Monteverde

A single tree can carry over a hundred other plant species growing on it. The paths stay wet, so deep soled shoes keep a walker upright.

Eight bridges set at treetop height are walked one after another. When the mist comes in, twenty metres ahead disappears.

Steel cables span the valley and riders slide across them. The longest run passes a kilometre and goes straight through cloud.

The long tailed green bird is looked for near the wild avocado trees. March and April, the breeding season, give the best chance.

Feeders of sugar water bring several hummingbird species to one spot. The wings beat so fast that the sound arrives before the sight.

Frogs of this country are kept species by species in glass tanks. Coming back at night finds the ones that slept by day awake and moving.

A room with day and night reversed shows the bats while they are active. Under red light they fly beyond the glass.

Slow ripening at altitude makes a hard bean with sharp acidity. Visitors do the picking and the brewing themselves at the farm.

Over five hundred orchid species native to this country grow here. The smallest need a magnifying glass before the flower can be seen.

Water parts at this ridge, some to the Pacific and some to the Caribbean. Constant wind has bent the trees to lean all one way.

A reserve run by the local community, with entry fees supporting the village high school. It sits a little higher than the Monteverde reserve and sees fewer visitors. Many days it is wrapped in cloud, so a waterproof shell goes on before the trail.

Land buying began in the late 1980s with money raised by Swedish schoolchildren, and it grew into the largest private reserve in Costa Rica. The Bajo del Tigre trail near town lies lower and drier, good ground for birding.

A private reserve between the village and the Monteverde reserve. Forest edge mixed with old pasture leaves open ground where birds are easier to pick out. Guided birding walks mostly set off around sunrise.

Santa Elena village has small exhibits keeping the country's snakes behind glass. Venomous species include the terciopelo and the yellow eyelash viper. Seeing them before the trails tells you what to step around out there.

In 1951 Quaker families from Alabama, refusing the Korean War draft, moved to this country that had abolished its army. They started dairy farming and set aside part of the forest, the seed of today's reserves. Their meeting house and school are still in use.

Reached by descending into the San Luis valley below Monteverde on a forest path between farms. You cross streams several times and climb back every metre you dropped; allow half a day. Lower than the cloud forest, it is warmer and the woods look different.

The real centre of what most people call Monteverde: buses stop here and lodgings and restaurants cluster round. Buses and shuttles to the various reserves leave from the village centre. The streets are hilly, and a torch helps after dark.

One of the highest points around Monteverde, climbed by a steep track from the hotels on the ridge between Santa Elena and the reserve. Clear skies open a view to Arenal Volcano and its lake; in cloud you see nothing, so morning climbs fare best.