monteverde costa rica

Straddling the Continental Divide at 1440 meters (4662 ft), the Santa Elena and Monteverde Cloud Forest area offers one of the most interesting place to visit in Costa Rica.
In Monteverde Costa Rica rain forest are found more than 100 species of mammals including 5 species of cats, over 400 species of birds including 30 kinds of hummingbirds, tens of thousands of insect species (over 5000 species of moths) and 2,500 species of plants (420 kinds of orchids). The area is acclaimed as one of the most outstanding wildlife refuges in the New World Tropics.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is a private non-profit reserve administered by the Tropical Science Center, and contains 6 distinct ecological zones. Called a cloud forest rather than a rain forest: because of it's altitude, the clouds go through the forest.
The canopy is extremely rich with birds, insects, butterflies, and thousands of plants. Great bird watching, Resplendent Quetzal is usually seen in the March-April nesting season.
With a unique and rich diversity of flora and fauna, Bajo del Tigre (Jaguar Canyon), a small area of the Children's Eternal Rain Forest of Costa Rica (Bosque Nuboso de Los Ninos), is in a transition zone from pre-mountain wet forest to pre-mountain moist forest.
Because of its location on the Pacific slope, elevation and humidity, Bajo del Tigre is a very different habitat from other rain forest reserves in the area.
The Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve is a state owned non-profit reserve straddling the Continental Divide at an elevation of 1,700 m (5,600 ft.). Cloudier and wetter than the other reserve because of higher elevation.
Contains 12 kms of trails (7 m.) and a canopy observation tower. The Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve features great views of the Arenal Volcano and the Lake Arenal and similar habitat and wildlife to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, but a lot less visitors.