Hotel Cala Lodge
                    Monteverde - Costa Rica

        Take a break from the beach in beautiful Monteverde and stay in one of 
                                 crsurfzone's  "Top Picks!"
            (506) 2645-5626
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                               Things to do in Monteverde

                Monteverde
         A Costa Rican Gem

       Monteverde is a small town in the province of Puntarenas located in the Cordilla de Tilaran. About a 3-4 hour drive from San Jose, Monteverde is an important tourist destination and is home to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve as well as other privately owned, and run reserves. The area  has become a magnet for biologists, researchers, naturalists, and tourists alike. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve has been called "the jewel in the crown of cloud forest reserves" by National Geographic and Newsweek magazine says that it is the world's number 14 of places to visit before it disappears. Costa Ricans call it one of the "7 Wonders of Costa Rica". The neighboring town of Santa Elena, various reserves, and eco-tourist attractions are known as Cerro Plano. 

       Monteverde sits at about 1,400 m, or 4600 ft above sea level with an annual mean temperature of 18 degrees C (64 degrees F) and is humid, misty, and quite windy. It averages about 3000 mm, or 118 in. of rain annually making it quite humid, between 74% and 97%.

       Monteverde seems to have been inhabited for a long time. Pre-colombian artifacts indicate that Clovis Native Americans farmed the area as long ago as 3000 bc. Tribes from the Arenal area moved into the area between 2000 bc and 500 bc. Between 500 BC and AD 300, farming intensified with the establishment of a complex system of chiefdom societal organization which replaced the smaller tribal culture. 
       
      The accelerated proliferation of agriculture  brought intense deforestation and the use of stone in construction of more permanent living structures. Stone foundations dating from this period have been found and preserved. Jade sculptures and gold work became distinct characteristics of their villages. Villages also became more complex with public squares, cemeteries and the ceremonial burying of their dead, intertribal trade, and to inevitable conflict between tribes. 

       There seems to have been a significant population decline after 1300 which many believe could have been due to increased activity of Arenal Volcano.

     Costa Rica and its indigenous population suffered at the hands of the Spanish who landed in 1502 and brought with them years of warfare with the indigenous. The indigenous population was decimated with their numbers dropping to 80,000 from 400,000 in just 50 years. Today the indigenous population only represents about 1% of the total Costa Rica population. The warfare and the indignities experienced by the indigenous peoples declined and ended when the Spanish found gold to be limited and difficult to find and moved on to decimate other Central American countries such as Nicaragua and Panama.

       The town that we now call Monteverde was settled by Quakers who migrated to Costa Rica from the United States in the 1950's. Their pacifist beliefs found them in conflict with the U.S. involvement in the Korean conflict during that time and opposed to the draft. The original group was from Fairhope, Alabama and was led by Hubert Mendenhall and attracted not only Quakers but also non-Quaker conscientious objecters to the war as well as pacifists. Mendenhall had visited Costa Rica in 1949 and was impressed with Costa Rica's new (1948) constitution which disbanded their army, and found the climate in the Monteverde area to be perfect for dairy farming. The group settled on a large tract of land which they farmed and set up a large part of it as a reserve now known as reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde or, in English, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. 

    Monteverde Area Hotels
                  alphabetical order

               Bed and Breakfast 
                   Claro de Luna                   
              www.clarodelunahotel.com

               Cabañas Los Pinos  
                    www.lospinos.net

           Cabañas Valle Campanas
               www.vallecampanas.com

                Cloud Forest Lodge 
               www.cloudforestlodge.com

                        DeLucia Inn

                        EL Viandante  
                  www.hotelelviandante.com

                       Hotel Bell Bird
                     www.hotelbellbird.com

                        Hotel Belmar 

                      Hotel Cala Lodge   
                           calalodge.com

               Hotel Campo Verde Arenal     
                       www.hotelcampoverde.com

                       Hotel El Bosque    
                      www.bosquelodgecr.com

                        Hotel El Establo 
                          www.elestablo.com

                       Hotel Fonda Vela  
                          www.fondavela.com

                         Hotel Heliconia    
                      www.hotelheliconia.com

                         Hotel Montaña     
              www.monteverdemountainhotel.com

                      Hotel Poco a Poco 
                    www.hotelpocoapoco.com

                      Hotel Sapo Dorado  
                       www.sapodorado.com

                         Las Orquideas   
                  www.orquideasmonteverde.com

                     Los Cipreses B & B                                   monteverdehotelcipreses.com

                Monteverde Country Lodge
               www.monteverdecountrylodge.com

        Monteverde Backbacker's Hostel
                    monteverdebackpackers.com

                         Rainbow Valley Lodge 
                       www.rainbowvalleylodgecr.com

                         Rancho Makena     
                        www.ranchomakena.com

                           Sunkiss Hotel

                           Sunset Hotel   
               www.sunsethotelmonteverde.com

                  Swiss Hotel Miramontes                             www.swisshotelmiramontes.com

                      Trapp Family Lodge
                           www.trappfam.com
 
                         Tree House Hotel 
                     treehouseshotelcostarica.com 

                        Vista Verde Lodge
                www.monteverderusticlodge.com