Monteverde, 35 kilometers north from the Pan-American Highway, means “Green Mountain,” an appropriate name for one of the most idyllic pastoral settings in Costa Rica. Populated by North American Quakers, there is no concentrated village to speak of; most of the homes are hidden from view in the forest, accessible by foot trail and scattered along the dirt road that leads to Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve from the village of Santa Elena.

Cows munch contentedly, and horse-drawn wagons loaded with milk cans still make the rounds in this world-famous community atop a secluded 1,400-meter-high plateau in the Cordillera de Tilarán. Monteverde is actually a sprawling agricultural community; the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, which is what most visitors come to see, is a few kilometers southeast and higher up.

Santa Elena, a community of Tico families that is distinct from Monteverde and is the center of things hereabouts: the bank, stores, bars (these being absent, of course, in a Quaker community), and other services are here. Separating the communities of Santa Elena and Monteverde is the region of Cerro Plano, where most accommodations concentrate.

The fame of the preserve has spawned an ever-increasing influx of attractions (not all of them worth the entrance fee) and tourists, and the area is in danger of becoming overdeveloped. The community spirit is being lost as locals become more self-absorbed and put the pursuit of money above community interests. Santa Elena also has its own Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. The two reserves are at different elevations and have different fauna and flora.

The World of Insects (tel. 506/645-6859, $7) isn’t worth the entrance fee; its displays, including a small butterfly garden, are rather meager. Far more worthwhile are the Jewels of the Rainforest Bio-Art Exhibition at Selvatura, and the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens. Descriptions of these, and other recommended area attractions, can be found here.

Coffee is grown on the slopes just below Santa Elena and Monteverde. Finca Verde (tel. 506/645-5641), only 1 km west of Santa Elena, has five tours daily ($15); Tour de Café Monteverde (tel. 506/645-5901, cafe monteverde [at] hotmail [dot] com, 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., $25) has three-hour tours.

At last visit, a Museum of Monteverde was to be built in the same complex as the Bat Jungle.

Getting There

Beware touts who intercept arriving buses and cars to direct you to properties or businesses at which they’ll receive commissions.

Transporte Tilarán (tel. 506/645-5951, in San José tel. 506/222-3854) buses (four hours, $4.50) depart San José from Calle 12, Avenidas 7/9, at 6:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. daily. Buses (tel. 506/645-5159) also depart Calles 2 and 4 in Puntarenas at 6 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. daily (you can pick it up at the Río Lagarto turnoff for Monteverde on the Pan-American Highway). A bus departs Tilarán for Monteverde at 12:30 p.m.

Interbus (tel. 506/282-5573, www.interbusonline.com) and Fantasy Bus (tel. 506/232-3681, www.graylinecostarica.com) operate shuttles between San José and Monteverde ($38) and key tourist destinations.

If driving, there are two turnoffs for Monteverde from Highway 1. The first is via Sardinal (the turnoff is at Rancho Grande, about 10 kilometers south of San Gerardo). The second is about seven kilometers north of San Gerardo (100 meters before the bridge over the Río Lagarto), 37 kilometers north of Esparza. The roads lead 35 kilometers uphill, a gut-jolting, vertiginous dirt road that is almost as famous as the place it leads to. The drive takes 1.5–2 hours.