Which forest is home to Costa Rica’s famous Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve?

Costa Rica’s Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve protects the famous Monteverde cloud forest.

The reserve lies in the Cordillera de Tilarán in northwestern Costa Rica. Moisture carried by trade winds condenses as mist around the high-elevation vegetation, creating the persistent cloud or “brow” that gives this ecosystem its name.

Monteverde is celebrated for exceptional biodiversity, including orchids, bromeliads, amphibians, birds, and many tree species. It was established in 1972 after conservation efforts involving local Quakers and scientists helped protect the forest from clearing.

The reserve is often associated with the golden toad, but that amphibian has not been observed since 1989 and is widely considered extinct. Monteverde is also not the same as Costa Rica’s broader cloud-forest region: the reserve is one protected area within a larger mountain landscape.