Monteverde
Encyclopedia
Monteverde, Costa Rica is a small town in Puntarenas
, Costa Rica
. Located in the Cordillera de Tilarán, roughly a four hour drive from the Central Valley
of Costa Rica, Monteverde is considered a major ecotourism
destination in Costa Rica. The area is perhaps best known for the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
and numerous other reserves, which draw considerable numbers of tourists and naturalists interested in mountain and tropical biodiversity.
In Newsweek
's 100 Places to Remember Before They Disappear, Monteverde appears as the Americas' #14. It has also been deemed one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica by popular vote, and has been called by National Geographic "the jewel in the crown of cloud forest
reserves".
This article deals with Monteverde and its surrounding zone. This includes the larger hub of Santa Elena, Cerro Plano, as well as numerous reserves and attractions.
Native Americans
, who once farmed in villages circa 3000 BC. Between roughly 3300 BC to 2000 BC, the nearby tribes of the Arenal
area experienced a population decline. These nearby tribes re-established villages in the region between 2000 BC to 500 BC. Agriculture intensified in the 500
BC to AD 300 period, with chiefdom
societies replacing small tribal societies. Intense deforestation accompanied horticulture
, and stone foundations dating to this period can be found. Jade
objects became prominent characteristics of these villages. From AD 300
to 800
, complex chiefdoms supplanted simpler chiefdoms and more intricate villages appear, with cemeteries, public squares, gold-work and inter-tribal trade and conflict. Around 1300, a general decline in population occurred, possibly due to Arenal Volcano
's increased activity.
When the Spanish
arrived in 1502, Costa Rica endured two generations of warfare. Nationwide indigenous populations fell from an estimated 400,000 to 80,000 within little more than 50 years. However, unlike Costa Rica's neighbors, Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica did not seem to harbor too much gold for the Spanish (even though gold mining in Costa Rica is a full-time occupation for some), and so the country was less ravished by colonization than other Latin American countries.
populations arrived in small numbers to what is now called Monteverde. Many were employed by, or provided services to the employees of, the Guacimal gold mines. Many settled the nearby lower, warmer valley of San Luis.
from the United States
whose pacifist values led them to defy the American draft during the Korean War
. The majority of the group hailed from Fairhope, Alabama, and it included people who were not Quakers but pacifists and conscientious objectors. The spokesman of the group was Hubert Mendenhall, a dairyman who had visited Costa Rica in 1949 after joining a farmer's tour. These Quakers and pacifists chose Monteverde for its cool climate, which would facilitate dairy farming, and due to Costa Rica's non-violent, army-free constitution. Mendenhall noted that the soil was fertile and the people were friendly as well. The Quakers stewarded and farmed a large tract of land, which they eventually set aside for conservation. This reserve, which was named the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
(Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve), has become a major tourist attraction.
, Arenal Volcano
, Cerro Chirripó
, Rio Celeste and Poás Volcano
.
As in the majority of Costa Rica, the official and most-spoken language is Spanish
. However, due to the presence of Quakers and 3 schools taught at least partially in English, one can expect a fair deal of bilingual Costa Ricans.
The population of the Quaker-dominated area of Monteverde proper has between 250 to 750 residents. The more developed Costa Rican-dominated town of Santa Elena has 6,500 permanent residents as of the most recent census. Quakers still form a considerable population alongside an increasing number of Costa Ricans
hall, which served as a general store and classrooms. This became known as the Monteverde Friends School and has since grown over the years to a Pre-K through 12 program, fully accredited by the Education Ministry of Costa Rica. The kindergarten program, which serves three, four and five year olds, is Montessori-based and bilingual. In grades 1 and 2, two thirds of the classes are bilingual for the first part of the year and then become English-only, and one third of the classes are in Spanish. From grades 3 through 12, two thirds of the instruction is in English and one third in Spanish, with students required to take social studies and literature courses in both Spanish and English. In an effort to maintain an intimate learning environment and a low student to teacher ratio where all students can be served well, the school has limited its enrollment 120 students. Guided by its mission to remain accessible to as many families in the zone as possible, the school provides financial aid to 47% of its students. The school is very popular with Costa Rican families in the area because of its emphasis on Quaker values and the high quality of its educational program. While the majority of students at the school are Costa Rican and long-time residents of the Monteverde Zone, more than a half dozen other nationalities are represented among the student body.
A substantially larger and fully bilingual (English/Spanish) institution is the Cloud Forest School, or "Centro de Educación Creativa." The Cloud Forest School (CFS) began in 1991 as a parent-run kindergarten for 30 local students. In the 20 years since its inception it has since expanded to an enrollment of roughly 200 students from Pre-K through 11th grade, over 90% of whom are local Costa Rican. Over 75% of CFS students receive need-based financial aid--equal opportunity education and a strong dedicaton to maintaining a socio-economically diverse student body are central tenants of the CFS. The CFS is fully accredited by the government of Costa Rica and over 50% of its graduates go on to university. This school has a property of 42 hectares (106 acres) of cloud forest that have been protected in the system of national private reserves, and a strong environmental education curriculum is at the heart of this school's mission and instruction. International families, volunteers, interns, exchange students, and student groups regularly pass through the Cloud Forest School for short or long-term visits to conduct service projects and research or simply to enjoy and experience the school as a student or member of the community.
The Escuela Adventista, founded in 1991, is also bilingual.
There are several public schools, including the Escuela Sta. Elena, the Escuela Cerro Plano and the Escuela San Luis.
The Colegio San Rafael and Colegio Técnico Professional (also known as the Colegio Santa Elena) are responsible for the majority of secondary education in the area.
populations were restrained by poor infrastructure, and relied mostly on subsistence agriculture
. Initially they hunted tapirs, deer
, paca
s, monkeys, and birds, but diminished those populations and turned to pigs
, corn
, beans, vegetables, fruits, herbs and livestock. In the 1950s, both Quakers and Costa Ricans produced garlic
, beef
, flax
, and homestead cheese. The Quakers took advantages of the infrastructure improvements of the 1960s and exported cheese and beef to the rest of the country. However, due to overgrazing
, the dairy industry declined in the 1970s. This led the population to turn to coffee
. In the mid-1990s, coffee farmers were receiving the highest prices in the world for their coffee beans. In the mid-1990s 210 families were contributing milk to the local dairy factory, with a revenue of $5.2 million.
Due to the acclaimed rain forests and cloud forests in the greater Monteverde area, Monteverde has become a major part of the Costa Rican tourist trail - despite difficult access. It was recently voted one of the "7 Wonders of Costa Rica" by the Costa Rican newspaper La Nación. Of Monteverde's total 250,000 annual tourists, around 70,000 tourists visit the reserve.
The bulk of Monteverde's rain forest and cloud forest can be found in the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
, a private nature reserve created in 1972 by scientist George Powell and Quaker Wilford Guindon. The area around the park entrance is the most visited, though camping deep in the reserve is possible with reservations. Nine main trails, which total 13 km, are well-kept and easy to access. The reserve features a large network of less accessible trails and a number of rustic research stations, two of which house 10 persons each, as well as one research station that can house as many as 43 persons, though these can now only be used by researchers.
To the West of the town of Monteverde lies the Bosque Eterno de los Niños conservation area, a project funded by schools and children from all over the world. The Bosque Eterno is the largest preserve in the area with 22,000 hectares (55,500 acres). Most of the Bosque Eterno lands surround the Bosque Nuboso lands to the North, East, and South of the smaller Bosque Noboso preserve. Bajo del Tigre, a small section of the Bosque Eterno de los Niños, is known for birdwatching and night hikes.
Still farther north, past Santa Elena, is the Reserva Santa Elena. This area is visited less frequently by tourists than the Monteverde Reserve, but offers a rustic station and views of Arenal Volcano
.
draws 70,000 tourists a year.
It is known as the site with the largest number of orchids in the world, with 34 of its 500 species newly discovered. Over 60 species of amphibians, including the extinct Monteverde-endemic golden toad
, have been found in Monteverde. This area is also a stop for 91 species of migratory birds. The famed quetzal
resides here seasonally. The mammals of Monteverde include representatives from both North and South America as endemic species. The mammalian fauna of the region includes six species of marsupials, three muskrats, at least 58 bats
, three primates, seven edentates, two rabbit
s, one ground hog, three species of squirrels, one species of spiny mouse
, at least 15 species of long-tailed rats and mice (family Muridae); one species of porcupine
, one species of agouti
, one paca
, two canids, five mustelids, four species of procyonids, six species of felines
, two species of wild pigs, two species of deer
, and one tapir
.
owns and manages a 155-acre satellite campus in the heart of the Monteverde region. Collectively the operation is known as UGA Costa Rica
, its focus being the operation of numerous study abroad programs, ecological and forestry research, as well as ecotourism
via its on-campus lodging, the Ecolodge San Luis. Additionally, UGA Costa Rica is responsible for various conservation and sustainability initiatives in the San Luis Valley, namely its UGA-sponsored Carbon Offset Program and its reforestation efforts throughout the Pájaro Campana Biological Corridor.
Puntarenas Province
Puntarenas is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces Guanacaste, Alajuela, San José and Limón, and the...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. Located in the Cordillera de Tilarán, roughly a four hour drive from the Central Valley
Costa Rican Central Valley
The Central Valley is a plateau and a geographic region of central Costa Rica. The land in the valley is a relative plain, despite being surrounded by several mountains and volcanos, the latter part of the Central Range. The region houses almost three quarters of Costa Ricans, and includes the...
of Costa Rica, Monteverde is considered a major ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
destination in Costa Rica. The area is perhaps best known for the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
The Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde is a Costa Rican reserve located along the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range within the Puntarenas and Alajuela provinces...
and numerous other reserves, which draw considerable numbers of tourists and naturalists interested in mountain and tropical biodiversity.
In Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
's 100 Places to Remember Before They Disappear, Monteverde appears as the Americas' #14. It has also been deemed one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica by popular vote, and has been called by National Geographic "the jewel in the crown of cloud forest
Cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and...
reserves".
This article deals with Monteverde and its surrounding zone. This includes the larger hub of Santa Elena, Cerro Plano, as well as numerous reserves and attractions.
Climate
Resting roughly at 1400 meters (4600 feet) above sea level, Monteverde is misty and windy, with a mean annual temperature of 18° Celsius, (64.4 Fahrenheit) (Nadkarni 2000: 17). Annual rainfall averages around 3000 millimetres (118 in). Humidity oscillates between 74% and 97% (Nadkarni 2000: 34).History
Various pre-Columbian artifacts testify to the longtime occupancy of the Monteverde region by a small population of ClovisClovis culture
The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP , at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools...
Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, who once farmed in villages circa 3000 BC. Between roughly 3300 BC to 2000 BC, the nearby tribes of the Arenal
Arenal Tilaran Conservation Area
Arenal Tilaran Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by SINAC for the purposes of conservation in the central part of Costa Rica, near the Arenal Volcano and covering the Cordillera de Tilarán...
area experienced a population decline. These nearby tribes re-established villages in the region between 2000 BC to 500 BC. Agriculture intensified in the 500
500
Year 500 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Patricius and Hypatius...
BC to AD 300 period, with chiefdom
Chiefdom
A chiefdom is a political economy that organizes regional populations through a hierarchy of the chief.In anthropological theory, one model of human social development rooted in ideas of cultural evolution describes a chiefdom as a form of social organization more complex than a tribe or a band...
societies replacing small tribal societies. Intense deforestation accompanied horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
, and stone foundations dating to this period can be found. Jade
Costa Rican Jade Tradition
Jadeite is presumed one of the most precious materials of Pre-Columbian Costa Rica. It, along with other similar looking greenstones were cherished and worked for years...
objects became prominent characteristics of these villages. From AD 300
300
Year 300 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius...
to 800
800
Year 800 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. It was around this time that the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years, so from this time on, the years began being known as 800 and onwards.- Europe :* December 25 - Pope Leo III...
, complex chiefdoms supplanted simpler chiefdoms and more intricate villages appear, with cemeteries, public squares, gold-work and inter-tribal trade and conflict. Around 1300, a general decline in population occurred, possibly due to Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano, in Spanish , is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica around 90 km northwest of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna....
's increased activity.
When the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
arrived in 1502, Costa Rica endured two generations of warfare. Nationwide indigenous populations fell from an estimated 400,000 to 80,000 within little more than 50 years. However, unlike Costa Rica's neighbors, Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica did not seem to harbor too much gold for the Spanish (even though gold mining in Costa Rica is a full-time occupation for some), and so the country was less ravished by colonization than other Latin American countries.
Early 20th century
In the first three decades of the 20th century, CreoleCreole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
populations arrived in small numbers to what is now called Monteverde. Many were employed by, or provided services to the employees of, the Guacimal gold mines. Many settled the nearby lower, warmer valley of San Luis.
1950s and forwards
What is now considered Monteverde was founded by QuakersReligious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
whose pacifist values led them to defy the American draft during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. The majority of the group hailed from Fairhope, Alabama, and it included people who were not Quakers but pacifists and conscientious objectors. The spokesman of the group was Hubert Mendenhall, a dairyman who had visited Costa Rica in 1949 after joining a farmer's tour. These Quakers and pacifists chose Monteverde for its cool climate, which would facilitate dairy farming, and due to Costa Rica's non-violent, army-free constitution. Mendenhall noted that the soil was fertile and the people were friendly as well. The Quakers stewarded and farmed a large tract of land, which they eventually set aside for conservation. This reserve, which was named the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
The Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde is a Costa Rican reserve located along the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range within the Puntarenas and Alajuela provinces...
(Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve), has become a major tourist attraction.
2005 bank raid
On March 8, 2005, a group of four Nicaraguan armed men and a Costa Rican accomplice from Monteverde raided and attempted to rob the Monteverde branch of the state National Bank (Banco Nacional). A guard killed two of the armed men. However, the other three held all the people inside the bank hostage for hours. The police intervened in the situation, ending the siege. Nine civilians died and only one of the attackers survived. This event raised tensions between Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans nationwide and prompted use of higher security in many national banks.Today
In recent years rapidly increasing numbers of tourists has brought a sizeable influx of Costa Ricans into the area. Now, an estimated 250,000 tourists visit Monteverde a year. Improved goods and services, including partially paved roads, have arrived in recent years. In 2007, Costa Ricans voted Monteverde one of Costa Rica's Seven Wonders, along with Isla del Coco, TortugueroTortuguero Conservation Area
Tortuguero Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by SINAC for the purposes of conservation in the northeastern part of Costa Rica...
, Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano, in Spanish , is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica around 90 km northwest of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna....
, Cerro Chirripó
Cerro Chirripó
Cerro Chirripó is the highest mountain in Costa Rica, with an altitude of . It is located in the Chirripó National Park and is noted for its ecological wealth. The high peaks in this and La Amistad International Park host important areas of Talamancan montane forest and Costa Rican Páramo with high...
, Rio Celeste and Poás Volcano
Poás Volcano
The Poás Volcano, in Spanish Volcán Poás, is an active stratovolcano in central Costa Rica. Poás has erupted 39 times since 1828.- Crater lakes :...
.
Demographics
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. However, due to the presence of Quakers and 3 schools taught at least partially in English, one can expect a fair deal of bilingual Costa Ricans.
The population of the Quaker-dominated area of Monteverde proper has between 250 to 750 residents. The more developed Costa Rican-dominated town of Santa Elena has 6,500 permanent residents as of the most recent census. Quakers still form a considerable population alongside an increasing number of Costa Ricans
Education
In 1951, the Quakers constructed a Quaker MeetingMonthly meeting
Monthly Meetings are, traditionally, the basic unit of administration in the Religious Society of Friends .For some Friends a Monthly Meeting is a single Meeting , while for others it is a grouping of Meetings which come together for administrative purposes. Membership in the Religious Society of...
hall, which served as a general store and classrooms. This became known as the Monteverde Friends School and has since grown over the years to a Pre-K through 12 program, fully accredited by the Education Ministry of Costa Rica. The kindergarten program, which serves three, four and five year olds, is Montessori-based and bilingual. In grades 1 and 2, two thirds of the classes are bilingual for the first part of the year and then become English-only, and one third of the classes are in Spanish. From grades 3 through 12, two thirds of the instruction is in English and one third in Spanish, with students required to take social studies and literature courses in both Spanish and English. In an effort to maintain an intimate learning environment and a low student to teacher ratio where all students can be served well, the school has limited its enrollment 120 students. Guided by its mission to remain accessible to as many families in the zone as possible, the school provides financial aid to 47% of its students. The school is very popular with Costa Rican families in the area because of its emphasis on Quaker values and the high quality of its educational program. While the majority of students at the school are Costa Rican and long-time residents of the Monteverde Zone, more than a half dozen other nationalities are represented among the student body.
A substantially larger and fully bilingual (English/Spanish) institution is the Cloud Forest School, or "Centro de Educación Creativa." The Cloud Forest School (CFS) began in 1991 as a parent-run kindergarten for 30 local students. In the 20 years since its inception it has since expanded to an enrollment of roughly 200 students from Pre-K through 11th grade, over 90% of whom are local Costa Rican. Over 75% of CFS students receive need-based financial aid--equal opportunity education and a strong dedicaton to maintaining a socio-economically diverse student body are central tenants of the CFS. The CFS is fully accredited by the government of Costa Rica and over 50% of its graduates go on to university. This school has a property of 42 hectares (106 acres) of cloud forest that have been protected in the system of national private reserves, and a strong environmental education curriculum is at the heart of this school's mission and instruction. International families, volunteers, interns, exchange students, and student groups regularly pass through the Cloud Forest School for short or long-term visits to conduct service projects and research or simply to enjoy and experience the school as a student or member of the community.
The Escuela Adventista, founded in 1991, is also bilingual.
There are several public schools, including the Escuela Sta. Elena, the Escuela Cerro Plano and the Escuela San Luis.
The Colegio San Rafael and Colegio Técnico Professional (also known as the Colegio Santa Elena) are responsible for the majority of secondary education in the area.
Agriculture
Agriculture has long been the main source of income and sustenance for both Costa Ricans and Quakers in Monteverde. The original CreoleCreole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
populations were restrained by poor infrastructure, and relied mostly on subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
. Initially they hunted tapirs, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, paca
Paca
The Lowland Paca , also known as the Spotted Paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from East-Central Mexico to Northern Argentina...
s, monkeys, and birds, but diminished those populations and turned to pigs
PIGS
PIGS is a four letter acronym that can stand for:* PIGS , Phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis, class S, a human gene* PIGS , the economies of Portugal, Italy , Greece and Spain...
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, beans, vegetables, fruits, herbs and livestock. In the 1950s, both Quakers and Costa Ricans produced garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
, flax
Flax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
, and homestead cheese. The Quakers took advantages of the infrastructure improvements of the 1960s and exported cheese and beef to the rest of the country. However, due to overgrazing
Overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, or by overpopulations of native or non-native wild animals.Overgrazing reduces the...
, the dairy industry declined in the 1970s. This led the population to turn to coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. In the mid-1990s, coffee farmers were receiving the highest prices in the world for their coffee beans. In the mid-1990s 210 families were contributing milk to the local dairy factory, with a revenue of $5.2 million.
Tourism
Tourism is a growing sector in Monteverde's economy. Having grown from less than a hundred yearly visitors in 1975 to around 50,000 in the mid-1990s to 250,000 in recent years, much of the economy is becoming increasingly dependent on tourism. An increase in hotels, taxis, guides, and other tourist-geared services have appeared since the early 1990s. Two bilingual schools have been founded to provide the English essential for catering to Monteverde's many visitors.Nature
The bulk of Monteverde's rain forest and cloud forest can be found in the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
The Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde is a Costa Rican reserve located along the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range within the Puntarenas and Alajuela provinces...
, a private nature reserve created in 1972 by scientist George Powell and Quaker Wilford Guindon. The area around the park entrance is the most visited, though camping deep in the reserve is possible with reservations. Nine main trails, which total 13 km, are well-kept and easy to access. The reserve features a large network of less accessible trails and a number of rustic research stations, two of which house 10 persons each, as well as one research station that can house as many as 43 persons, though these can now only be used by researchers.
To the West of the town of Monteverde lies the Bosque Eterno de los Niños conservation area, a project funded by schools and children from all over the world. The Bosque Eterno is the largest preserve in the area with 22,000 hectares (55,500 acres). Most of the Bosque Eterno lands surround the Bosque Nuboso lands to the North, East, and South of the smaller Bosque Noboso preserve. Bajo del Tigre, a small section of the Bosque Eterno de los Niños, is known for birdwatching and night hikes.
Still farther north, past Santa Elena, is the Reserva Santa Elena. This area is visited less frequently by tourists than the Monteverde Reserve, but offers a rustic station and views of Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano, in Spanish , is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica around 90 km northwest of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna....
.
Preserve
Arguably the main attraction of Monteverde, the massive 10,500 hectare Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso MonteverdeReserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde
The Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde is a Costa Rican reserve located along the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range within the Puntarenas and Alajuela provinces...
draws 70,000 tourists a year.
It is known as the site with the largest number of orchids in the world, with 34 of its 500 species newly discovered. Over 60 species of amphibians, including the extinct Monteverde-endemic golden toad
Golden toad
The golden toad was a small, shiny, bright true toad that was once abundant in a small region of high-altitude cloud-covered tropical forests, about 30 square kilometers in area, above the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica. For this reason, it is sometimes also called the Monteverde golden toad, or...
, have been found in Monteverde. This area is also a stop for 91 species of migratory birds. The famed quetzal
Quetzal
Quetzals are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family . They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is almost entirely restricted to western Mexico...
resides here seasonally. The mammals of Monteverde include representatives from both North and South America as endemic species. The mammalian fauna of the region includes six species of marsupials, three muskrats, at least 58 bats
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
, three primates, seven edentates, two rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, one ground hog, three species of squirrels, one species of spiny mouse
Spiny mouse
The term spiny mouse refers to any species of rodent within the genus Acomys. Similar in appearance to mice of the genus Mus, spiny mice are small mammals with bare, scaled tails...
, at least 15 species of long-tailed rats and mice (family Muridae); one species of porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
, one species of agouti
Common agouti
The popular term Agouti designates several rodent species of the genus Dasyprocta that inhabit areas of Middle America, the West Indies, and northern South America. They are related to guinea pigs and look quite similar but have longer legs. The species vary in color from tawny to dark brown with...
, one paca
Paca
The Lowland Paca , also known as the Spotted Paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from East-Central Mexico to Northern Argentina...
, two canids, five mustelids, four species of procyonids, six species of felines
Félines
Félines may refer to the following places in France:* Félines, Ardèche, a commune in the department of Ardèche* Félines, Haute-Loire, a commune in the department of Hérault* Félines-Minervois, a commune in the department of Hérault...
, two species of wild pigs, two species of deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, and one tapir
Tapir
A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...
.
UGA Costa Rica
The University of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
owns and manages a 155-acre satellite campus in the heart of the Monteverde region. Collectively the operation is known as UGA Costa Rica
UGA Costa Rica
UGA Costa Rica is one of the three international residential centers owned and operated by the University of Georgia. The largest of these centers—the other two located in Oxford, England and Cortona, Italy—UGA Costa Rica is used as a site for research, study abroad, symposia, and ecotourism.-...
, its focus being the operation of numerous study abroad programs, ecological and forestry research, as well as ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
via its on-campus lodging, the Ecolodge San Luis. Additionally, UGA Costa Rica is responsible for various conservation and sustainability initiatives in the San Luis Valley, namely its UGA-sponsored Carbon Offset Program and its reforestation efforts throughout the Pájaro Campana Biological Corridor.