Monterverde
Monteverde National Park Attractions & Things to Do in Costa Rica's Northern Zone
By Explore Costa Rica Staff
Feb 12, 2008, 07:29

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Monteverde National Park Attractions & Things to Do in Costa Rica's Northern Zone

Bird watching, hummingbird gallery, butterfly gardens, snakes, frogs & insects, coffee plantation, Spanish classes, night tours to Arenal Volcano, art shops, Costa Rica music events & festivals, a cheese factory, are some of the popular Monteverde attractions & activities.

Birds are not the only colorful fauna in Monteverde. Butterflies abound here, and the Butterfly Garden (tel. 645-5512), located near the Pension Monteverde Inn, displays many of Costa Rica's most beautiful butterfly species. Besides the hundreds of preserved and mounted butterflies, there's a garden and a greenhouse where you can watch live butterflies. The garden is open daily from 9:30am to 4pm, and admission is $8 for adults and $6 for students and children, including a guided tour. The best time to visit this Costa Rica attraction is between 9:30am and 1pm, when the butterflies are most active.

If your taste runs toward the slithery, you can check out the Monteverde Serpentarium (tel. 645-5238), on the road to the reserve. This place was recently remodeled and the new enclosures and informative displays are a vast improvement. It's open daily from 9am to 8pm and charges $7 for admission.

The Frog Pond of Monteverde (tel. 645-6320), located a couple of hundred meters north of the Monteverde Lodge, is probably a better bet. The $8 entrance gets you a 45-minute tour, and your ticket is good for 2 days. A variety of species populate a series of glass terrariums. This place is open daily from 8am to 8pm. I especially recommend that you stop by at least once after dark, when the tree frogs are active.

The newest entry in this field is the World of Insects (tel. 645-6859), which features a couple dozen terrariums filled with some of the area's more interesting creepy crawlers. My favorites are the giant horned beetles. This place is located 300m (984 ft.) west of the supermarket in Santa Elena. It's open daily from 8am to 9pm; admission is $7.

Because the vegetation in the cloud forest is so dense, most of the forest's animal residents are rather difficult to spot. If you were dissatisfied with your sightings, even with a naturalist guide leading you, you might want to consider attending a slide show of photographs taken in the reserve. There is a host of daily slide shows around Monteverde. The longest running of these takes place at the Monteverde Lodge, Hotel El Sapo Dorado, Hotel Belmar, and Hummingbird Gallery. Dates, showtimes, and admissions vary, so inquire at your Costa Rica hotel or one of the places mentioned above.

If you've had your fill of birds, snakes, frogs, bugs, and butterflies, you might want to stop at the Orchid Garden (tel. 645-5510), on the main road toward the reserve. This small botanical garden boasts more than 400 species of orchids. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students. It's open daily from 8am to 5pm.

Finca Cielo Verde (tel. 645-5641) offers a tour of their coffee plantation and processing operation. For $15, you get transportation to their farm and a tour of the fields and facilities.

The Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (tel. 645-5441) offers immersion language classes in a wonderful setting. A 1-week program with 4 hours of class per day and a home stay with a Costa Rican family costs $365.

Almost all of the area hotels can arrange a wide variety of other Costa Rica tours and activities, including guided night tours of the cloud forest and night trips to the Arenal Volcano (a tedious 4-hr. ride, each way).

Perhaps the best-stocked gift shop in Monteverde is the Hummingbird Gallery (tel. 645-5030). You'll find the gallery just outside the reserve entrance. Hanging from trees around it are several hummingbird feeders that attract more than seven species of these tiny birds. At any given moment, there might be several dozen hummingbirds buzzing and chattering around the building and your head. Inside you will, of course, find a lot of beautiful color prints of hummingbirds and other local flora and fauna, as well as a wide range of craft items, T-shirts, and other gifts. The Hummingbird Gallery is open daily from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

Another good option is CASEM (tel. 645-5190), located on the right side of the main road, just across from Stella's Bakery. This crafts cooperative sells embroidered clothing, T-shirts, posters, and postcards with photos of the local flora and fauna, Boruca weavings, locally grown and roasted coffee, and many other items to remind you of your visit to Monteverde. CASEM is open Monday through Saturday from 8am to 5pm and Sunday from 10am to 4pm (closed Sun May-Oct). There is also a well-stocked gift shop at the entrance to the Monteverde Biological Cloud Forest Reserve. You'll find plenty of T-shirts, postcards, and assorted crafts here, as well as a well-stocked selection of science and natural-history books.

Over the years, Monteverde has developed a nice little community of artists. Around town you'll see paintings by local artists such as Paul Smith and Meg Wallace, whose works are displayed at the Fonda Vela Hotel and Stella's Bakery, respectively. You might also check out Galeria Extasis (tel. 645-5548), which sells the intriguing wooden sculptures of artist Marco Tulio Brenes, or the new Casa de Arte (tel. 645-5275), which has a mix of arts and crafts in many media. Both of these are located just off the main road to the reserve. Another nice place to visit is the Community Arts Center (tel. 645-6121), which is located just beyond the Cheese Factory on the right-hand side of the road. In addition to studio space, there's a small gallery and gift shop here selling the work of local artists and artisans.

Finally, it's also worth stopping by the Monteverde Cheese Factory to pick up some of the best cheese in Costa Rica. (You can even watch it being processed and get homemade ice cream.) The cheese factory is located right on the main road about midway between Santa Elena and the reserve. It's open Monday through Saturday from 7:30am to 4pm and Sunday from 7:30am to noon.

Music Events in Monteverde--Each year throughout much of the high season, the Monteverde Institute (tel. 645-5053) hosts the annual Monteverde Music Festival. There's a different concert every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening. Featuring mostly Costa Rican groups, the repertoire ranges from folk to jazz to classical. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Given the success of this annual event, the Institute has talked about extending its programming throughout much of the year. Check ExploreCostaRica.com Calendar of Events.