Things to do in Monteverde

Monteverde was founded in 1951 by Quaker families from Alabama who came for cheese-making and pacifism, not tourism, and the village still sits around 1,400 metres up a mostly unpaved road. From La Fortuna it takes about 3 hours by road or roughly 3 hours on the jeep-boat-jeep crossing of Lake Arenal.

What draws people now is the cloud forest itself: cool, often misty air, quetzals reported mainly from February to July with no guarantee on any given walk, and a cluster of reserves and canopy operators around Santa Elena.

Expect cooler evenings than La Fortuna, sturdy shoes for wet trails, and a base for exploring rather than a single sight to tick off.