Costa Rica Cloud Forest Region

Monteverde Cloud Forest

The Costa Rica Cloud Forest region is situated in the area known as Monterverde, famous for the large Monterverde Cloud Forest Reserve contained within it, and within that the world famous Arenal Volcano The Monterverde Cloud Forest Reserve (the Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monterverde), located in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica (although it also stretches in part into the Aluejela province) has become one of Costa Rica's foremost tourist attractions (more than seventy thousand people visit the Reserve each and every year) and not without good reason. It is one of the most extraordinary wildlife sanctuaries in the whole of Central America and a Mecca for nature lovers and keen photographers, containing within it eight distinctly different ecological zones and serving as a place of protection and preservation for over four hundred species of birds including the Resplendant Quetzel, the Bellbird (which is on the endangered species list, as are nine other of the many species that Monterverde plays host to) and the Emerald Toucanet, as well as more than thirty separate varieties of hummingbirds.

Monteverde also plays home to many migratory birds (such as the elanio tijerata (Elanoides forficatus), the "pirate fly swallower" (Legatus leucopahius) and the vireo cabecigris (Vireo flavovidis), some of which come from North America following reproduction to spend their winter in the region, others of which actually arrive in Monteverde in order to reproduce), more than a hundred different species of mammals (including six species of marsupials, three varieties of muskrats, a minimum of fifteen mice and long tailed rat species, six varieties of felines, two species of deer, two kinds of wild pigs, three varieties of squirrels, and at least five eight separate species of bats), a hundred and twenty amphibian and reptile species (including the golden toad (the Bufo periglenes) which has otherwise disappeared off the face of the Earth since 1989), and thousands upon thousands of insects.

The region is also famous for having more than two hundred species of ferns, and eight hundred species of epiphytes (plants which actually grow on top of other plants) and most famously, has more varieties of orchids than any other region in the world, more than five hundred separate species in total, with thirty four of them discovered in Monterverde Cloud Forest Reserve and not believed to exist anywhere else on the planet and thus being new even to science itself. Trees in the Reserve are a phenomenon in and of themselves, with many of them standing up to thirty and forty meters in height.

The Monterverde Cloud Forest Reserve contains over ten thousand and five hundred hectares of tropical rainforest (ninety percent of which is virgin forest), consisting of half a dozen ecological zones. There is a pamphlet available at the entrance for those wishing to walk the trails of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve by themselves, however it is strongly advised to not set out without at least one experience guide by your side, not just for safety reasons, but also for the sake of them frequently being able to point out examples of unique fauna and flora that visitors may well otherwise overlook. The park includes the Monterverde Nature Centre (an information area), gift shop, restaurant and a guest lodge which can house up to forty seven guests at a time.

The Arenal Volcano (also known under various other names, such as the Volcan Arenal, Pan de Azucar, Canaste, Volcan Costa Rica, Volcan Rio Frio, and Guatusos Peak), situated around ninety kilometers to the northwest of the Costa Rica capital city of San Jose, lies within the Arenal Conservation Area, (which covers an astonishing two hundred and four thousand hectares of land, including the Parque Nacional Volcan Arenal) and strikes an imposing picture, reaching up into the sky as it does an impressive one thousand, six hundred and thirty three meters. Conically shaped, with a crater spanning a hundred and forty meters (four hundred and sixty feet) in length, it is the most active volcano in the whole of Costa Rica and indeed is regarded as one of the most active volcanoes on the entire planet, which needless to say makes it an absolute must see for any tourist. That being said, visitors should be prepared for the possibility that the view of the Arenal Volcano can often be obscured by the sheer volume of smoke that the volcano itself emits.

For the best likelihood of seeing the volcano, trips in the early hours of the morning during Costa Rica's dry season are best advised. The volcano is considered to be young in geological terms, believed to be less than seven thousand years old, yet it already has a colorful history, being sacred to pre-Columbian tribes yet also being seemingly inactive until the twenty ninth of July 1969, when the giant suddenly awoke from its slumber as a result of a massive earthquake, resulting in the complete destruction of the villages of Tabacon and Pueblo Nuevo, whose entire populations were wiped out by the volcano's new found fury, the eruption even being felt as far away as Boulder, Colorado in the United States of America. Since that fateful day, the volcano has been alive and grumbling on a regular basis, with constant eruptions, and lava flows and smoking cinder blocks being constantly spewed from the giant's mouth.

On some days, the volcano (the western side being its active vent, but explosions and eruptions can still occur on all sides) has even been known to erupt several times within the space of a single hour, with sulfur dioxide, rocks the size of houses, fiery lava and chloride gases streaming outward. Much of the area surrounding the Arenal Volcano is rainforest, and in addition to the Monterverde Cloud Forest Reserve, there are several other nature preserves such as the aforementioned Parque Nacional Volcan Arenal which occupies twelve thousand and sixteen hectares all by itself. There are in fact a total of sixteen other protected reserves within the overall scope of the Arenal Conservation Area and another, smaller volcano, Chato (also known as Cherro Chato, which translates literally as Mount Chato), which has a collapsed crater containing an emerald lagoon that is entirely surrounded by forest. Unlike Arenal, Chato is currently an inactive volcano and is believed to have been that way for around three and a half thousand years now. Accommodation near Chato can be found in the form of the Arenal Observatory Lodge and the Museum of Vulcanicity. The area lies in the region between the Guanacaste and Tilaran mountain ranges. Access to the park can be found from La Fortuna or from Tilaran and the north shore of Lake Arenal, which is a site of primary importance to the whole of Costa Rica, situating the Lake Arenal Dam, which is the nation’s largest hydroelectricity project, which has been running since 1980 and is responsible for generating forty percent of the country's hydroelectric power.

The Costa Rica Cloud Forest Region is like nothing else on Earth. Any traveler taking a vacation in Costa Rica without taking a trip to this region would be missing out on one of the most amazing experiences the country has to offer.