In October 2020, Isabel and I visited the Monteverde area and stayed at the Monteverde Inn for three nights. This inn is another that is attached to a large private preserve (Valle Escondido) with trails that have excellent views of waterfalls, the forest and even the Gulf of Nicoya and the Nicoya Peninsula. The property is located just outside the village of Santa Elena in the Monteverde district of Puntarenas cantón (county) and the province of the same name. At the time we visited, this district had only six active virus cases.
The following photos are from Monteverde Inn/Valle Escondido. The mammal is an agouti.
While in the area we visited a great park/preserve each day. The first full day we went to Selvatura Adventure Park. While the park is only 25 minutes from the Monteverde Inn, it is in the higher elevation of the cloud forest. This means that for most of the time we were walking the trails, we were literally walking through a cloud (see below). The two highlights for us in the park were the Hummingbird Garden and the Hanging Bridges. There are at least 25 feeders in the garden area, and we saw 12 species of hummingbird. The bridges cut through the forest so you are literally walking over the treetops, often with a river or stream below. There are at least eight bridges of varying length and height.
The second full day we visited Curi-Cancha Reserve which is less than ten minutes from the Monteverde Inn. It is an outstanding location and should be visited by any birder in the area. It contains a great diversity of habitat and a serious bird list. During the right season, one can see Resplendent Quetzal, as well as Umbrellabird and a variety of other species. On our visit, we had 42 species that we could identify and several others that we simply had to let go. Of course, there were hummingbird feeders.
Magenta-throated Woodstar (male)
Purple-throated Mountain-gem (male)
Lesser Violetear
Green-crowned Brilliant (female)
Map of the trail we took and one of many agoutis.
Monteverde is one of my favorite places to visit in Costa Rica. As with so many others zones in Costa Rica, it is located only three hours away from Grecia.
We've been to the Selvatura Park twice. It's amazing. We especially love the hummingbird garden there too. Great photos and videos, Ed. You got some especially good shots of the hummingbirds. You've got kind of a cute travel companion!