10 Best Things to Do in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Monteverde is a mountainous region located in the heart of Costa Rica. It’s renowned for its cloud forest, a unique, high-altitude ecosystem teeming with birdlife and diverse wildlife. Ziplining, canopy tours, guided wildlife walks, and hikes to waterfalls and viewpoints top the list of things to do in Monteverde.

With its cooler temperatures, gorgeous hiking trails, thrilling ziplining courses, and abundance of wildlife sightings, Monteverde was a big highlight on our two-week trip through Costa Rica.

This area is worth at least a day or two on even the fastest trips through Costa Rica, especially for bird watchers, as this is one of the best places to spot the amazing Resplendent Quetzal.

In this guide, learn about the top experiences in Monteverde, plus the logistics of getting here, where to stay, and where to eat.

Welcome to Monteverde!

What is the Monteverde Cloud Forest?

The Monteverde Cloud Forest is a high-altitude rainforest in Costa Rica. Its famous for its misty skies, which blankets the forest, creating a unique environment that supports different flora and fauna than what you will find throughout the rest of Costa Rica.

Home to more than 400 bird species,the Cloud Forest is a biodiversity hotspot. The best way to see the elusive birds and mammals that live here is to join a guided wildlife walk, of which there are many to choose from. You also have quite a few options when picking out which canopy tours (ziplining) and hanging bridges to visit, all of which we will cover in this guide.

This area tends to be cloudier and cooler than other parts of Costa Rica (the average temperature is 19°C/66°F). Pack a few extra layers, including your rain jacket, as misty, wet weather is common here all year round.

We visited Monteverde in late February, one of the drier times of the year (Monteverde is driest between December and April). We never got to see the misty, cloud-covered skies, but it was cool and very windy while we were here.

One of many hanging bridges along the El Tigre Waterfall hike

Best Things to Do in Monteverde

1. Visit a Private Reserve

Santa Elena is the main town in Monteverde. Spread out around the town are a number of private reserves which protect the Monteverde Cloud Forest ecosystem.

There are several of these reserves to visit. Each one offers a slightly different experience. We visited most of them and here’s an overview of each of them.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

Why Pick This One: This reserve is located just outside of town, making it one of the easier ones to get to. It’s also one of the most popular to visit, so there are quite a few guided tours to choose from. Plus, it has several amenities at the entrance, such as a cafe, restaurant, and gift shop.

What Can You See Here: Spider monkeys, Coati, Tarantulas, Resplendent Quetzals, Crested Guan, Lesson’s Motmot, Violet Sabrewing hummingbird (largest hummingbird in Central America), and other bird and hummingbird species. Our guide also talked about the flora of the cloud forest, including the Ficus Tree / Strangler Fig, avocado trees, and more. There is also a hanging bridge, a waterfall, and a viewpoint of the Continental Divide.

Resplendent Quetzal

Lesson’s Motmot

Blue Eyed Anole

A hummingbird nest with two baby beaks.

Getting here: Park at the Harriet Powell Visitor Center, labeled as Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Parking Lot on Google Maps. Go inside the visitor center to check in (convert your online ticket purchase to a physical ticket), ask where to meet your guide (if you booked a tour directly with the reserve), and pay for parking (if you didn’t add this option to your online order). A shuttle bus will then take you the 1.4 km (0.9 miles) to the park entrance.

Don’t Miss: The hummingbird feeders at Cafe Colibri, which is located just a couple of steps outside the park’s entrance. 

PRO TRAVEL TIP: They limit the number of people that can enter the reserve so be sure to purchase your entrance ticket (Day Pass) online in advance. If you book a guided tour through a 3rd party, then ask the tour operator if you need to purchase the entrance ticket (Day Pass) separately. 

What We Did: We purchased the Natural History Walk Tour (which includes the Day Pass) directly through the reserve’s website since the timing worked best for our schedule. But here are two guided tour options offered by tour companies to consider, which give you the booking and cancellation benefits of the GetYourGuide platform:

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

The Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve (La Reserva Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena) is located farthest from the town of Monteverde, just past Selvatura Adventure Park and Treetopia. Its more remote location keeps crowds low…on our visit here, we saw far fewer people than at the reserves closer to town.

12 km (7.5 miles) of trails run through the reserve, ranging from well-groomed, easy to walk trails to more rugged, remote trails. The reserve offers a variety of guided walks, which you can see on their website. This is also where to get updated pricing and hours.

Why Pick This One: For a view of Arenal volcano; it’s less crowded than other reserves; for self-guided visits you do not need to purchase a ticket in advance; and it is easy to add on to a visit with Selvatura Adventure Park, which is located nearby.

Arenal Volcano

Getting Here: It takes about 20 minutes to drive here from. Much of this is on a rough, gravel road.

What We Did: Since we took guided hikes at other reserves in Monteverde, we chose to visit Santa Elena unguided. The trails here are beautiful and very easy to follow, with the signage and provided map. For us, the highlight was seeing Arenal Volcano from the Observation Tower.

Curi Cancha Reserve

Why Pick This One: The forest is less dense, making it easier to spot birds and other wildlife. For birdwatchers and those who want to see the Resplendent Quetzal, this is the best nature reserve to visit in Monteverde.

What Can You See Here: The Resplendent Quetzal, Orange-bellied Trogon, Bellbird, the Booby, hummingbirds, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, white -faced monkeys, armadillos, agoutis, coatis, the ocelot, and two-toed sloths.

With its less dense forest, this is one of the best places in Monteverde to spot wildlife. To visit this private reserve, you pay an entrance fee, plus have the option to sign up for a guided tour.

There are a series of trails that run through the reserve. With an entrance ticket (unguided), you can spend as long as you like in the reserve, trying your luck at spotting the birds and mammals. Based on our experience here, this is a reserve where it is highly recommended to hire a guide. Without our amazing guide, we would not have seen the male and female Resplendent Quetzals.

Female Resplendent Quetzal

Male Resplendent Quetzal

The long tail feathers of the male Resplendent Quetzal

Another big advantage of having a guide (other than spotting wildlife) is the fact that they can take your smartphone and photograph the animals through their scope. We were taking photos with a Canon R5 Mark ii with a 100 – 500 mm lens, but if you won’t be shooting with that type of gear, you can still get some great photos on your phone. The photo above was taken with Tim’s phone through the guide’s scope.

Brown Jay

What We Did

We wanted to take a tour, with the goal of seeing a Resplendent Quetzal, but didn’t want to dedicate over 4 hours to a birdwatching tour. We took this tour through GetYourGuide, which is a 2.5 hour tour.

This tour started at 7:30 am and ended at 10 am, which meant we still had plenty of time in the day for more activities.

Our guide was amazing and a wealth of knowledge, not just about the birds, but the mammals and plants found in Curi Cancha. He spotted both the male and female quetzal, a jackpot when it comes to bird sightings in Monteverde.

Check the details of the tour when making your booking, but this tour does not include your entrance fee to the reserve. You can pay the entrance fee when you arrive at Curi Cancha.

Children’s Eternal Rainforest

This is Costa Rica’s largest private reserve. It’s technically not a cloud forest, as it has a slightly lower altitude with warmer, drier weather, but since it is a nature reserve located just outside of Monteverde, it is getting a mention here. This reserve has several different locations. Bajo del Tigre is the area located in Monteverde.

You can walk through the reserve unguided or take a guided tour. Learn more about the reserve, get hours, and pricing on the official website.

2. Spot a Resplendent Quetzal

The #1 animal to spot in Monteverde is the Resplendent Quetzal. These brilliantly colored birds are only found in cloud forests in Central America, and since the forests in Costa Rica are well protected, Monteverde is one of the best places to see them.

The Resplendent Quetzal is considered to be sacred by the Mayans and Aztecs, it is the national bird of Guatemala, and it is thought to have inspired the Quetzalcoatl, the serpent god of Mesoamerica.

Even if you aren’t into bird watching, seeing one of these beauties is an unforgettable experience. Resplendent Quetzals have emerald green and red plumage. The males grow elongated feathers and a very long tail. They are gorgeous birds but can be very difficult to spot.

Resplendent Quetzal | shutterstock.com

Resplendent Quetzals are found throughout the Monteverde Cloud Forest. The Curi Cancha Reserve is one of the best places to see them, as the trees are less dense here, making the quetzals easier to spot. We saw both a male and a female at the Curi Cancha Reserve and we also saw a male at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

PRO TRAVEL TIP: Hire a guide…it’s your best chance for spotting these elusive birds. On this tour in Curi Cancha, we were able to see both a male and female quetzal.

3. Take a Canopy Tour (aka…go Ziplining!)

Monteverde is one of the best places to go ziplining in Costa Rica, and there are several to choose from. Here’s the rundown on each of them.

100% Aventura

This is the company we used and overall had a great experience. We picked 100% Aventura because they have the longest zip line in Costa Rica and you can do it superman-style. The Tarzan Swing is awesome, too.

Why Pick This One: To do the longest zip line in Costa Rica (1.6 km). There are 9 regular zip lines, 2 superman zip lines, 1 hammock bridge, 1 rappel, and 1 Mega Tarzan swing (optional…but the best part of the experience 😉)

Our Experience

To get here, it is a 10-minute drive from town, a good chunk of this on a hilly, gravel road. We had an SUV, and in general, we recommend having an SUV for Monteverde, but we did see standard cars on this road.

The group size is rather large. We did this in the early afternoon and there were about 30 people on our tour time, which seemed a bit much. Somehow, we ended up at the front of the group and literally zipped through the entire experience (pun intended!).

The canopy tour starts off with several short zip lines, so you get the hang of braking and positioning. There were guides on each platform and they really move you through the course quickly and efficiently. I wanted to take more photos during the tour, but since the guides moved us from line to line so quickly, I rarely had time to take those photos.

For us, the highlights were the two superman ziplines, which come towards the end of the course. The Tarzan swing is a bit intimidating, and on our tour, most people opted to skip it. You’ll free fall off of an elevated platform, similar to bungee jumping, and then swing back and forth a few times. If you’ve ever done or seen a bungee swing, that’s what to expect here. It is thrilling and tons of fun, and for us, the best part of the experience.

At first, I was concerned about the big tour size, but the guides really moved us along quickly and we did the full course in about an hour and a half. At times, it feels like you are part of an assembly line, but the course is beautiful and the zip lines are thrilling.

Tickets can be purchased on the official website. We purchased ours through GetYourGuide, since it was actually a little bit cheaper, plus you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance and get a full refund.

PRO TRAVEL TIP: GetYourGuide offers free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund for many tours and tickets (it’s a good idea to check the fine print). We booked most of our entry and tour tickets in Costa Rica through GetYourGuide, because we just had to input our credit card information into one website, rather than a long list of websites. Plus, all of your tour tickets are saved in one app, making it easier to keep track of your travel plans.

Monteverde Extremo Park

This is the best adventure park for thrill seekers. Not only can you go ziplining and do a Tarzan Swing, but you can also go bungee jumping.

Why Pick This One: To do the highest bungee jump in Central America and to do the longest canopy tour in Monteverde (4 km total). The course has 11 ziplines, with an aerial superman zipline and a superman zipline that runs through a tunnel. You can also add on the Mega Tarzan swing.

Monteverde Extremo Park looks like tons of fun, and we highly considered it, but we chose 100% Aventura to be able to do the longest zipline in Costa Rica superman-style.

This park is located about 20 minutes from town by car. Learn more about the zipline and the bungee jump on the official website.

On GetYourGuide, you can purchase the zipline and Tarzan Swing with transportation or purchase just the ziplining canopy tour (without transportation).

Selvatura Adventure Park

Selvatura Adventure Park offers a little bit of everything: ziplining, hanging bridges, guided nature walks, a sloth habitat, and a butterfly garden. If you only have a day in Monteverde, this is a great park to consider, since you can do so much in one place.

Why Pick This One: The ziplining course has 13 ziplines, with the longest being 1 km and it can be done superman-style. They also offer a Tarzan swing. Plus, you can add on the other experiences listed above and make a full day of it.

We visited Selvatura to walk their hanging bridges, which are awesome, but did not go ziplining here. They get great reviews all around, so I think this one is worth considering. It’s a great option if not everyone in your group wants to go ziplining. The adventure junkies can zipline and Tarzan swing while the others tour the butterfly garden and hanging bridges.

Learn more on the official website.

The Original Canopy Tour

Why Pick This One: This park is located just outside of town, making it one of the easiest to get to. The zipline course has 10 ziplines, 1 rappel, 1 hollow tree climb, 1 small hammock bridge, and 1 Tarzan swing.

This park gets good reviews, but there was nothing special that stood out about their course, which is why we gave more consideration to 100% Aventura, Extremo, and Selvatura.

Learn more on the official website. It is also possible to purchase tickets on GetYourGuide.

Treetopia

Treetopia is similar to Selvatura, as they offer several different types of experiences. Not only can you go ziplining, but you can also walk their hanging bridges, ride the cable way, and do their Challenge Course adventure.

Why Pick This One: The zipline course features 7 ziplines, 1 zipline bike, 4 monkey bridges, and 1 Tarzan swing. Add on the hanging bridges, TreeTram Cableway, and Challenge Course for a full day of adventures.

We did not visit this park, but with everything they offer, I think this would be a great place to take active, adventurous kids and teenagers. Learn more about the park on the official website.

Verdict

We really enjoyed our experience with 100% Aventura. Doing the two superman ziplines is awesome and topping it off with their Mega Tarzan Swing is icing on the cake. If you like the idea of bungee jumping, go to Monteverde Extremo Park. And if you like the idea of bundling ziplining with hanging bridges, butterfly gardens, and/or Challenge Courses, take a look at Selvatura or Treetopia. Next, we have photos from Selvatura.

4. Walk the Hanging Bridges

Walking the hanging bridges, which are suspension bridges that run through the canopies of the cloud forest, is a must-have experience in Monteverde. There are several places that have hanging bridges, but the best one, based on our research, is Selvatura Adventure Park.

Selvatura already got a mention for its ziplining course. We didn’t zipline here, but we did walk their hanging bridges, which are amazing.

The Treetop Walkway is a 1.9-mile trail that runs through the forest. On this trail are eight hanging bridges, ranging from 170 feet to 560 feet in length. You literally walk through the treetops, putting you eye level with sloths, birds, and other wildlife. It takes 1 to 1.5 hours to do this walk.

This route can be done unguided or with a guide. We did it unguided, and never spotted any wildlife, but it is still a gorgeous walk. The official website offers a guided tour of the hanging bridges. You can top off the experience by ziplining and/or taking a tour of the butterfly garden or sloth habitat.

Other places that have hanging bridges include Treetopia, the El Tigre Waterfall Hike, and several ziplining companies.

5. El Tigre Waterfall Hike

Of our two weeks in Costa Rica, this was by far our favorite hike. The remote location, the waterfalls, the short suspension bridges, and the birds we spotted along the trail kept this hike fun and very interesting. Plus, you can hire transportation or go horseback riding at the end, to return to the starting point without a massive uphill walk.

El Tigre Waterfall Hiking Stats: The total distance of the route, which is done as a loop, is 8 km. However, you can take a 4×4 or go horseback riding for final 3 km, making the hike just 5 km/3.1 miles. Adding on the horseback riding or 4×4 is well worth it, as this part of the walk is all uphill on a gravel road…you aren’t missing anything by skipping it.

Getting Here: The hike starts at the El Tigre Waterfalls Restaurant, which is located on Monte de los Olivos Road. This gravel road is rough in some spots and a SUV is ideal for getting here. From town, it is a 9.5 km drive which takes about 25 minutes. You can arrange transportation via the official website.

GetYourGuide offers the Full Package, with the horseback riding, plus transportation from town. It’s done as a small group and the entire experience takes about 5 hours. Last we checked, it could be cancelled up to 24 hours in advance and still get a full refund.

What We Did

We did the full package, starting in the early afternoon. We sat down to lunch, which was good and they give you a lot of food. I ate the casado, which is typical Costa Rican cuisine with rice and beans, chicken, fried plantains, and salad.

The view from the restaurant

After lunch, we hiked the trail. It is a very steep, downhill walk to get to the waterfalls. The trail is very rugged in some spots, with some stairs here and there.

From the trail, Tim spotted two gorgeous birds, an Emerald Toucanet and a Rufous-tailed Jacamar. We also spotted white-faced monkeys towards the end of the hike.

Emerald Toucanet

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

Once at the bottom, the trail runs along the river, running past at least six waterfalls (we lost count along the way). The short, wobbly suspension bridges really keep this trail fun.

There is an optional detour to a more remote waterfall, which we took. It is a steep uphill walk to get to this waterfall, and we thought it was worth it, but if you want to keep the hike easy, you can skip this detour.

This is the “optional” waterfall

The hike ends at a horse shelter. This is where you will wait for the 4×4 (it takes about 15 minutes for the 4×4 to arrive) or start the horseback ride. We took the 4×4, which is well worth it, to skip the boring, uphill walk on the gravel road.

6. Go Canyoning

Canyoning, sometimes also called canyoneering, is rappelling down waterfalls and hiking through a canyon. We did not do this in Monteverde, but we did it La Fortuna and LOVED it. If this is your only chance to go canyoning in Costa Rica (for example, you won’t be visiting La Fortuna) and you want to add some adventure to your trip, put this high on your list.

In Monteverde, the Brenes family runs canyoning tours at Finca Modelo Ecológica. Their canyoning tour features six waterfall rappels and a short hike. They also offer night walks and a tour where you can climb a hollow Ficus tree.

Get the full details on their website.

7. Take a Night Tour

As the sun sets, the forest comes alive with the sounds of nocturnal creatures. One of the highlights of a Monteverde night tour is the chance to spot elusive wildlife, such as sloths, kinkajous, and even tarantulas in their natural habitats. It’s best to do this with a guide, as these animals can be very difficult to spot.

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and Monteverde Finca Lantana both offer night tours. This night tour at the Wildlife Refuge Monteverde gets great reviews and includes your transportation.

If you want to see tree frogs but don’t want to take a guided night tour, Frog Pond Ranario is located in the town of Santa Elena. They have aquariums with many species of frogs. You can walk around on your own or take a short, guided tour. We did this (unguided) and even with the frogs contained in small enclosures, they were surprisingly hard to spot.

Fleischman Glass Frog

8. Take a Chocolate or Coffee Tour

Taking a chocolate or coffee tour is popular not just in Monteverde, but throughout Costa Rica.

Don Juan Tours is one of the best places in Monteverde to take a chocolate and coffee tour. They run tours throughout the day and they even offer night tours. Their gift shop is huge and full of souvenirs. If you want to sample coffee or hot chocolate without taking a tour, this is a great place to do it.

Other places to take chocolate and coffee tours include Coffee Tour Café Monteverde and El Trapiche. This tour on GetYourGuide gets excellent reviews and includes your transportation.

9. Visit an Orchid Garden

On night tours you walk around with a flashlight. On tours of an orchid garden, you walk around with a magnifying glass. Before visiting Jardín de Orquídeas, we had no idea that orchids could be so tiny…and that you would need a guide to see them.

Jardín de Orquídeas has more than 450 species of orchids on their small property, with about 120 species blooming per day. You can walk around on your own, with that magnifying glass, but for the best experience, consider joining their tour, which takes about 45 minutes.

There is a greenhouse with larger orchids you can see, if you plan to visit the garden self-guided.

10. Visit a Butterfly Garden

The Monteverde Butterfly Gardens have 30 species of butterflies in four habitats, plus other insects and arachnids. They offer tours throughout the day or you can walk through the gardens on your own.

The price is bit expensive, and there are butterfly gardens throughout Costa Rica. We visited quite a few of them, and they are all about the same. If you don’t have plans to visit a butterfly garden in a different location in Costa Rica, this could be worth it. But if you already have a full schedule in Monteverde, this is not an absolute must-do.

How Much Time Do You Need in Monteverde?

Two days is the perfect amount of time to get the full Monteverde experience. This gives you enough time to visit one to two reserves, do a canopy tour (ziplining), walk the hanging bridges, do the El Tigre Waterfalls hike, and do a night tour or tour of a coffee plantation.

How to Get to Monteverde

Getting to and from Monteverde may feel like an adventure, depending on your starting point. The roads that lead to Monteverde are legendary for being rough, potholed, windy, and foggy.

Manuel Antonio to/from Monteverde

This route is very easy to drive. Take Route 606, which is paved the entire way and when we did this drive in 2025, in very good condition. This can easily be done in a standard car.

La Fortuna to/from Monteverde

This is more challenging to drive. From La Fortuna, the best driving route to Monteverde is Route 142 to Route 145 to Route 606. Make sure your GPS routes you through Tilaran and not around it. Have a full tank of gas before you start this drive, as there are not many options along the drive.

Route 606 is the roughest part of the road to drive. This is the section of road closest to Monteverde. There is a short portion of road that is a gravel road, and in our experience, in good condition. However, the paved portions of Route 606 were riddled with potholes, some of them looking more like small craters.

What Type of Vehicle Do You Need? We highly recommend having an SUV for this drive, not only for the unpaved portions and potholes, but also because many roads in Monteverde are unpaved. We did see standard cars in Monteverde, but it is very helpful to have the ground clearance and more rugged tires of an SUV, than a standard car.

PRO TRAVEL TIP: Since you will be driving to and from a cloud forest, it is possible that you will be driving through the fog, as you get closer to Monteverde. To stay safe, do this drive during the daytime. In the evening, it could be very dangerous, especially when it is foggy.

Where to Eat

We were thrilled to learn that Monteverde is home to quite a few fantastic restaurants.

Taco Taco Monteverde. This is the place to go for tacos, burritos, guacamole, and nachos.

Natu Speakeasy. This was by far our favorite dining experience in Monteverde. This gem of a cocktail bar and restaurant is tucked away behind a purple freezer door. Inside is a small bar and restaurant with a modern vibe. They create classic cocktails with a Costa Rican spin plus small plates (tapas) that are excellent. One of the highlights was their version of a night tour…searching for rubber tree frogs with a blacklight flashlight.

Restaurant El Jardín. A pleasant and comfortable setting with indoor and outdoor tables located at the Monteverde Lodge. We had dinner here even though we were not staying at the lodge. They offer a variety of items from steak to seafood to vegetarian. We enjoyed everything we ordered, including the wine, and the presentation of the food.

We could only eat at so many places, but other restaurants that came up in our research are San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience (a unique dining experience in pods in forest canopy), Restaurante Kiré, and Restaurante El Sapo at Senda Monteverde.

Where to Stay

Hotel Belmar

This is where we stayed in Monteverde and we had a fantastic experience. In 2024, Hotel Belmar was at the top of list of best hotels in Central America on both Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast.

This beautiful property offers a wide range of room types. The property sits on a private reserve called SAVIA, where visitors can walk the hanging bridges and take a night tour. Also onsite is a farm, Finca Madre Tierre, which supplies the hotel restaurant with fruits and vegetables. The hotel also offers massages and yoga classes.

They do not offer air conditioning but with cool temperatures at night, it was not necessary, at least in our experience.

Other Hotels in Monteverde

Koora Monteverde, a Cloud Forest Hotel was another property we considered. They get excellent reviews, have air conditioning, an onsite restaurant, and beautifully decorated rooms.

Senda Monteverde Hotel also gets great reviews. They have a private reserve and onsite restaurant.

At Olingo Monteverde, stay in your own private one or two-bedroom house. It has a washing machine, perfect for a longer trip to Costa Rica.

If you are traveling on a budget, Hostel Cattleya is the highest-rated hostel in town.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Monteverde famous for?

Monteverde is famous for its cloud forest, a high-altitude rainforest. Misty skies blanket the forest, creating a unique environment that supports different flora and fauna than what you will find throughout the rest of Costa Rica. Monteverde is much cooler than other parts of Costa Rica, which can be a nice break from the heat so common down by the coast.

Do you need a guide in the Monteverde Cloud Forest?

For the best chance of spotting a Resplendent Quetzal, sloths, tree frogs, and other wildlife, it is best to hire a guide. The wildlife in Costa Rica can be very difficult to spot, and a guide dramatically raises your chances of being able to see these elusive creatures.

If you have any questions about the best things to do in Monteverde, let us know in the comment section below.

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