Practicalities
Except on Sundays, a bus leaves Santa Elena twice daily for Monteverde (Mon-Sat 6.15am & 1pm; US$0.80); alternatively, a taxi will set you back US$6 per carload - try to get a group together to share. If you decide to walk , be aware that the road is uncomfortably dusty in the dry season, and that there's a surprising amount of traffic, though nearer the reserve it becomes quieter and gives good views over the area. At the entrance, the reserve office is very well geared up to tourists, with a visitor centre where you can pick up maps and buy useful interpretive booklets for the trails. It also has a good souvenir shop and a small soda, which dishes out coffee, cold drinks and snacks, plus vegetarian casados at lunchtime. Also at the entrance, the Galeria Colibri , or Hummingbird Gallery (Mon-Sat 9.30am-4.30pm, Sun 10am-2pm) named after the birds that buzz in and out to feed at the sugared water fountains, sells nature slides, cards, jewellery and the like, as well as hosting slide shows on cloudforest topics. In an attempt to limit human impact on the reserve, a number of rules govern entrance to Monteverde. The reserve imposes a quota , with a maximum of 120 people allowed in the reserve at any given time, but serious birders, wildlife spotters and those who would prefer to walk the trails in quiet, should avoid the peak hours of 8am till 10am, when the tour groups pour in. An alternative is to book a ticket a day in advance - your hotel can reserve you a place for the following day - and get here by 5.30am (not earlier - it's still too dark), when, even though the visitor centre is closed, you are able to go on the trails. Bookings cannot be made any more than 24 hours in advance. For overnight and long-distance hikers, there are three simple shelter facilities along the trails - the closest is upwards of four hours' hike from the reserve entrance - which cost US$4 per person per night, plus the entrance fee for each day you're in the reserve (for example, if you stay in the reserve for one night, you'll pay two days' entrance fees plus accommodation, a total of US$24).
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