The Cloud Forests of Costa Rica: Monteverde and Santa Elena

Day 30 (July 28, 2018) – Santa Elena, Costa Rica

What a difference from Guatemala. After a long day of flying on Avianca from Flores to Guatemala City, Guatemala City to San Salvador, and San Salvador to San Jose, I felt like we arrived in a very different place from where we started the day. Costa Rica feels very modern and affluent compared to Guatemala. The streets are well paved, the cars look to be in better shape, and the houses look like they’ve all just been painted. Even waiting to pick up our bags at the airport, there are families and kids running around everywhere, almost like we were in Orlando. The ATMs will even give you US dollars if you want them. It immediately felt more touristy and also more familiar, more similar to home, than Guatemala. 

Flying into Guatemala City from Flores. 

After a suspiciously expensive cab ride from the airport to our Airbnb for the night (did we get cheated or do cabs really cost this much in Costa Rica… we’re still not sure) we pretty much went immediately to bed so we could wake up at 5AM to catch a bus up to Monteverde. We had booked the tickets a few days earlier and catching the bus was very easy. We waited at the Villa Bonita bus stop, not much more than a bench by a gas station, and caught the 3-4 hour bus ride to Monteverde. The bus seats were way too small, with my knees hitting the seat in front of me, but otherwise it was a very entertaining ride. We kept driving up and up until we were on the tops of the mountains. We drove up so high we were sitting in the clouds that had seemed so high up from the ground back in San Jose. Getting out of the bus in Santa Elena it was misting and actually a bit cold. A bit of a shock after the tropical forests of Guatemala, but a welcome change.

Our apartment building and home while in Santa Elena.

I really enjoyed our time in Santa Elena. The town is tiny, with a few streets that form a small triangle with several shops and restaurants around. It’s not even small in a cute way; frankly, it’s just not picturesque. We were there for five days and not once did I ever think to take out my phone to take a picture of the town. But it’s intriguingly rugged. It drizzled or misted almost the entire time we were there. You never went anywhere without a rain jacket. They have taxis, but they’re all 4x4s so they can take you through the mud and up the mountains. It got cold at night so it felt great to take a hot shower and then sleep under blankets and a comforter. It was the complete opposite of the hot and humid Tikal where we had come from and I loved it. 

In the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Rain jackets required.

Suspension bridge in Monteverde.

We visited two cloud forest reserves during our time there, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve and the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, with the first being the more famous of the two. You have to drive up in elevation to get to either of the reserves and as you drive up to them everything becomes wetter and greener. The tops of the mountains are so high that they sit at cloud level, so as the clouds pass over they leave behind immense amounts of moisture as mist or light rain. All the water means that plants grow on everything. All the trees are covered in moss and draped in plants that cling to their trunks and branches. There is so much extra foliage growing on the trees it’s surprising that they don’t fall over.

Clouds rolling through the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

Hiking trail in Monteverde

There are a number of walking paths through both reserves and in each we hiked for 3-4 hours. It was one of those experiences that I don’t think any photograph can do justice. The photographs show plenty of greenery, but I think what makes it special and hard to capture, is that the greenery completely surrounds you. In every direction you look there are trees, mosses, vines, air plants, orchids, ferns, bromeliads, birds, and occasionally a coati, a small furry animals kind of similar to a racoon.

An attempt to capture the experience at Monteverde.

Tree trunk in Monteverde.

Of the two reserves, we preferred Monteverde over Santa Elena. The problem with Santa Elena was that the path was really muddy, so we spent more time looking at the ground trying to avoid mud puddles than looking around and enjoying the scenery. There were noticeably more people at Monteverde, but overall, I think it was a bit better of an experience. But I’m glad we saw both. 

Avoiding the puddles of mud in the Santa Elena Reserve.

Santa Elena Reserve.

Our whole experience in Santa Elena and the cloud forests exceeded my expectations. I was thinking we were going up there to hike through a famous forest, but it was much more than that. I understand now why it is so highly recommended on a trip to Costa Rica. I’d be thrilled to return one day.