CLOUD FOREST OF SANTA ELENA RESERVE

In the Nothern half of Costa Rica you find cloud forests. The most famous is Monteverde with its suspended bridges that give you a bird’s view on the forest. Smaller and less touristic is the self-funded Reserve Santa Elena, which is run by the local high school board. It is located 7 km North of the town Santa Elena.

At 1,650 m above sea level, the clouds coming from the Caribbean sea are producing the high humidity. The effect of this you can see right away when step on one of the trails in the reserve. The forest seems to be layered: there is moss everywhere in many different shapes, ferns on the ground and on trees, together with other epiphyte species. Different shades of green, wherever you look. In the reserve there are observation towers to get a view on the higher floors of the forest.

The abundance and variety of plants is truly breathtaking. If you also want to see animals, we recommend to take a guided walk because you will see more of them. Without a guide, we would not have known where the tarantula has it’s home…