Costa Rica – Rainforests, Cloud Forests and Wildlife Galore

Monteverde Cloud Forest

Our next stop after Arenal was the Monteverde cloud forest. A cloud forest is a unique ecosystem, characterized by persistent, low-level cloud cover at treetop canopy level. It requires a very specific set of conditions to exist, based on latitude, elevation and distance to the sea.  They are relatively rare around the world and are usually found at a continental divide. They are beautiful and fascinating and definitely worth seeing. The Monteverde cloud forest is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, holding about 2.5% of the world’s total biodiversity.

Because it’s almost always foggy and drizzly in the cloud forest, you won’t actually see a lot of wildlife by just walking around in the dense jungle. But around Monte Verde, there are places that have been setup to see frogs, bats, butterflies, hummingbirds and orchids. (See our Costa Rica Travel Guide for more details). We couldn’t get to all of them, but they’re probably worth a visit. Another popular way to see them is a night walk tour. This allows you to see many more animals that can’t be seen during the day.

In recent years, many more cruise ships have added Costa Rica to their itineraries and Monte Verde has become a popular destination for day trips from the cruise ship terminal. We felt that the small towns around the cloud forest preserves were overwhelmed with tour busses and large groups. Just two years ago, Ann and I had an amazing experience at a cloud forest lodge in Ecuador, so perhaps we were a bit jaded when we came to Monte Verde. We ended up not seeing some of the attractions in the area because we had seen them once already and didn’t want to fight the crowds. Still, we believe a visit to Costa Rica’s cloud forest should be on everyone’s itinerary if they haven’t already been to one somewhere else.

One thing not to be missed, though, is the Zipline at 100% Aventura. The park features the longest and highest zipline in all Latin America, as well as a Tarzan swing that will take your breath away.

Rainbows and Sunsets

We did enjoy some wonderful meals and several beautiful sunsets looking out at the Pacific Ocean from atop the Continental Divide. And for rainbow fans, when you’re in a spot where it’s always sunny, and just a short way up the hill it’s always raining, you get an almost perpetual rainbow!

Manuel Antonio

After Monte Verde, we headed to the Pacific coast and Manuel Antonio National Park.

Manuel Antonio National Park is by far the most visited park in Costa Rica. And for good reason. It’s a relatively small, easily accessible park that’s loaded with all the wildlife most people want to see. In just a few miles of easy hikes, we saw lots of monkeys, sloths, lizards, snakes, birds and other things…but don’t think you can find them without a guide.

We visited the park twice. The first time, we hired a guide and were quickly rewarded with lots of sightings. Feeling pretty good about ourselves, we went back the next day…and didn’t see a thing. It had rained hard the night before and that’s the excuse I’m sticking with. We did observe that the guides were happy to share information with each other, but they weren’t about to share it with self-guided visitors.

Just outside the park, the little town of Manuel Antonio kept us entertained with lots of bars and restaurants to while away the hours, each one advertising the best views and the most beautiful sunsets. It really didn’t matter which one you chose, they were all great.