Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [170]
JEEP-BOAT-JEEP
The fastest route between Monteverde-Santa Elena and La Fortuna is a jeep-boat-jeep combo (around US$25 to US$30, three hours), which can be arranged through almost any hotel or tour operator in either town. A 4WD taxi takes you to Río Chiquito, meeting a boat that crosses Laguna de Arenal, where a taxi on the other side continues to La Fortuna. This is increasingly becoming the primary transportation between La Fortuna and Monteverde as it’s incredibly scenic, reasonably priced and saves half a day of rough travel.
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Getting Around
BICYCLE
Hotel El Viandante is the only place in town that rents mountain bikes (three hours/full day US$10/15). The price includes new Trek 4300 bikes, helmet, tire pump and water bottle. Guided bike tours (US$20 to US$50) to regional attractions are also available. That said, cycling in Monteverde–Santa Elena is not for the lighthearted beginner. The area is extremely hilly, rocky and muddy. Be prepared.
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RESERVA BIOLÓGICA BOSQUE NUBOSO MONTEVERDE
When Quaker settlers first arrived in the area, they agreed to preserve about a third of their property in order to protect the watershed above Monteverde. By 1972, however, encroaching squatters began to threaten the region. The community joined forces with environmental organizations such as the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund to purchase 328 hectares adjacent to the already preserved area. This was called the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde (Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve), which the Centro Científico Tropical (Tropical Science Center) began administrating in 1975.
In 1986 the Monteverde Conservation League (MCL) was formed to buy land to expand the reserve. Two years later it launched the International Children’s Rainforest project, which encouraged children and school groups from all over the world to raise money to buy and save tropical rainforest adjacent to the reserve. Today the reserve totals 105 sq km.
The most striking aspect of this project is that it is the result of private citizens working for change rather than waiting around for a national park administered by the government. The reserve relies partly on donations from the public. Considering that the underfunded Minae struggles to protect the national-park system, enterprises like this are more important than ever for maintaining cohesive wildlife corridors.
Visitors should note that some of the walking trails are very muddy, and even during the dry season (late December to early May) the cloud forest is rainy (hey, it’s a rainforest – bring rainwear and suitable boots). Many of the trails have been stabilized with concrete blocks or wooden boards and are easy to walk on, though unpaved trails deeper in the preserve turn into quagmires during the rainy season.
Because of the fragile environment, the reserve allows a maximum of 160 people at any time. During the dry season this limit is almost always reached by 10am, which means you could spend the better part of a day waiting around for someone to leave. The best strategy is to get there before the gates open, or better (and wetter) to come during the off season, usually May through June and September through November.
There are a couple of important points to consider. If you only have time to visit either the Monteverde or Santa Elena reserve, you should know that Monteverde gets nearly 10 times as many visitors, which means that the infrastructure is better and the trails are regularly maintained, though you’ll have to deal with