Day 5. Monteverde | Perfect Planet

Submitted by maria on Wed, 14/09/2022 - 10:45

The day dawns completely clear and the sun shines. The traditional breakfast starts at 7.30 am and as we want to be at the reserve first thing in the morning, the lodge provides us with fruit, coffee and biscuits.

Views from the hostel

Today we visited the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. They are open from 7 am until 4 pm. It is best to arrive early in the morning when the possibility of seeing animals is higher.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve

At the entrance a group of capuchin monkeys welcome us. What a marvel.

It is not necessary to hire a guide to walk the trails, but it is essential to go quietly and slowly observing.

Founded in 1962 by scientists and Quakers to safeguard the biodiversity of this cloud forest, this reserve has been a pioneer in conservation through various sustainable development initiatives. You can buy tickets through the website or at the entrance hut (in high season you'd better book in advance).

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve

The car park is located about two kilometres before and costs 5$, the proceeds of which go to the Red Cross. From here a small bus takes you to the entrance. If you don't want to pay for it, you can take a bus from the village (there are 5 services a day and it costs 2$/pax) or leave it unattended on the unpaved road (suitable for all types of vehicles) where there isn't much room either.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve

The reserve comprises a network of 13 km of trails, the most famous of which is the Wilford Guindon trail with a suspension bridge.

We started our hike on the 2km Cloud Forest trail and joined it with the Ventana trail which takes you to some spectacular viewpoints where on clear days you can see both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

Viewpoint

We recommend that you start your tour on the Cloud Forest Trail. Although you may see small mammals, such as macaws and weasels, and birds, such as peacocks and hummingbirds, on other trails, the incidence of light and the sound of birds in the early morning makes this trail an amazing place.

Viewpoint

This trail is approximately 1 km long and continues for another 900 metres to the La Ventanta trail topped by a viewpoint with spectacular views of the entire cloud forest from where you can see the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. If you are lucky you may see vultures flying overhead.

Suspension bridge

We continue our walk along the Camino trail for about 500 metres until we reach the Wildorf Guindon trail to cross the spectacular suspension bridge, which is about 100 metres long and 25 metres high. Very impressive.

Suspension bridge

From the Wildorf trail we link up with the Tosí trail until we reach the waterfall via the Quebrada Cuecha trail. At the viewpoint of the waterfall a kind of dragonfly with coloured antennae welcomes us along with several Morpho butterflies.

Suspension bridge

We return along the Quebrada Cuecha path to the exit.

When you arrive at the exit, tell the ticket office at the entrance and the bus will pick you up to take you to the car park.

Waterfall

Recommendations. If you want to enjoy the reserve alone, start walking early in the morning, when there are fewer people and you are more likely to see animals. The La Ventana, Roble and Chomogo trails are the least crowded, if there are people it is better to walk them, they are further away and have a little more elevation gain. The Camino trail is the least interesting of all, it is quite a bit wider, although it serves as a link to other trails.

Bring closed shoes (no boots are necessary unless it rains a lot, which is better to bring rubber boots), insect repellent, sunscreen and plenty of water, as there are no fountains inside the reserve.

Centipedes

If you still want to see more hummingbirds outside the reserve you will find the Colibri Café where you can have a drink and watch these wonderful birds.

We take the car again to reach our next destination Manuel Antonio. We have a long three hour drive.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve

Halfway there we stopped at the crocodile bridge in Tárcoles. Although it is becoming a tourist attraction (some people feed them to make money from the tourists), it is quite impressive to see these huge, prehistoric animals up close.

Cocodriles

Fortunately we were practically alone at the time and were able to see several specimens resting in the sun.

There is an area just before the bridge where you can park with restaurants and souvenir stalls.

Cocodriles

We continue our journey and get stuck in a small traffic jam, when the traffic starts to flow again we notice that ahead of us there is a convoy consisting of a police car, fire brigade, a school bus and several children carrying a torch, like in the Olympic Games, as they run in groups, relieving each other. Later we would learn that the Independence of Costa Rica is celebrated on this day and is commemorated by carrying the Fire of the Fatherland from the Nicaraguan border to Cartago. This year is the 201st anniversary. All over the country, especially in San José, there are celebrations during these days.

Teva Hotel

We arrived at our accommodation around 5pm, Teva Hotel & Jungle Reserve. This beautiful resort has a bar-restaurant, swimming pool and even a yoga platform in the middle of the jungle, as well as its own walking trails. Although the room has a shared bathroom the facilities are great and you can even make your own food in the kitchen and communal dining room overlooking the jungle. Lovely. Highly recommended.

Teva Hotel

We have a swim in the pool and then go to the village, which is only a 3 minute walk away, to have dinner and buy supplies. We have dinner at El Angel soda, chifrijo and burrito, delicious.

Chifrijo

In this area, as in other very touristy areas, the prices in the supermarkets are sky high, but we still buy breakfast for tomorrow morning, as we want to be in Manuel Antonio National Park first thing in the morning.

When we arrive at the hotel the storm breaks and it rains non-stop for hours. At least the rain is respecting us during the day.