Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Hanging Bridges and Zipline at Monteverde, Costa Rica

There are many beautiful places to visit in Costa Rica, one of them being the cloud forest of Monteverde. 

You see I didn't really know what a cloud forest was, but as you can imagine, it's characterized by the persistence of a cloud cover around the canopy level. It tends to be moist, but then, it's also remarkably green. Monteverde is in Puntarenas and is about 4 hour drive from San Jose. The proximity makes it a popular tourist destination, so there are plenty of activities including zipline.

I was impressed. I don't know if I'd seen a zipline that high before, where people are flying above the trees.
See that little dot on the lower cloud? That's someone ziplining towards the platform on the right. The zip line circuit is called Sky Trek (who also runs ziplines at Arenal). There are 8 lines total with the longest running 2460 feet and the highest is 328 feet. Be warned, the wind can get up to 50 mph.
Also, coming from the US, this zipline tour is quite cheap at around $70. Check out the Sky Adventures website for more info.

If you don't manage to zipline (as I said, it can get really really windy there) or don't have time (it takes 2.5-3 hours), you can always walk around the treetops using the hanging bridges. Do you see the green bridges in the midst of trees there?
It's a pretty short hike, with 1.5 miles of trails and 6 bridges. 

You get pretty high up and some of the bridges are quite long!
The guide will be sure to point out any wildlife or interesting plants you see en route, so this is a great tour to take if you're interested in the local flora and fauna.

No comments:

Post a Comment