Monteverde — Where Nature is Behind a Paywall

The high altitude of Monteverde means the forest caresses the clouds, earning its name as the cloud forest. The clouds smother the treetops like whipped cream on top of a strawberry.

It is misty, ethereal, and astoundingly green.

One thing that surprised us about Monteverde when we first arrived at the town was the temperature. It was frigid and the wind bit our noses and sent a shiver down our flanks. It’s not what you associate with lush, tropical Costa Rica, but then you must remind yourself that you are at altitude, so, of course, it’s colder here.

Adorned in hiking boots and thick fleeces wandering around this chilly touristy town brimming with souvenirs, Joe remarked he felt like we were in the Lake District in the UK. The teddies on display were just sloths instead of sheep.

A surprising difference being that in the Lake District, you can hike wherever you want for free, sure there are activities that you can pay to do, but those are optional, you could have full days out on your own steam. You can explore the mountains, waterfalls and lakes at leisure.

Here in Monteverde, exploring comes at a price.

On our first day, we headed to the Cloud Forest itself, to the National Park. After a little research, we opted to go without a guide, it just did not seem necessary for this National Park as it was all straightforward pathways and well signposted. Also, the National Park fee alone was plentiful enough without adding on extra costs.

We were happy we opted to do the hike without a guide because it was delightful to wander around by ourselves in our own time, taking in the scenery and breathing in that cool, fresh air. It was a lovely walk and at some viewpoints you could gaze at the pointed treetops piercing the clouds and disappearing into them.

We saw little in the way of wildlife, but we did spot a cobalt blue hummingbird hovering and humming away in the thicket. It was hypnotising. If it hadn’t flitted away, I could have stayed staring at it all day long.

We also saw a couple of pretty birds, albeit at more of a distance. I got the impression that the guided groups we passed saw little more. They were looking at the same birds, only they had the privilege to get a closer look by taking turns to peep through a telescope at them.

At the exit of the park, you arrive at the most magical little café. What makes it magical? The hummingbird garden is an absolute dream. There are so many beautiful jewel-coloured birds flitting overhead, dipping their sleek, slender beaks into the flower-shaped feeders. Surrounded by emerald green shimmers, we smiled, entranced by their beauty and grace.

“I think I have a new favourite animal,” I whispered to Joe.

The following day, we went to visit the hanging bridges, which were lovely but also the most overpriced activity I have ever done. The online description oversold how long it takes to do. We purposefully stopped often, purposefully lingered, and generally took our sweet time but even then, we arrived at the end after an hour, and this was supposed to be our day’s activity.

We didn’t quite know what to do with ourselves afterward, as we’d spent our day’s budget already and couldn’t afford to do anything else.

We went to a coffee shop and researched what else we could do, there was lots but we winced at the price of each one. We would have done so many more activities in Monteverde if they had been more affordable. We had to ration them and prioritise which was the most important to us. The National Park and the Hanging Bridges. Now we were at a lose end. There wasn’t even anywhere you could just go walking without paying a hefty entrance fee or for a tour.

That’s why my one gripe with Monteverde is that the nature is all behind a paywall.

Which is a shame because I think nature should be accessible to everyone. While I don’t begrudge national park fees for conservation, here everything comes at a premium.

So, if you can afford it, Monteverde is a wonderful place to visit, it’s beautiful and there’s adventure around every corner.

If you’re on a backpacker budget, I would still encourage everyone to visit for the cloud forest national park and to say hello to the hummingbirds. That was truly a magical day. But I would warn to just be aware that you may not be able to stay long or do everything that you want to. Either that or you will need to budget for a bigger spend here.

Thank you for reading! Hearts and tips are always welcome and your support is very much appreciated.

This story was originally published on Medium

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