Monteverde Cloud Forest

shillifully

Cloud forests are tropical forests created by a specific climate combination of altitude and moist sea air. It results in almost persistent fog at the vegetation level creating an environment with almost no sunlight and constant moisture from the air and drips from the vegetation.

They are extremely bio-diverse with most of the vegetation growth at the canopy level; large trees act as hotels for moss, lichen, orchids and epiphytes.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve was founded in 1972 and covers over 26,000 acres with 90% primary forest. It has the most orchid species in a single space together and over 400 bird species.

Our lodge is within sight of the Pacific Ocean (when there is a brief gap in the cloud) where it is currently 30 degrees, however the Cloud Forest is about 15 degrees but feels much colder due to the cloud and winds.

Our journey from Arenal to Monteverde was partly by boat, crossing Costa Rica’s largest lake – man made with the creation of a hydroelectric dam in 1979 and producing 17% of the country’s electricity
“View point” on the journey up into the cloud
Broad winged hawk by the road side on our journey
View from our lodge when there were brief breaks in the cloud, Pacific Ocean in the distance
One of the hiking trails around our lodge
Forest fungi
We would have missed many things without a guide such as this thorn insect
….and this grass hopper
The “strangler tree”
Violet sabre wing hummingbird outside our lodge
Lesson’s motmot (some of our photos were taken through our guides’ telescopes)
White nosed coati outside our room
On our final evening we did a guided night hike for around two hours. We saw sleeping birds, insects, an armadillo and tarantulas (at a safe distance).

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