Walking in the clouds — the world's most famous cloud forest
Monteverde is perched at 1,440m on the continental divide in north-central Costa Rica, where the Atlantic and Pacific weather systems collide to create perpetual cloud cover and one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve — established partly by Quaker settlers from Alabama who moved here in 1951 to avoid the Korean War draft — protects 10,500 hectares of cloud forest with over 2,500 plant species, 400 bird species including the resplendent quetzal, and 100 mammal species. Suspension bridges, night walks, and zip-lining through the canopy have made this…
Monteverde was settled in the 1950s by two distinct groups: local Costa Rican farmers and a small community of American Quakers who chose Costa Rica specifically because it had abolished its military in 1948. The Quakers established the Monteverde Cheese Factory in 1953 (still operating) and, crucially, purchased and preserved large tracts of cloud forest from deforestation — the seeds of what became the reserve. Scientific interest grew through the 1960s-70s as biologists discovered the extraordinary biodiversity; the Cloud Forest Reserve was formally established in 1972. The golden toad, di…