Costa Rica Destination Spotlight: Get Your Head in the Clouds in Monteverde

Costa Rica Destination Spotlight: Get Your Head in the Clouds in Monteverde

You walk slowly over a suspended bridge. Your light footsteps are the only sound audible over the rushing of a stream in the near distance, and a mystic haze draped over the deep green canopy limits your sightline to only a few dozen feet in front of you.

You’re not in a dream. You’re in Monteverde, Costa Rica.

This is one part of the experience of the thousands of travelers who make their way to Monteverde’s world-renowned cloud forests every year. This rare type of forest — which occurs only in mountainous tropical areas like Monteverde — provides a travel experience that’s as close to a waking dream as you’re ever going to get.

Read on to learn more about the latest destination spotlight from Adventure Tours Costa Rica: Monteverde.

Monteverde’s Dreamlike Cloud Forests

The Monteverde Cloud Forest is one of the few places on earth where the sky reaches down and touches the trees. Low-hanging fog fills the lush, green canopy, and visitors can hike the mountainous area or walk a hanging bridge tour to take a stroll through the clouds.

The warm, moist forest climate promotes breathtaking biodiversity. Green-crowned brilliant birds, zebra-wing butterflies and white-faced capuchin monkeys are just a few of the wildlife sights you can see.

Don’t forget to check out the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, the sister to the Monteverde Cloud Forest that offers similar beauty but a better chance of seeing a spider monkey, as this forest is an ideal habitat for these fascinating creatures.

Weather in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Warm, pleasant daytime temperatures and cooler nights characterize the summer weather in Monteverde. Expect summer highs in the upper 70s and low 80s and nighttime lows in the 60s. This is a relatively wet climate, with nearly 80 inches in average annual rainfall.

Other Things to Do in Monteverde

You could fill an entire week just exploring the cloud forests in Monteverde, but that isn’t the only thing to do in these parts.

Here are some other things to do in Monteverde, Costa Rica:

• Book a coffee tour at one of the nearby coffee farms.
  
• Check out Arenal, a live volcano nearby.
• Take a drive to La Fortuna to see a 200-foot waterfall.
• Visit a hummingbird garden to see Costa Rica’s brilliant variety of hummingbirds.
• Get a new perspective on the cloud forests by ziplining above them or horseback riding below the canopy.

Traveling to Monteverde

Monteverde is a roughly 2.5-hour drive northwest of San Jose, where you’ll likely land at the Juan Santamaría International Airport. You can book a rental car or bus to reach Monteverde from San Jose with relative ease. If you are planning to drive, keep in mind that the main route to get to Monteverde, Route 606, has a reputation for being a difficult trip. Rough roads, narrow lanes and cliffside driving are likely to be a part of that particular adventure.

Book Your Tour of Monteverde, Costa Rica

At Adventure Tours Costa Rica, we enjoy nothing more than helping travelers find the best destinations and experiences in Costa Rica — and Monteverde is certainly one of those destinations!

Ready to book your Monteverde tour? Check out our vacation packages and itineraries, call 1-800-761-7250, or contact us online.