The famous one. Founded in 1972, 3,500 hectares, and one of the most important private reserves in Costa Rica. The Monteverde area has around 400 species of birds.
We stay at the Trapp Family Lodge, the closest hotel to the reserve, with trails from the property that lead straight into it, so the reserve is a walk and not a drive. Hike with a guide: it is the best chance at the Three-wattled Bellbird and the Resplendent Quetzal.
There are three Monteverde pages on this site and the same lodge serves all of them. This is the big reserve, and it has wheelchair-accessible paths and facilities, which matters if someone in your group needs them. Santa Elena is the smaller, quieter reserve; Curi-Cancha is the farm where the walk starts at the pasture.
The Three-wattled Bellbird and the Resplendent Quetzal, the two people ask us about here. The bellbird is a regional endemic.
With them in the cloud forest Lesson’s Motmot, Collared Trogon and Keel-billed Toucan.
| English | Scientific | Spanish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three-wattled Bellbird | Procnias tricarunculatus | Campanero Tricarunculado | Regional endemic |
| Resplendent Quetzal | Pharomachrus mocinno | Quetzal | |
| Lesson’s Motmot | Momotus lessonii | Momoto Coroniazul | |
| Collared Trogon | Trogon collaris | Trogón Collarejo | |
| Keel-billed Toucan | Ramphastos sulfuratus | Tucán Pico Iris | |
| Prong-billed Barbet | Semnornis frantzii | Barbudo Cocora | Regional endemic |
| Spangle-cheeked Tanager | Tangara dowii | Tangara Vientricastaña | Regional endemic |
Fly into San José or Liberia. From Arenal our trips cross by jeep, boat and jeep over Lake Arenal, which is the best morning of the transfer. Pack a light fleece for Monteverde's evenings.
All year. Tell us your dates and we will say what the cloud forest is doing that month.
Three of our lodges: the Trapp Family Lodge, the closest hotel to the reserve, with its own trails into it; Monteverde Lodge & Gardens, which sends its guests to this reserve, Curi-Cancha and Santa Elena; and Senda Monteverde, with naturalist guides on its own staff.
Photo: Monteverde Lodge & Gardens
Monteverde
A place perched in the mountains with infinite things to do for nature lovers and discerning travelers!
★★★
A cloud forest lodge with gardens at Santa Elena that sends guests to three reserves: the Cloud Forest Reserve, whose page names 400 bird species, Curi Cancha, with open ground for spotting birds and a limit of 40 visitors, and Santa Elena. Guided hikes and a night walk.
Photo: Senda Monteverde Hotel
Monteverde
Visit the Senda Monteverde Hotel and experience nature like never before!
★★★
A boutique hotel at Monteverde with naturalist guides on staff, where the Three-wattled Bellbird and the Resplendent Quetzal are named on the lodge's own pages.
Photo: Trapp Family Lodge
Monteverde
An Intimate, Welcoming Chalet in the Heart of Monteverde
★★★
The closest hotel to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, with trails from the property that lead straight into it, so the reserve is a walk and not a drive. Six of our 45 recent birding itineraries sleep here, level with Arenal Observatory for the most.
A few minutes on the form, and one of our Costa Rica specialists comes back to you personally with a first itinerary: the Highlands in the right order with whatever else is on your list, and how many nights each stop really needs. That first version is just a place to start.
Or call us: 1 (800) 996-1139 from the US and Canada, +506 4052-2140 in Costa Rica.
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