On the 7th and 8th day of our round trip through Costa Rica, we went to the Monteverde cloud forest. Our entire itinerary is linked at the end of this post.
Our experiences in the Monteverde cloud forest
Interesting facts about the animals and plants in the Monteverde cloud forest
Monteverde National Park: With its 3000 plant species, over 400 bird species, over 100 mammal species and over 150 amphibian and reptile species, the Monteverde cloud forest is one of the most wonderful cloud forests in the world. The private reserve covers 4000 hectares and is visited by 70,000 people every year, although only a maximum of 240 tourists are allowed there at any one time. It is cool all year round (19°C) and extremely humid due to condensation and fog.
Primary and secondary forest and trees: A distinction is made between primary and secondary forest. Primary forest refers to the original forest that has always been there. A long time ago, however, a lot of forest was cut down in Costa Rica to build coffee or banana plantations, which no longer exist. In these places, the forest has grown back and is referred to as secondary forest.
Lianas grow upwards from the ground, while hanging roots grow on trees and hang down. The two are often confused by laypeople.
In Monteverde, scientists have counted between 3 and 5000 plants on just one single tree. On the one hand, there are parasite plants that grow on a tree and extract minerals from it like parasites. On the other hand, there are epiphytes that grow high up in the tree in order to get sunlight. As only 5% of the light reaches the bottom of the rainforest, all plants try to get as high up as possible. Epiphytes do not harm the tree on which they grow.
There are original trees in Costa Rica that are infested by hanging roots from above. These wind around the tree like a snake so that the actual tree dies from the inside and becomes hollow. On the outside, a new tree forms from the roots. This is a phenomenon that we are not familiar with in Europe. This is why many trees in the jungle look very spectacular.
In Costa Rica, you can 't tell the age of the trees by their rings like in Europe because they don't have any. The rings are created by the four seasons, but in Monteverde the weather is the same all year round.
In addition, there are not as many plant and animal species in Monteverde as in other Costa Rican national parks because the place is 1700 m above sea level. The higher a rainforest is located, the colder it is and the fewer species there are. While the tallest trees elsewhere in the country grow to a height of 60 m, in Monteverde they only grow 40 m high.
Orchids: With over 500 different orchid species, the Monteverde cloud forest has the highest concentration of orchids in the world. These belong to the epiphytes, or epiphytic plants. They only grow on the top of other plants in order to reach sunlight. They are therefore not parasites. Instead of feeding on the ground, they draw their nutrients from the moist air and water droplets in the clouds.
Colorful flowers: Many plants look colorful and you think it is always the flower. However, in order to attract insects and birds, these plants have developed colorful leaves(!) that only look like the flower. In reality, however, the flower is only very small.
Bananas: Many of the plants in the jungle look like banana plants with their leaves. In Costa Rica, however, bananas only grow in plantations and not in the wild. Bananas were first imported from Asia and cultivated in Costa Rica.
Weather: The weather patterns from the Atlantic and Pacific converge in Monteverde, which is why the weather there is very unpredictable and unpredictable. Weather forecasts are therefore completely unreliable, as the weather can change abruptly in less than two hours.
Animals: Hummingbirds can flap their wings up to 90 times per second. They can fly up, down, left and right like a helicopter. Furthermore, 80% of the animals are nocturnal, e.g. snakes, scorpions, frogs and many sloths. It is therefore worth taking a guided night tour when you are in the jungle.
Malaria did not originally exist in Central and South America. It was only the Spanish who brought the disease from Europe. Plants grow in the rainforest that the locals use to treat this disease.
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A field report from Monteverde
The next day, we continued into the cloud forest to Monteverde. We were first taken by small bus to Lake Arenal, where we changed to a boat that took us to the other end of the lake. From there, we continued for two hours on a small bus through the mountains to our destination. It felt like the average speed was only walking pace because it was constantly going up and down and the roads were so bad. In Monteverde, we also had a small wooden house in "Los Pinos - Cabañas & Jardines" just for ourselves.
One day later, we visited the Monteverde cloud forest. Everything was a little different there. Because we were so high up there, it was a little cooler, 20°C at most. The weather was constantly changing from sun to rain and back again. It was constantly windy, however, as the winds from the Atlantic and Pacific sides meet here, which is also the reason for the constant weather changes and the rain. Even when the sky was blue and the sun was shining, there was a fine drizzle, which was totally bizarre. It wasn't really rain, but condensation. So it sometimes happened that the sky was completely blue above us, but this rain was in the air the whole time and we didn't understand the reason for it at first. We were particularly happy about the rainbow, which we were able to photograph in all its glory.
In the cloud forest, we went on a skywalk tour with a guide, during which we also passed several suspension bridges up to 300 m long. Once again, we felt like we were in a jungle camp. Although we didn't see many animals in Monteverde, this was the most interesting and informative tour of our trip so far. We saw various birds, such as a quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, or a yellow thrush, the national bird of Costa Rica. We also enjoyed the sight of several blue-crowned moths. We also spotted a highly dangerous striped palm pit viper, whose venom is fatal to humans, and a white-nosed coati in the wild.
We were particularly surprised by the smallest orchid in the world, which grew like a weed on a tree trunk and was only a few centimetres tall. You could barely see the flower with the naked eye.
The Monteverde cloud forest was exactly what I imagined a rainforest would look like as a child. Everything was damp and foggy, even a little gloomy.
We then took an open gondola, the Sky Tram, to the top of the mountain. It was extremely windy, cold and cloudy up there. But the view was great. On one side you could only see clouds and on the other side you could see as far as the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Nicoya.
Our hotel in Monteverde: Los Pinos - Cabañas & Jardines (warning about scorpions)
In Monteverde, we spent two nights at the hotel "Los Pinos - Cabañas & Jardines". There were many small wooden cabins on the extensive hotel grounds, which were slightly apart from each other. For this reason, we were taken to our bungalow in a golf cart after our arrival. There was also a hiking trail with a viewing platform. There were also greenhouses where you could buy something.
In addition, the hotel staff were really very nice, informal and always open to small talk. This alone would have earned five stars. However, the reception was not manned around the clock, but the owners slept there somewhere and could be contacted in emergencies.
Unfortunately, the hotel offered absolutely no food , not even breakfast. But the cottages had a kitchen with a fridge, a hob and a sink. The kitchen was fully equipped. Our cottage was a bungalow or self-catering house, so to speak. There was a supermarket near the hotel where we bought toast and Nutella for breakfast. We had lunch and dinner at the Don Luis pizzeria, which was within walking distance. The food there was very tasty.
Our wooden bungalow was also relatively large. However, due to the way it was built, there were many holes in the windows, which were not installed properly (more on this later!). It is also important to know that it was generally colder in Monteverde than in other parts of Costa Rica. That's why the bungalows each had a fireplace with enough wood for self-heating. However, the wood was so damp in the Monteverde rainforest that we were unable to light it despite several attempts. Furthermore, our bedroom was extremely dark. Due to the material of the hut, many insects and spiders felt at home there. The next morning we had droppings everywhere from small animals that must have been there the night before. We can also confirm the dead insects mentioned by other internet users on TripAdvisor. There was also an outdoor kitchen with a hammock outside.
On the very first evening in our little house, we got the shock of our lives. When I got out of the shower, I saw a scorpion crawling from the bathroom into the bedroom. Completely shocked, I screamed and called M to me, who put a bowl from the kitchen of the cottage over the scorpion and then ran to reception to get help. The operators of the facility seemed to be aware of the problem, but didn't really take it seriously. They said that all scorpions were poisonous, but that the ones in Costa Rica were not life-threatening to humans. The sting is said to be comparable to that of a bee or wasp. M then took the scorpion in the bowl outside and put a piece of wood on the lid so that the scorpion couldn't get out - and eventually back into the house. Before we went to sleep, M checked the whole house for more scorpions, but fortunately didn't find any. Nevertheless, we had a very uncomfortable night and could only sleep very fitfully. Two hours after we went to bed, I went to the toilet and discovered the next scorpion in the bathroom, which had fallen into a tall vase and obviously couldn't get itself out. To make sure it had, I put a plate on the vase. The next morning we discovered the third scorpion right next to the bed. We later read on the internet that scorpions are nocturnal and hunt at night; they particularly like wood. Our wooden house was therefore a perfect place for them.
Survival tips against scorpions: To deter and keep the animals away on the second night, we left the light on in the bathroom all evening and throughout the night. The operators of the eco-lodges may not have liked this, but the plan worked! Scorpions love the dark and are put off by light. They came in through the bathroom window. If you find scorpions, you have to get rid of them by any means necessary.
Our conclusion about this accommodation: The bungalow itself was great. The owners, a family, were also really nice. BUT these scorpions gave us two horror days, so we would definitely not(!!) recommend the hotel to anyone. It's just no fun if you have to be scared all the time.
Sources:
- Personal experiences in April 2017
- our guides in all national parks (oral tradition)
- "Costa Rica - the complete guide" by James Kaiser, ISBN: 978-1940754000 (translated from English)
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Our travel agency: Evaneos/ Camino Travel*
Aninga Lodge Tortuguero (*Check24)
Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs (*Expedia)
Hotel Playa Espadilla, Manuel Antonio (*Expedia)
Note: This article was written on our own initiative and there are no cooperations. In other words, we financed the entire trip 100% ourselves.
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