Monteverde

Monteverde sits on a ridge of the Tilarán mountains, and the air up here is cool and misty. There is no swimming to speak of. The nearest coast is the Gulf of Nicoya around Puntarenas, about two hours away on winding roads, and the good Pacific beaches of Nicoya and Manuel Antonio are further still. People who want sand usually put a few beach nights before or after their stay in the cloud forest.

Most of the eating is in Santa Elena, the small town at the centre, and along the road up to the reserve. You will find sodas serving casados of rice, beans, plantain and grilled meat or fish, a handful of more ambitious lodge and international restaurants, and some cafés. What is genuinely local is the coffee grown on the surrounding slopes, which you can taste on farm tours, and the cheese from the dairy the Quaker settlers started. It is pleasant and honest food, but there is not much range, and in the evening the choice is limited.

Monteverde has almost no sights in the usual sense. Its history is unusual: a group of American Quakers settled here in the early 1950s, began dairy farming and helped protect the forest that later became the reserve, and you can still feel that influence in the community and its cheese plant. Beyond that there are small insect and butterfly exhibits and farm tours, which are really nature and food outings. Nobody comes here for architecture or museums.

The evenings are quiet. Santa Elena has a few bars and restaurants that stay open for a drink after dinner, but there are no clubs and nothing runs late. Most visitors go on a guided night walk to look for sloths, tarantulas and tree frogs, eat early and go to bed, because the best birding starts at first light.

The whole point of Monteverde is the cloud forest. Along the continental divide, trade winds push moisture over the ridge, and the trees are thick with moss, ferns, orchids and bromeliads. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, the Santa Elena Reserve and the Children's Eternal Rainforest protect large areas of it, and they are crossed by well-marked trails, lookouts over the divide and, in places, hanging bridges through the canopy. Birders come for the resplendent quetzal, three-wattled bellbirds and dozens of hummingbird species. Mammals are harder to see, but coatis, sloths and howler monkeys show up regularly.

This is also where Costa Rica's zip-line canopy tours began, and long cables still run over the treetops. You can also go horse riding, take guided dawn and night walks, and in clear weather see the Gulf of Nicoya far below. The drier months, roughly December to April, are often windy and misty. From May to November there is heavy afternoon rain. Days are mild, usually around 15-22°C, so bring a rain jacket and boots for the muddy trails.

There is little to visit as a day trip, because Monteverde is the excursion itself. The port town of Puntarenas and the Gulf of Nicoya are about two hours away, but they are hardly worth the round trip. La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano are popular next stops, but the drive around the lake, or the jeep-boat-jeep crossing, takes about three hours or more. They are best treated as the next base on your route, not as a day out.

Children who like animals tend to love Monteverde. The hanging bridges and canopy walks, the butterfly gardens, frog and insect exhibits, and a night walk with a torch looking for tarantulas and sleeping birds all work well for school-age children. Older ones can join the zip-line tours, which have minimum ages and weights. Santa Elena is small and relaxed, and Costa Ricans are warm towards families.

It is harder with toddlers. The trails are wet, steep in places and unsuitable for buggies, much of the wildlife needs patience to see, the weather is cool and often damp, and the winding drive up the mountain is long. There are no theme parks, aquariums or calm beaches to fall back on.

Santa Elena is compact enough to walk around, but the lodges and attractions are strung along steep, partly rough roads. The Monteverde reserve is about 6km from town, uphill. A small local bus runs to the main reserves a few times a day, and taxis are easy to find, but most visitors rely on the hotel pick-ups included with tours. Arriving takes some effort, usually by shuttle or a hired car on a slow mountain road. Once you are here, though, you do not need a car.

Shopping is limited to souvenir and outdoor-gear shops in Santa Elena, gift shops at the reserves and farms, and bags of locally grown coffee and chocolate. The most interesting buy is embroidery and handicrafts from the community's long-running women's artisan cooperative. Beyond that there is nothing to shop for.

Monteverde is not a budget stop, even though Costa Rica is in Central America. Hostels, simple guesthouses and local sodas keep the basics manageable, but the things you come for all cost money and soon add up: reserve entrance, the guide you really need to spot wildlife, canopy tours, night walks and shuttles up the mountain. Lodges in the forest and restaurants aimed at visitors charge close to North American prices.

Monteverde has no performing arts scene to speak of. Some evenings a restaurant or bar puts on local musicians, and the community holds small concerts and events now and then, but there is no theatre, concert hall or programme you could plan a trip around.

There are no thermal baths or bathhouses here. The nearest hot springs are around Arenal, a long drive away, and spa options are limited to treatments at a few lodges and some yoga classes. What Monteverde does offer is quiet: cool, misty air, birdsong at dawn, early nights and a slow day built around walking in the forest. Many lodges have balconies over the trees, which suit people who want to switch off. If you want massages and pools to recover in, plan a stop elsewhere on your route.