Must-see attractions in Monteverde & Around

The exquisitely misty 310-hectare Reserva Santa Elena offers a completely different cloud forest experience from Monteverde. Cutting through the veiled…

This beautiful cloud forest reserve came into being in 1972, when the Quaker community (which had already set aside a third of its property for…

Head here for everything you ever wanted to know about butterflies. There are four gardens representing different habitats; they're home to more than 40…

There's no sign, no website, and last we checked, nobody was collecting any money for this delightful roadside attraction. It's simply a hollowed-out fig…

Returning to its former glory as the Ranario, or Frog Pond (it's changed names a few times), this place also features an insect house. The frogs are still…

This sweet-smelling garden in Santa Elena has shady trails winding past more than 500 types of orchids. On your guided tour, you’ll see such rarities as…

For those who prefer their reptiles under glass (or at least behind it), a guide will show you around and introduce you to more than 50 species of…

This simple meeting house in Monteverde is the ‘church’ of the American Society of Friends, or the Quakers, who first settled this area and committed to…

The Bat Jungle in Monteverde is a small but informative exhibit, with good bilingual educational displays and a habitat housing almost 100 free-flying…

A local landmark in the center of Santa Elena. The adjacent roasted-chicken shack apparently has no religious affiliation.