Monteverde
Monteverde is home to Costa Rica’s infamous cloud forest, a type of rain forest, but one where temperatures stay cooler all year (~65 degrees F) and are constantly covered in a blanket of damp clouds. Evaporation is slowed as a result of frequent shade and precipitation and therefore moisture clings to the vegetation keeping it green and lush.
The area’s first residents were a handful of Costa Rican families fleeing the gold mine fields during the 1940s, but in the early 1950’s they were joined by a group of Quakers who fled the US during the Korean War to prevent their sons from being drafted. One of the reasons the Americans chose Costa Rica as their new home was the fact that the country had abolished their military in 1949. In fact, Costa Rica is still without a standing army, which is thanks to their stable government and economy. As a result of the two different groups of settlers, both English and Spanish is spoken here and you might end up having one of the American kids whose parents settled here in the 50s as your tour guide… we did!
Monteverde is not easy to get to though, which is why it still remains somewhat off the beaten path. Unpaved roads in poor condition require a 4WD vehicle and a lot of patience for the one hour bumpy ride up the mountain. The roads are narrow and you’ll come across potholes the size of your refrigerator, so driving this route is not for everyone. But if you do decide to make the trip, it’s worth the effort to visit this well-protected reserve and to get up close and personal with nature.
Costa Rica basically invented the canopy tour and Monteverde is the canopy tour capital of the country. There are several ways to get this birds-eye view of the cloud forest from walking the hanging bridges, to riding the treetop trams to zip lining. The latter has definitely become Costa Rica’s marquee activity and Megan and I decided Monteverde was the place to soar, getting a tour of the cloud forest in the process. We chose Selvatura because it’s the only zip line built entirely within the Monteverde cloud forest, has 12 lines, 18 platforms and an optional Tarzan swing at the end. You can also pay an additional fee to do the last line in superman position, laying flat on your stomach, head first. It was an awesome experience zipping above the tree line and seeing the entire cloud forest stretch on for miles in every direction below. Unless you’re afraid of heights, it’s more of a fun activity than an adrenaline rush, but the Tarzan swing definitely delivers that stomach dropping punch.
After we were done zip lining, we did Selvatura’s Tree Top Walkway tour… a 3km loop through the cloud forest with hanging bridges ranging from 36 to 180 feet in height. You can take your time, walking at your own pace while watching for wildlife and admiring the lush, green vegetation in every direction. We also visited the Hummingbird Garden where the birds dart back and forth to the various feeders nearly taking you out in the process. They flutter so fast that it’s hard to keep your eye on them, but it’s fascinating to watch.
While the Cloud Forest is beautiful during the day, it’s also popular once the sun goes down and the nocturnal animals come out in search of prey. We did a Night Walk Tour at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve where our guide led us along the trails, pointing out insects, mammals and birds as he spotted them. We were all given a flashlight so we could 
assist with the search but I would have never been able to spot the creatures he found on my own. I was on a mission to see a snake, as long as it was a safe distance from us and had just eaten. I did get my wish, but unfortunately it was just a little baby snake that basically required a magnifying glass to even see… not a poisonous, deadly one that I could come home and brag about surviving an encounter 
with. We also had the pleasure of seeing a cockroach and a daddy-longlegger… not exactly what we had in mind, ha! But we did see a toucan sleeping high above us in the branches, the legs of a tarantula hiding out in a hole and baby frogs that were so tiny, they looked fake.
Monteverde generally refers to the entire area, but the actual town of Monteverde is the original Quaker settlement. The village of Santa Elena, 6km north of Monteverde, offers the largest concentration of restaurants and hotels. We stayed just outside Santa Elena at El Establo Mountain Hotel, a beautiful property built on a hill offering stunning views of the area all the way to the Gulf of Nicoya and the Nicoya Peninsula. We were lucky enough to get one perfect sunset while we were in town, but unfortunately we were rushing out the door to get to our night walk tour, so we couldn’t enjoy it! But it’s also fun to watch the clouds roll in over the mountains and blanket the valley below.
Costa Rica’s coffee is well known and it’s production as an export had a huge impact in transitioning Costa Rica from a poor country with a weak infrastructure into the wealthiest country in Central America, developing a concrete middle class. Many of the popular coffee plantations across the country will offer tours, giving you a behind the scenes look at the production process from seed to mug. There are a few to chose from in Monteverde, one of them being Don Juan’s. Don Juan Cruz was one of the original settlers in the area and he is proud to offer small group tours of his coffee plantation, just a few kilometers north of Santa Elena. If you just want to sample his labor of love, there’s also a cafe you can visit without doing the tour. We were lucky enough to meet him when we stopped in to buy some coffee to take home with us!
Besides getting up close and personal with nature, there isn’t a lot going on here at night and many restaurants won’t take dinner reservations after 8:30pm. So plan on early evenings and early mornings while in town. We were thankful to have some time to catch up and relax since our schedule has been packed. But with many of the hotels in this region not having heat, including ours, we were excited to leave the damp, 60 degree temps and head to the Pacific Coast!