Santa Elena Cloud Forest: a fairytale hike in Costa Rica

Santa Elena Cloud Forest: a fairytale hike in Costa Rica

The Santa Elena Cloud Forest was the highlight of our trip to Costa Rica. Here we try to explain why

If you Google "best things to do in Costa Rica," you're unlikely to find Santa Elena Cloud Forest among the top results, which is odd considering it was the best part of our nine-day visit.

Had we traveled independently, we might have skipped it entirely. As luck would have it, our National Geographic expedition to Costa Rica included a visit to the Santa Elena Cloud Forest as the main activity.

Most visitors to the region are content to see the more famous Monteverde cloud forest. While it's certainly stunning, we found Santa Elena quieter, more intimate, and better for hiking.

old=““>Atlas & BootsMosses, ferns and epiphytes thrive in the Santa Elena cloud forest

Our group met on a foggy Wednesday morning for a nature hike through the forest. The weather wasn't ideal, but as we saw the canopy shaking under the rain, it almost seemed like the forest was breathing.

Of course, this isn't too far from the truth. Cloud forest, defined as a highland forest with nearly 100% humidity year-round, benefits from consistent cloud cover that provides a continuous supply of moisture and supports a variety of creatures.

alt="The cloud cover ensures a continuous supply of life-giving moisture">Atlas & BootsCloud cover provides a continuous supply of life-giving moisture

In Santa Elena, cloud cover amounts to over three meters of rain per year. Tree trunks, branches and even roots are covered with other plants: epiphytes, lichens, mosses and more.

Water-laden branches often break and fall to the ground, creating slight gaps in the canopy and adding nutrients to the soil, helping to create a living, breathing, sighing forest.

alt="Cloud forest covers only 1% of the global forest area">Atlas & BootsSanta Elena is a living, breathing, sighing forest

The Santa Elena cloud forest, located at 1,600 m above sea level, also supports a range of fauna. Although they are harder to see, insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds thrive in fantastic numbers.

Bird watchers can hope to spot the three-lobed bellbird, the keel-billed toucan and the magnificent quetzal. White-faced and howler monkeys live here, as do jaguars, agouti and the three-toed sloth.

alt="A tarantula in the cloud forest of Santa Elena">Atlas & BootsA tarantula crawls out of its abode in the Santa Elena cloud forest

Given the dense canopy, we didn't see much wildlife (apart from a creepy tarantula), but visitors who hike more of the 12km of trails here are likely to fare better. Either way, it's not the fauna but the flora that is particularly magical here.

We walked through lush gardens filled with mosses, ferns and flowers, navigated around dangling roots of vines that floated over the paths, and marveled at the extraordinary atmosphere of this fairytale forest.

Interestingly, the Santa Elena Cloud Forest is not a national park. Instead, it is under the auspices of Community High School of Santa Elena. The 765 hectares of land was originally intended for agriculture but was established as an ecotourism reserve in 1992.

One of the first community-managed reserves in Costa Rica, the Santa Elena Cloud Forest serves as an example of what ordinary people can do to preserve the environment in which they live.

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Preserving the Santa Elena cloud forest is particularly important. Cloud forest covers only 1% of the global forest area and is very sensitive to climate change. Warmer, drier weather patterns destroy clouds and threaten forest ecosystems.

In the Monteverde cloud forest next door, dry days have quadrupled over the past four decades and have averaged over 100 days per year since 2011.

It's sobering that scientists have called the cloud forest, along with ice caps and coral reefs, one of the most fragile ecosystems on Earth. In this sense, our walk in the clouds of this fairytale forest was nothing but an absolute privilege.

Santa Elena Cloud Forest: the essentials

What: Visit the Santa Elena Cloud Forest as part of a 9-day tour of Costa Rica's natural highlights with National Geographic Expeditions.

Where: We stayed in a range of mid-range hotels, from the lavish grounds and comfortable rooms at Arenal Manoa in La Fortuna to simpler mountain lodge-style accommodations at Hotel Heliconia in Monteverde and even shipping containers repurposed as rooms at El Faro near Manuel Antonio.

When: The best time to travel to Costa Rica is the dry season from December to April. Plenty of sunshine makes it an ideal time to explore both the treetops and the coast. However, this is high season so expect more tourists and higher prices. The low season from May to July and November is also a good time to visit. It rains more, but it is quieter and the forests of Costa Rica are bursting with leaves.

How: We took a 9-day Costa Rica Natural Highlights Tour with National Geographic Expeditions, which included a visit to the Santa Elena Cloud Forest.

The tour itself costs from £1,199 and includes a Chief Experience Officer (CEO), all accommodation, transport between destinations, all breakfasts, some meals and numerous activities including a guided nature hike in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, a guided hike in Manuel Antonio National Park, learning how to make Doña Mara tortillas in their family home and a tour of the Mi Cafecito coffee cooperative. Optional activities include volcano hiking, horseback riding, canyoning, zip-lining, stand-up paddle boarding, sailing and parasailing.

The tour is classified as a National Geographic Journey, operated in partnership with G Adventures. More luxurious options are available under the Luxury Eco Lodges, Private Tours, Private Jet Expeditions, Expedition Cruises, River Cruises and Tours With An Expert banners.

For more information or bookings call 0800 440 2551 or book online.

We flew to Costa Rica with British Airways. Book flights at the best prices through Skyscanner.

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Disclosure: We traveled to Costa Rica with support from National Geographic Expeditions. All publications say this, but we really don't guarantee positive coverage. We say what we think – good and bad – so you can make informed decisions with honest advice.

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