a boat, enjoy a 30-minute ride across the lake and begin your Private Journey itinerary in Arenal on Day 2...B
Note: This is a pre-trip extension.
Note: This is a pre-trip extension.
A visa is not required for U.S. citizens visting Costa Rica.
Accommodations
Scroll through our signature accommodations for this trip below. Although it is highly unlikely, we may make substitutions when necessary.
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Itinerary
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Trip Levels
With more than 200 different adventures to choose from, we want to help you find the trip that’s right for you. Our Trip Level system ranks each trip in two ways: a number rating from 1 to 6 according to the activity, and general travel rigors. 1 is the easiest and 6+ the most difficult—see descriptions below for explanations of each number. A plus (+) sign means the trip is a bit more strenuous than other trips of that level. The detailed explanation of each trip—below the bar with the number rating—is perhaps more important, specifying activities, altitudes, hiking, and travel conditions. The Detailed Itinerary, available by download or mail, gives further information. Our Area Managers can also answer questions and guide you to the trip that best suits your interests.
Level 1 – Easiest
Non-camping journeys, optional walks, little elevation gain or loss.
Level 2 – Easy to Moderate
Hotel nights and/or safari-style camping, hikes of two to four hours on some days. Other physical activities are sometimes included, such as optional sea kayaking.
Level 3 – Moderate
Half- to full-day hikes (3-6 hours) over rolling countryside on most days, occasional steep trails. Many of our hotel-based walking tours are in this category, as are our snorkeling adventures.
- Tuscany & the Cinque Terre
- Argentina: Hikes and Estancias of Patagonia
- Palau Snorkeling & Sea Kayaking
- Some trips with minimal hiking but rugged travel conditions or long drives, such as Tribal Ghana, Togo & Benin, are Trip Level 3.
Level 4 – Moderate to Strenuous
Full-day hikes (4-6 hours), mountainous terrain, significant elevation gains and losses (hiking up or down as much as 3,000 feet) on many days. Altitudes no greater than about 10,000 feet.
Level 5 – Strenuous
Full-day hikes (4-8 hours), mountainous, steep terrain (hiking up or down as much as 3,500 feet) on many days. Trips with hiking at average altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet are in this category.
Level 6 – Very Strenuous
Full-day hikes (5-8 hours), mountainous, steep terrain (hiking up or down as much as 3,500 feet) on many days. Most hikes take place at altitudes above 10,000 feet, with some days ascending as high as 18,000 feet.