Cloud Forest at Monteverde
10 Free Things to do in Monteverde – Costa Rica
Monteverde is a lush cloud forest region in north central Costa Rica. It’s one of the country’s premiere tourist attractions.
Visitors from all over the world head up to Monteverde for bird and wildlife searching, walking in the exotic cloud forests, and joining in a whole slew of adrenaline adventures. On offer are bungee jumping, flying foxes, canopy bridges and other outdoor activities.
I wrote all about Monteverde in this article.
directional sign at Monteverde
While these guided adventure tours are loads of fun, they’re also quite expensive, set at typical international prices, ranging from about $35-100 US, which can easily add up to several hundred dollars. What’s more, the cloud forest reserve entry fees are now $20 for international visitors. This doesn’t necessarily work well for budget travelers passing through.
In addition, because visitors are so focused on joining the paid abundant tours, they miss a great deal of other less-known but equally interesting attractions in Monteverde. Most of them are free. They include learning about the intriguing history of Monteverde, conservation group activities, local arts and culture, as well as free hiking and animal spotting.
I’ve decided to write this article about the many other wonderful, interesting and educational things offered in Monteverde in hopes that more visitors will start enjoying more of Monteverde than just the standard tours and forest hikes. This should also help budget travelers in Costa Rica who want to experience the cloud forest and mountains but dont’ have the funds to join the pricey tours.
Without further ado, then, here are 10 free things to do in Monteverde that I discovered while staying there in early 2018.
top of Cerro Amigo
1. Hike up Cerro Amigo – The highest peak in Monteverde
Location – 1.6 km from Santa Elena then 400 M off the highway to trailhead
The two most well-known cloud forest reserves in the area are Monteverde Cloud Forest and Santa Elena Cloud Forest. They each have an entry fee of $20 for the right to wander around their limited forest trails to view the lush vegetation, experience the bizarre weather, and hope to spot some exotic animals or birds.
However, the area’s highest cloud forest is located at Cerro Amigo Mountain. It’s absolutely free to hike to the summit. And hikers are just as likely to spot common animals, butterflies and birds along this road as at the nearby forest reserves.
A rough forest road goes all the way to the top of Cerro Amigo, where there’s a small research station and radio tower. The sign-posted road begins a short distance off the main highway, right at the foot of the gorgeous, sustainable boutique Hotel Belmar.
It’s a steep climb to the summit that takes most people about 1.5 hours up and about 1 hour back down. Remember that the peak is in the clouds! That means that regardless of the weather in Santa Elena or the highway, it’s going to be chilly to cold and misty to drizzly up there. Take warm clothes and rain gear as well as plenty of water to drink.
And another thing – Don’t expect sweeping views of the surrounding countryside from up there! It’s literally IN the clouds. But on clear days hikers can generally see good panoramic views on the lower section of the road before it ascends into misty clouds and total white out.
Monteverde Cheese Factory – started by Quakers
2. Learn the intriguing history of Monteverde at Monteverde Cheese Factory and store
Location – 2.8 km along the highway from Santa Elena
As noted, today Monteverde is famous for its outdoor adrenaline adventures, hikes in cloud forests and searches for wild animals & tropical birds.
However, and perhaps surprisingly, the area was actually initiated and brought to world attention by Quakers from the USA in the 1950s! They moved to the extremely remote mountain area to set up dairy farms and produce cheese, introducing dairy products to Costa Rica.
Their cheese factory is still there, still making a variety of cheeses as well as homemade ice cream.
Anyone can visit their cheese store at the front of the factory. There they can view the cheese-making processes from behind glass walls. They can also learn a detailed history of the Quakers arrival and development of cheeses from plaquards on the walls.
3. Learn about local sustainable environmental practices at Instituto Monteverde
Location – 2.8 km along the highway from Santa Elena
Right beside Monteverde Cheese Factory, the Monteverde Institute is dedicated to promoting sustainable living practices through education programs, supporting research projects and helping locals maintain sustainable practices.
Visitors are welcome to stop in to find out what they’re up to. It’s quite interesting and educational.
coatis
4. Wander around cloud forest trails at Kaplan Reserve
Location – 2.8 km along the highway from Santa Elena and behind Institute
Accessed from Monteverde Institute, small Kaplan Reserve is the area’s only free protected forest. Visitors can wander around the trails and quite possibly spot a few animals. Most common animals are the coatis, coamundis and armadillos.
5. Sample organic products at Whole Foods
Location – 2.4 km along the highway from Santa Elena
Just 100 M up the road towards Santa Helena is a small plaza of shops that include the artist’s co-operative, whole foods grocery and local cafe/coffee roaster. Visitors can check them all out, thus learning a lot more about Monteverde all in one shot.
The whole foods store sells fresh fruits and many other products at much lower prices than you’ll find elsewhere in Costa Rica. So if you want to stock up on any organic nuts, fruits, vegetables, grains or other produce, that’s the spot.
A great free treat at the store are the free samples of peanut butter, tahini, almond butter and other delicious healthy concoctions. So even if you don’t buy anything, you can try some very tasty snacks.
roasted coffee beans – photo by Matt DAvis on Flickr CC
6. Taste several varieties of local-grown coffee
Location – 2.4 km along the highway from Santa Elena
Next door to Wholefoods is Monte Verde Coffee Center. Primarily a cafe, they sell a variety of high quality Costa Rican coffees, which you can buy by the kilo or half kilo, either whole beans or ground to your desired grind. To encourage sales, they offer free samples of several different brews.
Stop in to find out what Costa Rican coffee is all about and get a free caffeine shot.
7. Check out local handicrafts and arts at CASEM
Location – 2.8 km along the highway from Santa Elena
Next door to Monteverde Wholefoods is CASEM – Cooperative of Artists of Santa Elena Monteverde. They sell a whole slew of handicrafts and art by local artists that range from ceramics and paintings to clothes and accessories to useful kitchen and home products.
Go see what the locals are making with their varying artistic talents.
Information Board about the Children’s Eternal Rainforest – Monteverde
8. Visit the international Children’s Eternal Rainforest Office
Location – 1.7 km along the highway from Santa Elena, across from the gas station
Amazingly, Costa Rica’s largest protected cloud forest was funded entirely by school children from around the world! In fact, the Children’s Cloud Forest is much larger than all the other protected forests put together !
It all started in the 1970s in Costa Rica and then Sweden. Stop by their office on the main highway to learn the incredible history of this project, how it’s being administered, and their ongoing plans to preserve more and more forests from logging and other threats.
You can also visit the rain forest itself, though there’s an entry fee of $12 US, which is standard for cloud forests in the area.
9. Climb inside a hollow Fig tree!
Location – ask at your hotel or hostel as this one’s a bit tricky to find
One highlight of several adventure tours in Monteverde is the chance to climb through a huge hollow fig tree. But you can also climb through a hollo Fig tree for free! You just have to find it.
It’s located just off one of the main roads outside Santa Elena. But it’s tricky to describe, so ask your hostel staff to mark on a map for you.
over the rainbow – photo by mripp on Flickr CC
10. Keep your eyes open for rainbows!
Location – anywhere in the Santa Elena / Monteverde area
Monteverde has some of the strangest weather I’ve ever experienced. As its name implies, the forested mountains are literally IN the clouds. That means its almost always perpetually wet, with at least a light mist flying through the air, if not a cold drizzle or white out.
However, at the same time, Costa Rica’s intense tropical sun is often shiing quite intently. And that means…rainbows!
So while you’re wandering around trying to deal with the simultaneous rain, gusting wind and blazing sunshine, keep your eyes to the sky throughout the day. It’s common to see at least one rainbow during any given day in Monteverde.
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Hi! I'm Lash, an American nomadic world traveler who's been traveling solo since 1998. I’m passionate about traveling the world nomadically and then sharing it all with you. I hope to inspire you to travel the world, to entertain you with tales from the road, and to help you reach your travel dreams. Welcome! 
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In the cloud forest of Costa Rica with kids – chef julie's family travels
2019/05/22 at 1:24 am (UTC 8) Link to this comment
[…] Be prepared to pay for everything you do, including trail walks and exploring preserves. Here is a link we discovered on our last day there, which shows a few free activities. I wish I had found this […]