The Santa Elena Cloud Forest is a magical hiking experience. It’s a cheaper, less touristy departure from the nearby Monteverde Cloud Forest entrance. I was able to walk the trails in near solitude and silence aside from the chirping birds and creaking trees.
What I loved about this reserve was its manicured trails depicted on a clear map from which you could choose your own adventure. Not a lot of time? You can pick a shorter path and b-line it for the observation tower for the best views in the park. More time? Take the longer route along Caño Negro.
With the beautiful canopy above, cool mountain air, I was easily enchanted by this place. The views of Arenal mountain on this fairly clear day were the cherry on top!
About Santa Elena
Considered one of the lesser visited cloud forest reserves, Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve (or La Reserva Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena) is the sister to the more popular Monteverde Cloud Forest.
Santa Elena is the place to go to escape the tour groups and have a more solitary hike. This was exactly what I wanted after my adventurous morning ziplining experience.
Santa Elena is open 7am to 3pm and is privately run by the local Santa Elena Technical Professional High Schools. It sits at a higher elevation than the other reserve, at 1600m (5250ft). There are 12km (7.5mi) of trails covering over 741 acres of land.
Santa Elena boasts 400 bird species, 120 mammal species, thousands of insect species, and numerous orchid and tree species.
Getting Into The Reserve
I parked in a large parking lot before walking up to the main building for entry into the reserve.
There was a $18 fee. This is much less than many of the other entry fees in the broader Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve complex. Other fees will run you upwards of $30 just to access nature. I mean, I love nature, but if I can see it for no money or less money then that’s going to be my pick as a budget traveler!
What I really enjoyed about Santa Elena was the clearly marked trails with distance and and key markers along the way. You could pick and choose from the trails based on the amount of time you have and the difficulty level.
I had a nice chunk of time but not all day. I chose the Encantado trail because it would take me deep into the forest but not for too far or too long—just over 2 miles.
Right from the start, the trails were already clearly marked and color coded. I’m pretty sure a toddler wouldn’t get lost in this forest!
The Birds of Santa Elena
Kicking things right off, I spotted a Pava Negro right at the start of the trail. This huge bird barely seemed to care that I was already approaching it so closely.
I hung back a bit anyway to observe it and let it do its thing until it flew off.
I was already looking up and all around me as soon as I started to walk farther away from the entrance and parking area. Once the human noises faded into the distance, I was met with a peaceful silence that was broken up only by the unique sounds of Costa Rican bird life.
I’m sure the quiet was helped by the fact that it was a Tuesday!
I was completely immersed.
There were many new and unfamiliar bird sounds all around me. I took lots of video of my experience, capturing these sounds throughout. I decided to put it together for the first half of this video without sounds. The second half is a montage of the beautiful flora to come!
The Flora Of Santa Elena
Below are many of the photos featured in the second half of the video above.
I was in awe of the plant life here. There was so much biodiversity from fungi to ferns.
I was also obsessed with all the tall, big rooted fig trees. This forest was so quiet I could hear the trees creaking way up above in the breeze like stiff bones.
Following The Trail
The trail was extremely easy to follow, especially by referencing the photo I took of the trail map back at the entrance. Aside from that, the trails were pristinely maintained and marked with clear signage.
The key on the map helped me identify different points along the way, such as meeting points, rest stops, bridges, and short cuts. Occasionally, they’d even post the map again for easy reference.
The Observation Tower
On my way back along Encantado Trail, I took a quick detour to backtrack along the Youth Challenge trail. Signs told me I was going in the “wrong direction.” It was only a short walk up to make it to the first viewpoint marked on the map of this trail: My first look at Arenal Volcano.
Eventually I made it to the observation tower. The video below shows the walk up to the top!
Cloud forests get their name because of the clouds that drift in and provide the flora with all the moisture they need to thrive. It isn’t unusual to see nothing when reaching the top of the tower. However, on this day, the views were perfection! I could clearly see Arenal Volcano over 10 miles away.
The near 360-degree views were outstanding! This really was the cherry on top of an already breathtaking hike!
My favorite part of these views were the layers upon layers of mountains and hills set back behind the cloud forest in the foreground. I couldn’t get enough!
In Conclusion
Santa Elena is a best kept secret of Monteverde. It was the perfect answer to my wild morning—a quiet, afternoon hike with barely another hiker in sight. Especially along Encantado trail, it was just me, the birds, and the trees for the entire time.
I even had the popular Observation Tower all to myself. The views here were a great overview of the entire area. I would get to see even more of that as I closed out my time in Monteverde. That night, I was excited to see a sunset view and the next morning I’d finally see the mountain views I missed on my way in the night before. I’ll post photos from those scenes next time!
