The Artisans’ Cooperative of Santa Elena and Monteverde (CASEM, tel. 506/645-5190, fax 506/645-5898, casemcr [at] yahoo [dot] com, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Sat. and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Sun.) features the handmade wares of 140 local artisans.

Galería Extasis (tel./fax 506/645-5548, galeriaextasis [at] racsa [dot] co [dot] cr, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. daily) sells exquisite paintings, hardwood sculptures, jewelry, bowls, and other creative art by gifted artist Marco Tulio Brenes.

Bromelia’s (tel. 506/645-6272, bromelias [at] care2 [dot] com, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. daily, until 10 p.m. Thurs.) is a delightful space selling books and quality batiks, jewelry, and carvings.

And the Hummingbird Gallery (tel. 506/645-5030, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. daily), 100 meters below the entrance to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, is well stocked with souvenirs.

In Santa Elena, Librería Chunches (tel./fax 506/645-5147, ranariomv [at] racsa [dot] co [dot] cr, 8 a.m.–7 p.m. daily) sells American and English magazines and newspapers, plus a large selection of books on natural history, as well as laminated Costa Rican Field Guides.