The cloud forest Monteverde was one of the most unique and exciting places I have ever been to. On our third day in this area, we had booked in to explore Treetopia. This is a locally-owned business that owns a large amount of cloud forest and is home to some of the best ziplines and hanging bridges in the country. We had booked in for all of it but, sadly, the weather was not great when we arrived. So we decided against the ziplines and spent the day exploring. If you are visiting Treetopia Monteverde, here is everything you need to know.
Visiting Treetopia Monteverde | Exploring the Cloud Forest
How Do I Get There?
Treetopia is located just outside of the town of Monteverde. By car, it is a short (10 minute) drive from the town centre. Be aware that the road here is really rustic, littered with potholes and does not feature much tarmac.
If, like us, you decided against the car then Treetopia has you covered. They run a shuttle service that will pick you up from your hotel and then drop you off. These run every hour to and from the park.
Activities and Costs
Treetopia Monteverde has a variety of different packages that you can choose from. These all revolve around the main activities that you can do:
- Hanging Bridges (either guided or solo)
- Ziplining
- SkyTram
- Challenge Course
Treetopia Monteverde also offer a ‘bundle it’ package, where you can mix and match the activities.
Our package included everything except for the Challenge Course, which came in at $117.00 dollars per person. That included one tour of the Hanging Bridges, as well as unlimited access to them after the tour had ended. We also could ride the SkyTram as many times as we wanted.
The Hanging Bridges | Visiting Treetopia Monteverde
One of the main reasons to visit Treetopia is the Hanging Bridges. These are some of the longest and tallest within Central America, with the largest elevating you 150m above the cloud forest.
Our tour was the first adventure and we were greeted by our friendly guide at reception. He could speak fluent English and so was able to translate everything.
The tour lasted for just over 90 minutes. I felt that this was just enough time to do the circuit, with stops along the way whenever something interesting appeared. I must admit that, in the weather, I was a bit anxious about stepping onto the first hanging bridge. Walking along it is a really weird sensation; there is a little bounce to it but it feels completely safe. After the first one, I got over any fear that I had.
Because of the weather, we were quite unlucky in what we saw on the bridges. We managed to spot some swallow-tailed kites and hummingbirds whilst crossing, but didn’t see any monkeys or coatis up in the canopy.
Our guide was also skillful at finding fun invertebrates, especially tarantulas. These lived in the holes of the banking slopes alongside the walkway and could be seen through torchlight. They were easily the biggest wild spiders I had ever seen.
One of my favourite things about Treetopia is the unlimited access to the bridges once your tour is over. Even with poor weather conditions, and little visibility, we decided to repeat this loop multiple times. We managed to see a lot of different bird species and experienced the very best of the cloud forest.
SkyTram
The SkyTram is a really cool part of Treetopia. It is almost like a ski lift in appearance and, just like it, transports visitors high up into the mountains.
This is the route that zipliners take to start their adventure, which was obviously quiet when we went. Because of the weather, the visibility was poor. This meant that it seemed as if we were completely lost within the clouds as we moved up. Whilst it is designed to see as much wildlife as possible, we only managed to spot a lone vulture eating a carcass.
At the top of the mountain there is not much to see. There is a cafe and a small loop that you can walk around (great for spotting large and interesting fungi!). We managed to have a delicious hot chocolate when we were there. It featured various alcoholic beverages, including my personal favourite on a cold day; Baileys. It was just what was needed, even if it did cost $20 (our conversion rate from Colones was not accurate at this point…).
Ziplining
We didn’t go ziplining in Treetopia, which is something that I was disappointed by. However, the course looked amazing and the safety standards, equipment and atmosphere was top-notch. These are famously the best ziplines in the country and, had the weather been better, we would have loved to have completed the course.
Final Thoughts | Visiting Treetopia Monteverde
Treetopia Monteverde is an incredible place to visit, and is a must-do in Costa Rica. Whilst there are other ziplining parks that are similar across the country, the cloud forest just is so unique and unlike anywhere else in the world. Whilst Santa Elena offers a more ‘untouched’ and pristine cloud forest environment, I found Treetopia unique and special in its own way.
