One of the major reasons to visit Monteverde is the mystical cloud forest. This is some of the best of this habitat not only in Central America, but the world. We had decided early on that we wanted to spend as much time here as possible, which was why Monteverde was the longest leg of our trip. We decided to book a day trip to the Santa Elena Reserve, the famous reserve in the middle of the cloud forest.
Here is how we got on and what we saw.
Day Trip to the Santa Elena Reserve | Seeing Pristine Cloud Forest
Getting to Santa Elena
The Santa Elena reserve is about 20 minutes outside of Monteverde. There is a main road that goes there, but it is really not for the faint hearted! The road is not well looked after, has no tarmac and is filled with potholes. Not only that but it also has some steep inclines as you go higher into the clouds.
Obviously, there is an option to drive yourself but I really would not recommend it. If you do want to, then you will need a 4×4 and will need to go slowly. Our day was planned with Swiss Travel and they organised a minibus to pick us up from the hotel. You can also take the hourly shuttle from hotels.
Opening Times, Costs and What to Bring
The Santa Elena reserve is open 7 days a week from 7am to 4pm. At the time of writing, the cost is $18.00 per adult and $7.00 per child. This is cheaper than Monteverde cloud forest and actually gives you more bang for your buck (there are more trails here).
The cloud forest is very wet. In fact, you should expect it to rain when you visit. This results in an incredible ecosystem, one of the most unique and beautiful I have ever seen, but you will need to be prepared. Both of us brought ponchos which did the job of keeping us dry. You can wear walking boots, but if you are packing lightly, some decent trainers will be fine. Just don’t bring your nice ones, as it will get muddy.
History of Santa Elena
We were lucky enough to be taken around the forest by an experienced guide who had lived in the area for over 50 years. He told us that Santa Elena is, technically, not one of the country’s official National Parks, which I found a bit peculiar. Instead, the land is actually owned by the local Santa Elena community after the land was purchased by the Community High School in the 70s. This means that all proceeds go back into the local area, instead of the Government.
Because of the recent developments, a lot of the reserve is made up of secondary forests. These are those that have been recently disturbed by human activity. There is some ancient forest left here, but each type was beautiful in its own way.
The Trails and Wildlife
There are a lot of different trails here to choose from. Ours took about 2 and a half hours, and we didn’t even take the longest one (red and yellow)! I felt really safe with our guide as he knew the area like the back of his hand.
Unlike Treetopia, the trails on our day trip to the Santa Elena Reserve were wild and muddy. For much of our walk, I felt as if I was trudging the depths of Mirkwood from Middle Earth; it was truly magical throughout our journey. The terrain also is mostly easy; there were some slippery slopes and steps, but the majority of it was okay.
The weather was not on our side and we arrived in the middle of a downpour. Because of this we didn’t see a lot of wildlife, except for a few small and colourful birds. We sadly didn’t spot the resplendent quetzal as we were apparently two weeks late (we were there at the start of July). We did manage to spot tarantulas and centipedes, but had no luck with any mammals.
Whilst the animals are one of the main reasons to visit the Santa Elena reserve, the main spectacle are the plants. The trees were all covered in thick moss and lichen, something I had not seen anywhere else before. I felt as if it was a forest that belonged to magical fairies, something that wasn’t there in Treetopia.
Day Trip to the Santa Elena Reserve | Final Thoughts
If you want to see the best cloud forest in Costa Rica, and one of the best anywhere in the world, the Santa Elena Reserve is for you. I cannot describe how incredible it is; you won’t find anywhere else like it. I would say that you probably don’t need the entire day and you could split the day between this and Treetopia. However you do it, be prepared for one of the best nature experiences of your life.
