Monteverde, Costa Rica, rightfully earned its name “green mountain” due to its breathtaking natural beauty.
Where dense forests and fauna thrive, Monteverde is one of Costa Rica’s best vacation spots, offering travelers the opportunity to experience and enjoy its magnificent nature.
To help you decide what to do during your time here I’ve talked to our Costa Rican expert, Karla Sarquis, who has gracefully put together a great list for us, including some of the best places to visit in Monteverde. Her and her family are pictured throughout – thank you, Karla!
After you explore your options on where to go in Monteverde, take a look at the Costa Rican Transportation offered by our team. Our friendly team will get you and your family there safely and without the hassle with our quick Costa Rican Transportation Booking Tool.
A Little Background on Monteverde
First, let’s understand how magnificent this place is. Monteverde’s protected natural conservation area is nestled between Guanacaste, Alajuela, and Puntarenas provinces. This beautiful area plays a vital role in maintaining Costa Rica’s rich biodiversity – making it an exhilarating place to explore.
The cloud forest of Monteverde houses 2.5% of worldwide biodiversity! Monteverde’s singular climate and specialized ecosystems produce irreplaceable habitats. The persistent cloud veil slows evaporation, providing sustained moisture and supporting an extraordinary array of plant and animal life.
You’ll find habitat for thousands of plant species and over 400 bird species, including the rare quetzal and vibrant blue wing-tipped scarlet macaw.
Top Places to Visit in Monteverde
Costa Rica’s cloud forests provide a generous helping of experiences tailored to different energy levels and capabilities – perfect for young families. Activities include forest trail hikes, guided canopy tours or ziplining, exploring the breathtaking hanging bridges, bird watching, sloth habitats, and last but not least – coffee tours.
#1 Take a Zip Lining Adventure
Monteverde Canopy (as it is referred to in Costa Rica) is an unforgettable experience you won’t want to miss. This cool spot features the longest course in the country!
There are usually combined excursions with hanging bridges, but if you can only choose one of the two, the canopy stands out as the can’t-miss option.
Ziplining in Monteverde Canopy prioritizes numerous safety protocols with designated personnel stationed at the start and end of each launch to ensure secure tie and release.
This had always been my family’s list of things to do. There are many different places to pick from for zip lining, but for our trip, we chose The Original Canopy tour.
This tour gave us an exhilarating adventure through the cloud forest zip lines, traversing 10 cables, a rappel descent, a Tarzan Swing which for us was an added adrenaline rush that both adults and kids loved, and your choice of climbing inside a majestic Strangler Fig tree.
#2 Explore the Monteverde Cloud Forest
Nature lovers will find Monteverde’s Cloud Forest Biological Reserve to be a captivating destination, where the rainforest and sky converge, surrounded by low-hanging clouds and mist.
This unique environment features 8 miles of trails, divided into six primary paths that accommodate varied interests, from brief, 10-15 minute walks to lengthier excursions traversing waterfalls and spanning multiple kilometers.
To maximize your experience, consider a Monteverde Cloud forest guided tour to help you see more wildlife and learn all about the ecosystems as you go.
#3 Hanging Bridges
Exploring the hanging bridges at the treetop level is a unique experience that will give you a different perspective from how you see everything from the trails. Selvatura Park was our pick for this tour.
The park’s unique feature is its extensive network of hanging bridges, strategically positioned above the tree canopy, offering breathtaking panoramic views of the rainforest and ideal conditions for wildlife viewing.
This is a 1.9-mile trail through the cloud forest with 8 bridges ranging from 170ft up to an amazing 560 ft in length. This tour can take between 1-2 hours and there’s an option to take a guided tour, especially if you want to learn more about the wildlife.
#4 Bird Watching
Monteverde is a sanctuary for more than 400 species of birds, a paradise where the main stars are the majestic quetzal and the three-wattled bellbird.
The Cloud Forest is without a doubt a paradise for bird enthusiasts. Early morning tours offer the greatest opportunities for wildlife sightings as it is most active during this period. Guided tours are highly recommended due to the expertise of the guides, ensuring a comprehensive experience regardless of your bird knowledge. They provide detailed explanations, identify various bird species, and locate prime viewing spots for an unforgettable encounter.
Photography by: Zdeněk Macháček
One of the prime times to go birdwatching is from April to the end of June when the Quetzal nesting season coincides with the migration season of the famous Bellbird.
#5 Local Coffee Tours
In this region, coffee production is exceptionally renowned and in the surroundings of Monteverde, there are some excellent plantations to visit.
For a better experience, I recommend taking a guided tour of one of the nearby plantations to witness the production methods firsthand. Several plantations can be visited with a guide from the plantation itself that will show you all about the coffee process from picking the beans to the finished cup.
Café Monteverde: it is one of the most famous in the region, offering visitors the opportunity to tour, sample great coffee, and purchase specialty coffee souvenirs. Café Monteverde is a family-owned plantation that has farmed, harvested, milled, roasted & exported specialty arabica coffee since 1989 in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Final Thoughts on Monteverde
Whether you are looking for a boost of adrenaline zip-lining through the top of the trees or for a relaxing hike along the cloud forest, Monteverde is definitely the place to visit and a top destination in Costa Rica.
Don’t forget to visit downtown for a colorful experience of restaurants and cafes that you won’t want to miss!
Check back to our blog for more contributions from Karla on her family adventures!
