Monteverde Lodge and Gardens

You need to pack an entirely different bag for your Monteverde Experience. This is the highlands, gusting wind, mist and very stout trees. Long pants, layer a t-shirt, a long sleeved shirt and a good fleece followed by rain gear are a must. On your feet, hiking boots with ankle support. In your day pack, a water bottle, a bird book, a snack, binocs and a snack.

Although it’s possible to fly to Monteverde and land in a helicopter on a day where there isn’t the normal amount of wind, it’s not done very often, 99.9% of our guests go by land. The drive is a couple of hours on a Costa Rican highway, the drive itself pretty straight forward, the difficulty lies in dealing with other Costa Rican drivers. The last 1 ½ hours is on a winding mountain road with hairpin curves and cliffs on one side. Just in case that’s not enough, big trucks come barreling down the road with little concern that you’re the one on the cliff side of the road.

Monteverde was originally settled by Quakers from Alabama that had been put in prison for refusing to be drafted for the Korean War and refusing to pay taxes that would fund the war. After serving their sentence, they decided that they wanted to move to a place where they wouldn’t have to deal with war. They considered many locations but in the end, Costa Rica the country that abolished its army to spend those funds on education and health, won.

They went through a lot to get there. There was only a trail for ox carts up the mountain. It was rainy, very cold and extremely windy. Some of the founders of the community are still alive in Monteverde today. They did it all; bush whacking, hunting for food, beating off jaguar wanting to eat their livestock. Not all that different than in Tortuguero, but much more difficult given the climate and terrain.

MonteverdeLode & Gardens sits on a bluff and is mostly surrounded by forest. Some of the forest is primary but most of it is secondary. A creek runs below.  There is an early photo of the lodge where the grounds are grass only and a horse is grazing. Today, the forest comes right up to our doorstep, a combination of landscaped gardens and forest growing freely.

The primary attraction of the Monteverde region is the Cloud Forest. This is a high elevation forest where the trees have very thick sturdy trunks and the canopy of the trees is more compact and tight. They evolved this way to be able to deal with the winds that prevail in this area.

The most important sightings in Monteverde are sightings of special birds. The most looked for species the Resplendant Quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala. The Three Wattled Bell bird, the Emerald Toucanet and the Sabre Winged hummingbird also have their claim to fame.

Looking for wildlife in Monteverde requires hiking, sometimes for long distances. A lot of people do it on their own and see very little. A Naturalist Guide will greatly increase the number of sightings and also the quality of the view. Our guides carry telescopes which make it much easier to see birds that are way up in the trees. Guests mostly book half day hikes but some opt for a full day hike and a sack lunch.  The day consists mostly of looking for birds and learning about the environment. It’s likely that the trail will include a stop and a discussion about conservation and the impact of preserving the forest going forward or not.

Although mammals can be seen in Monteverde, the reserves usually only offer glimpses of a monkeys butt. Guests will see more mammals at some of the private reserves or even in the gardens of Monteverde Lodge than in the Reserves.

There are two well known reserves, the Santa Elena Reserve and the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. There are detailed descriptions of both and a comparison chart on the site.

When visiting the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, guests will see the Continental Divide a place where water that falls on one side ends up in the Pacific Ocean and water that falls on the other ends up in the Atlantic Ocean.

Montverde is one of the great places to hike in Costa Rica. There are many kilometers of trails for all levels of ability. Many of our guests are serious hikers and this is a good location for that activity.

The sounds of Monteverde are more subtle than the sounds of Tortuguero, but there are some landmark sounds, the wind the calls of several the iconic birds of the region. The gong of the Three Wattled Bell Bird, the chirp of the Resplendent Quetzal and the courtship song of the Long-Tailed Manakin lek, if you’re lucky you’ll get to see their courting dance.

Monteverde Lodge & Gardens is a great place just to spend time at the lodge. Rooms are cozy, the fireplace in the bar area which can be seen from the front door is lit all the time and food is fantastic. The garden is a great place to sit and read, meditate, bird watch, talk. There are normally mixed flocks of birds in the yard going about their business, the stream in the garden makes its music. Daily visitors to the gardens include the Coatimundi, Agouti, White Faced Capuchin monkey and the sloth. I once saw a mama Coatimundi walking down a garden path with her half a dozen babies following. When she saw me she froze abruptly and those babies all crashed behind her like a 6 car pileup. It was hilarious.

When you read about Monteverde on internet, you are going to read about canopy zip lines and hanging bridges. We don’t sell these activities in Monteverde because none of the ones that are offered meet our safety standards. We’d love to be able to send our business to one of these organizations, but in our opinion, they either aren’t built correctly or they’re not operated safely.

We normally recommend that our guests visit one of the two reserves or both if they have the time and like to hike. I think Monteverde is the best place in Costa Rica  to go horseback riding and if there are kids involved the butterfly garden and bat jungle are fun. The frog pond is very close to the lodge and guests often walk there to see the frogs. It’s a fun exhibit, how fun depends a lot on the quality of the guide that they get.

The largest town near Monteverde is the town of Santa Elena. This is fairly small but has several restaurants, shops, coffee shops, bakeries and a grocery store. Up and down the road that leads to the Monteverde Reserve there are more restaurants, shops, art galleries and places to stop and have a look.

You will be greeted warmly by our staff in the lobby of Monteverde Lodge & Gardens, the fireplace will usually be blazing and depending on the weather you’ll quickly be offered either a refreshing drink or a hot toddy and a genuine smile…Welcome to Monteverde Lodge & Gardens.

by Natalie Ewing