This October we spent three days exploring the mountainous region of Monteverde in Costa Rica. With the elegant Hotel Senda as our home base, we spent every waking hour experiencing all that the cloud-forest has to offer. From hikes to continentaldivide overlooks, to picnics at a natural tree bridge, to (probably too many) cups of amazing local Costa Rican coffee, every second of our time in Monteverde was amazing. Here’s some of our most memorable moments!

Exploring Downtown Santa Elena

Hotel Senda is located about a mile away from the quaint mountain town of Santa Elena. Not only did we find some great restaurants here, but we also thoroughly enjoyed meandering through the steep, foggy streets on our way to and from Senda. There is a ski town feel to the area, as its relative isolation from the rest of Costa Rica makes it feel like it’s part of its own foggy little world.

Our two favorite restaurants we visited in Santa Elena were Soda La Amistad and Cafe Monteverde. Though humble in appearance, Soda La Amistad was recommended to us by some staff at Senda for having the best casados in town. That was music to our ears, as casados, which are the de facto Costa Rican dish consisting of rice, beans, meat, salad, and plantains, were our favorite food during our trip And La Amistad didn’t let us down. Not only was the service great, but it was indeed the casado we had during out trip. We also loved Cafe Monteverde for coffee and chicken empanadas, as well as the bright, airy ambiance. 

The Avatar Tree and Ficus La Raiz 

You should always keep an eye out for roadside attractions in Costa Rica, as it is quite common for a property owner to charge visitors a couple of dollars to see the sight on their land. We first encountered this phenomenon on our way from La Fortuna to Monteverde, when we spontaneously followed a “Avatar Tree” sign up a steep embankment on the edge of Lake Arenal. Though we could have Googled the attraction to see if it was worthwhile, we decided to embrace the adventure, and we were richly rewarded. For just a couple of dollars, we were greeted by the most magnificently grandiose tree we’ve ever seen. It had sprawling roots standing nearly 5 ft high and swinging vines that seemed to descend from the heavens. We could have spent hours there and not gotten bored, especially because we got a complimentary “tour” from the owner himself, who joined us at the base of the tree and chatted about its history. Apparently, the tree is hundreds of years old, and just recently was what inspired James Cameron to create the trees in Avatar. 

The second time we encountered this “pay-on-property” system was in downtown Santa Elena, where there is a small parking lot for a ficus tree bridge. The ficus trees in Costa Rica are famous for their sprawling tendrils, often making elaborate designs on the forest floor. This particular ficus, however, is the most famous in the area, as it spans across a small creek running behind some of the local properties. Presumably because of this tree’s popularity with tourists (it makes for an AWESOME photo), the property owner has installed several picnic tables, a rain awning, and some beautiful wooden railings, making it the perfect area to stop for lunch.

Aguti Wildlife Reserve

Senda comes with complimentary access to the nearby Aguti Wildlife Reserve, which we found to be much less crowded than all the other hiking trails in the area (though even those weren’t particularly crowded). We visited early one morning, which we found to be the most ideal time for hiking, as not only was the light still golden for photos, but the afternoon rain and fog was still hours away. 

The reserve is named after the aguti, which is a small rodent common to the region. They look like a large guinea pig with extended legs and arms, and though they are skittish, we had no problem sighting many of them during our hike. Though there aren’t any specific sights at Aguti beyond the beautiful hiking trails that cascade up the mountain, we found this reserve to be a particularly good place for birdwatching (and listening). 

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

No trip to Monteverde would be complete without seeing the world renown hanging bridges. These bridges draw in thousands of visitors every year, and for good reason. They are breathtaking to see and walk across, especially if you happen to visit during the afternoon fog. There’s something so surreal about not being able to see both the other side of the bridge and the forest floor. You feel truly immersed in the forest canopy, away from almost all signs of human life.

There are four different companies that offer their own hanging bridges, with each company also offering guided tours that go into greater detail about the ecosystems around you. After lots of research and talking to several staff members at Senda, we decided to visit the original hanging bridge at Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. This biological reserve is the original one in the area, as it was founded in 1971 to protect 26,000 acres of cloud forest. The reserve is home to 2,500 plant species, 100 mammal species, and 400 bird species, many of which we saw during our hike.

After walking for several miles on the reserve’s beautiful, well maintained trails, we happened across the Continental Divide overlook, where you can stand at the dividing point between where water flows to the Pacific and the Gulf. We even got a couple minutes where the clouds disappeared, allowing us beautiful panoramic views. We then walked a bit further to the hanging bridge, which we were lucky enough to find empty, giving us plenty of time to soak in the allure of the experience.

Monteverde Frog Pond

A great rainy afternoon/night activity in Santa Elena is the Monteverde Frog Pond. Located just minutes from downtown and Hotel Senda, this brightly colored museum is a perfect place to supplement your hiking experiences with specific knowledge of the cloudforest’s amphibians. Though we saw (and heard) all types of animals while hiking, frogs are often nocturnal and arboreal, meaning it is tough to spot these famous critters without the help of a guide, and even then there is some luck involved. Fortunately, the Frog Pond is the perfect place to see all the famous frogs that we associate with the rainforest, our favorite of which was the poison dart frogs. It can be difficult to spot the critters, even in their enclosures, so they give you a flashlight and invite you to return once the sun has set when the animals are more active.

In Conclusion: Our Favorite Area in Costa Rica

During our trip, we visited three different regions of Costa Rica. Though we loved the beaches of Manuel Antonio and the volcano hikes of La Fortuna, Monteverde was without a doubt the highlight of the trip, largely because of the hospitality we experienced at Hotel Senda. It was the perfect place to start and end our days experiencing all the activities that this region in the clouds has to offer. From relaxing afternoons in town at the world class coffee-shops to rugged hikes deep in the Talamanca Mountain range, every moment in Monteverde was as unforgettable as the last.