General Information:
Location: 168 kms. (105 miles) northwest of San José
Weather: Moderate to cool. Cloudy and wet conditions are common at higher elevations. See bottom of page for more details on the climate
Temperatures: Average 65-75° F, see Monteverde climate
Altitude: 1440m (4600 ft), with elevations reaching 1800 m (5900 ft)
Read more about the Monteverde Tourism Region
About:
Monteverde
is a refreshing break from the heat of the beaches. Its green slopes
and cascading waterfalls (and low humidity) will leave you in awe.
Best known for its rich biodiversity and cloud forests, the Monteverde
area is a must see. Nestled in the Tilarán Mountain Range with views
to the Gulf of Nicoya and of Arenal Volcano, Monteverde is a paradise of lush landscapes.
The
area known as Monteverde really consists of a few small towns, Santa
Elena being the most well known, and of several private reserves and
forested areas. This region is unique in that all of the protected
lands are private endeavors, not government mandates. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
is the largest of these private protected areas, with over 25,730 acres
(10,415 hectares) of land. More than 500 species of orchids cling to
the limbs of enormous trees, while vines, ferns, mosses and lichens
fill every other available space.
The cloud forests of
Monteverde house more than 130 species of mammals, 400 species of birds
including 30 species of hummingbirds, 5000 species of moths and 3000
species of plants. It is a nature lover's paradise.
Hiking,
bird watching and canopy tours are the biggest attractions here, but
horseback riding, coffee tours and the plethora of natural history
museums need not be forgotten.
Read our Travel Blogs about Monteverde (June 2006)
Brief History:
El
Espinero was the indigenous name for Monteverde, a name created by the
Corobici Indians who originally hunted the region. In the early 1900’s
the first Costa Rican settlers moved to the area and founded the town
of Santa Elena. In the 1920’s, settlers began cultivating coffee, a
major source of income in the area until the dairy industry became
dominant.
This occurred in the 1950's when several Quaker
families from Alabama settled in the region, naming it Monteverde,
meaning green mountains. The Quakers brought with them a sense of
community and philosophy and they spurred the beginning of an economy
with the introduction of cows and dairy. In 1953, they founded the
Cheese Factory, which further spurred growth in the area.
Right
from the start, they preserved a third of their property (originally
3460 acres, 1400 hectares) in order to protect the watershed above
their new settlement. Today, the Cloud Forest Reserve is a valuable
addition to the Arenal–Monteverde Protected Zone.
In 1972 the
Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve was established as the
second protected area in the area and in 1977, the first hotel was
built. Since that time, more than 40 privately protected areas have
been established in the area and more than 200,000 visitors visit the
Cloud Forest Reserve alone. Tourism is the number one industry in
Monteverde today.
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More About the Area:
After
driving up a long, gravel road to reach the Monteverde area, Santa
Elena is the first of the Monteverde villages you will encounter.
Santa Elena is the largest of the three and the heart of the commerce
in the Monteverde area. There is a supermarket, bank, police station,
lots of restaurants and budget hotels/cabinas. Buses arriving to
Monteverde all end their journey in Santa Elena, across from the bank
in the center of town. The insectario, ranario and serpentario can all
be found here as well.
A little further up the road as you
head towards Monteverde and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve is the small town of Cerro Plano where you will find more
hotels and restaurants of varying prices, an internet café and the
ecological sanctuary, good for hiking, bird watching and night tours.
There
are also many art galleries along the main road between Santa Elena and
Cerro Plano. Once in Cerro Plano, the road that forks to the left at
the internet café, leads to the ecological sanctuary. An ice cream
parlor and several more restaurants are a little ways up on the left.
The forest tram and ecological sanctuary and butterfly garden are all
further down the hill.
As you continue up the road towards
the Monteverde Cloud Forest there are several more hotels, restaurants
and art galleries along the road. The area’s gas station, the Cheese
Factory, Children’s Eternal Rainforest (private reserve) and eventually
the Monteverde Village and the Monteverde Cloud Forest.
The
road splits off to the right before reaching the Cloud forest and
begins a steep decline down to the San Luis waterfall and ecolodge.
The road curves along a steep mountainside offering spectacular views
to the north and west. The Gulf of Nicoya can be seen from here too on
clear days. The green of the forest and pastures makes for incredible
photos.
If you take the fork in the road to the left, it dead
ends at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve and Hummingbird
Gallery.
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More About the Climate: Costa
Rica has two distinct climatic regions separated buy the volcanic
Tilarán Mountain Range. The presence, direction and strength of the
trade winds that blow generally from the east up the slopes of the
Mountains, dictate the variation of climate. Monteverde sits right on
top of this division of regions on the Continental Divide.
Altitudinal
changes within the Monteverde area also greatly affect the weather.
While it may be sunny and warm in Santa Elena, there may be no sign of
the sun in the cloud forests with a noticeable decrease in
temperature. Cloudy and moist/wet conditions are found more regularly
at higher elevations.
The drier season in Monteverde
is from December until April (the driest months are February-April).
This simply means that less total rain falls during this time because
it receives less northeasterly wind-driven precipitation. Windy
conditions keep the moisture from the eastern slope on the Caribbean
side and drier, windy (to very windy) conditions result. During the
rainy season, May through October, sunny mornings are often followed by
downpours. The area receives an average of 118 inches (3000mm) of
annual rainfall. The average daily temperature in Santa Elena is 75°.
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