The Cloud Forest of Monteverde!
The Resplendant Quetzal bird in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Quetzal is pronounced: Ket zeel'
It was our last morning in La Fortuna. From our room's balcony, I watched the dawn usher in a breathtakingly beautiful view of Arenal Volcano.
Our balcony's rocking chairs provided not only the perfect relaxation spot with which to view the colors of the early morning light but also to hear the exotic sounds of the tropical birds' songs.
At 8 am we all boarded our private bus, said goodbye to La Fortuna, and headed onward to Monteverde, home to the incredible cloud forest. What a journey, what a stunning day, and what an amazing destination!
On the map, the distance from La Fortuna to Monteverde looks mighty close. But appearances can be deceiving.
There are 3 routes to get from La Fortuna to Monteverde. Every route involved navigating narrow serpentine mountain roads.
In the map photo above and below, the shortest distance is in green.
The red route goes around a portion of Lake Arenal which is the largest lake in Costa Rica.
We took the dotted orange route and crossed Lake Arenal by boat-taxi and then on up those mountainous roads to Monteverde.
Regardless of which colored route you take, the elevational distance between the Arenal Volcano area and the Monteverde cloud forest is significant. La Fortuna has an elevation of 1,148 feet while Monteverde straddles the Continental Divide at 4,921 feet.
The largest lake in Costa Rica, the massive Lake Arenal, separates the Arenal Volcano from Monteverde. Our bus took us to the lake's dock where we boarded a water taxi.
Lake Arenal is a recreational area for boating and as we passed this luxury boat we could hear from afar that merriment and fun times were already in full swing by those on board.
We had an incredible, smooth ride with a stunning view of Arenal Volcano the entire way!
We so enjoyed this portion of the trip but all too soon, the hour water taxi ride ended and we docked at Rio Chiquito.
We were then transferred to another private bus and driven for two hours up the bumpy, winding, narrow serpentine mountain roads to Monteverde. It was tough to do on the bus with my kindle bouncing on my lap, but we worked on our daily Wordle for quite a while until SUCCESS, we FINALLY solved it!
Because it was such an incredibly clear day, Pedro made a spontaneous stop for us to take photos of the mountainous countryside with Arenal volcano in the distance.
Including our lovely hour-long lunch spot, we traveled for 4 hours and had an elevational gain of 3,000 feet.
We arrived at our destination, Hotel Los Jardines which was quite literally located upon a mountaintop. Around 2 pm we departed for the Cloud Forest. We were in for an amazing afternoon adventure!
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve was founded in 1972. It is a 26,000-acre of virgin cloud forest.
This mountainous area is an ecological paradise and encompasses a large swath of tropical forest. Because of its 4,921 ft. elevation, the forest captures the moisture from the clouds that blow from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Consequently, the moisture level is often an incredible 100%. The temperature also places an important role in the cloud forest with the average temperature being between 48 ad 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest is a rare biosphere. The scarcity of this type of forest around the globe is shocking. Only 1% of global woodland consists of cloud forests with a total of 736 cloud forest sites distributed among 59 countries. Six of those are in Costa Rica with the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve being the most famous.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest has a near-constant cloud coverage providing consistent rainfall. It quite honestly gives the area an ethereal, enchanted feel.
Within the Monteverde Cloud Forest, there are more than 2,550 species of plants, more than 110 species of mammals, 390 species of birds, and thousands of insects, amphibians, and reptiles.
For instance, the greatest concentration of wild orchards on earth is found in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, all 500 species of them.
Hard to believe that this unique biosphere was first settled in 1951 by North American Quakers (from Alabama), and this area was originally used as an environmentally conscious agricultural community.
In 1972, this unique Monteverde area was threatened by local farmers desiring to expand their farms by homesteading on local forest sites. Visiting scientists George Powel and his wife joined forces with longtime resident and environmentalist, Wildford Guidon, and they helped establish a nature preserve which is now a biological preserve. It is a pioneer and progressive conservation and ecotourism model based on biodiversity research and education. It remains privately owned and non-profit.
We spent the afternoon in the cloud forest and were astounded by its beauty, bounty, and biodiversity. Thanks to our fearless guide, Pedro, we spotted an incredibly rare sight. We saw not one but two Quetzals! A male and female perched near each other. They were absolutely stunning. The sunlight on their feathers made them appear iridescent and other-worldly. They were breathtaking.
These magnificent Resplendent Quetzals are famous for their colorful plumage and their elongated wavy tail feathers that can grow up to 3 feet long! Found only in Central America, Resplendent Quetzals number less than 50,000 and are soon to be placed on the International Endangered species list. Tragically the dwindling numbers are due to deforestation and poaching.
