The Original Canopy Tour

The ORIGINAL CANOPY TOUR is located in a private reserve behind the Cloud Forest Lodge, a short drive up the hill and only a few minutes' drive from downtown Santa Elena.

The tour begins with a guided hike through the private 70-acre reserve of the Cloud Forest, which takes visitors through primary (old growth) and secondary (new growth) forest. As they fly through the treetops, they can listen closely for the vast variety of birds that can be seen and heard throughout the preserve. Then, just when they think they have become one with the canopy, the tour takes a thrilling drop back down to the forest floor. From the ground, visitors leave again for the cloud forest canopy and the tour ends with an exhilarating rappel down from "Scary Tree", a name that says it all!

This tour provides an unbeatable vantage point for observing the surrounding rainforest, where bird watching abounds.Monteverde is about a 4-hour drive from San Jose, and the road is not paved for much of the distance up the hill from the main highway connecting Puntarenas and Liberia. It is also about 3 hours (or more depending on the route taken) from La Fortuna (Arenal) and access can be via Tilaran across the north side of Lake Arenal or via San Ramon and Puntarenas and then north to Sardinal then up to Monteverde. It is about a 3 ½ hour drive from Tamarindo and Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste.