Why You Need to Visit the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica

Over 4,500 feet above sea level in the interior of Costa Rica lies the Monteverde Cloud Forest. This mystical destination is a far cry from the lavish beach resorts and surf towns on the country’s coast and offers a glimpse Costa Rica’s fantastic biodiversity.

You might be wondering what a cloud forest is. Essentially, it’s like a rain forest, but at a high elevation (between 3,000 and 8,000 feet). The resulting climate is wet, with fog and low-hanging clouds even in the dry season.

The Monteverde Cloud Forest is an immensely rich region with high levels of biodiversity. Even in the dry season, it remains vibrantly green, with enough humidity to keep the plants hydrated and happy.

If you aren’t convinced yet, here are my top reasons why the Monteverde Cloud Forest deserves a spot on your Costa Rica itinerary:

Reasons to Visit Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica

1. It has one of the longest hanging bridges in Costa Rica.

One of the longest hanging bridges in Costa Rica is located in Monteverde, in the Selvatura Adventure Park. The park has eight bridges in total, ranging from 170 to 560 feet long. The 560-foot bridge is a spectacular sight to see, not only for its incredible length but also for the stellar view of the cloud forest canopy below.

To visit the hanging bridges in the Selvatura Adventure Park, you have a couple of options. The first is to only visit the suspension bridges, which costs $42 plus taxes and fees; you can purchase tickets here. The other, which is more cost effective, is to book an all-day pack for $169 plus fees. The cost is steep, but it includes a canopy zip-lining tour and access to the sloth sanctuary (more on that below), the butterfly garden, and the reptile and amphibian exhibition. All of these activities individually would exceed $200, so $169 isn’t so bad.

2. And there are plenty of other hanging bridges to choose from.

Besides the hanging bridges at Selvatura Adventure Park, there are several other places in Monteverde where you can find them. The Sky Walk at Sky Adventures has many bridges to choose from, with a similar fee scale as Selvatura; packages are available that include several activities, such as zip-lining and a ropes course. (Since I only had time for one of these, I chose Selvatura because of the sloth sanctuary there.)

Another place to find hanging bridges is the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, the town’s main attraction. The bridges here aren’t as impressive in length, but the…