Walking the hanging bridges then visiting the Butterfly Garden and Hummingbird Gallery is an excellent way to absorb the richness of Nature while visiting the unique Monterverde eco-region. High up on the Continental Divide and sharing the same corridor as the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, this private protected park provides many opportunities to explore the amazing flora and fauna of this locale. Your bilingual naturalist guide, who roams these pathways daily keeping abreast of local wildlife activity, will be sure you don’t miss what is available at the time of your visit.
Heading out on the hanging bridges trail, you’ll be surrounded by the richest concentration of orchid species in the world. Epiphytes, or air plants, thrive in the rain forest environment often attached to the nutrient rich tropical tree bark. This leisurely hike consists of almost 2 miles of terrestrial trails with 8 well constructed stabilized hanging bridges. You will want to take your time and savor the experience as you begin listening to the bird calls and following their voices in hopes of an exotic sighting. Binoculars are highly recommended.
Because the bridges transport you to varying heights, you’ll be able to view the forest from all angles venturing into the tree tops and even from high above looking out and down at the spectacular mountain and valley vistas. Built to meet the highest standards, the five foot wide suspended bridges ensure your safety so you can focus your attention on the beauty around you. People who have had a fear of heights are often pleasantly surprised crossing these secure structures.
Back on terra firma, your mostly flat hiking trail is latticed with brick to give you a solid surface with safety traction even on a rainy day. Because you will be walking through a cloud forest there will likely be mist, if not rain, so be sure to bring rain protection. Your guide will point out interesting camouflaged insects doing their best to blend into the environment. With a wealth of information he or she will explain the importance of each creature or plant’s contribution to the survival of the eco forest. Looping back to the beginning on your unhurried hike, you’ll still have plenty of energy to check out the butterflies and hummingbirds.
The Butterfly garden, a 29,000 square foot expanse of tropical flowers with fruit stations, is the largest live exhibit in Costa Rica. Over 10 percent of the world’s species live in Costa Rica supported by the warm tropical rain forest environment. One of the most beautiful is the Blue Morpho butterfly with its brilliant blue iridescent coloring and an impressive 8 inch wingspan. In the butterfly house your guide will explain the magical transformations taking place starting with the egg hatching out a hungry caterpillar that dissolves into a liquid chrysalis before emerging as an insect with delicate wings and the gift of flight. Definitely a must see for children!
The Hummingbird Gallery, located next to a waterfall in an outdoor garden area with suspended feeders, is sure to catch your eye as over 100 aerial acrobats perform in the air around you. Your knowledgeable guide will help identify the various species including many of the 14 types that live here year around. With a comfortable sitting area you will want to capture the moment with your camera as well as just relax in the natural setting.
This relaxing half day tour includes round trip transportation, professional naturalist guides, and entrance fees.
The Guided Hanging Bridges, Butterflies and Hummingbird Combo is available from Monteverde
Latitude: N 10°20'33.26". Longitude: W 85°12'4.66"
10/19/2019
Very knowledgable and scientific guide, really enjoyed the solo guided tour!
08/15/2019
The guided tour over the bridges was great. The butterflies not so special, the hummingbirds were fun, even though it rained.
08/10/2019
Learned so much from our guide! Beautiful views. Hummingbirds were amazing.
08/04/2019
There were way too many people here (including screaming kids). It felt like a tourist trap with very few visible animals. The butterfly garden and humming birds were the highlights, but even the humming bird area had constant zipline noise. I would not do the bridges again. The bridge guide only talked about a few things, but the butterfly garden guide was VERY good.
07/03/2019
It was rainy and we were paired with a family with young children that did not want to walk or cross the bridges, which ruined the experience. The butterfly house was quiet because of rain. The hummingbird garden was spectacular. A lot of waiting for transportation and the. Tours.
05/22/2019
The park where we tools these excursions was excellent. It was great to be able to do all these things at one place.
04/28/2019
All was wonderful
04/16/2019
Our daughter loved this tour the best. The hanging bridges were really the best!
02/20/2019
This one was on my bucket list. The guide was great and we saw several quetzals and some howlers. Plenty of bridges and a beautiful forest. The butterfly garden was beautiful, but there were too many pushy people on our tour, so we left early, in spite of the good guide. The hummingbird garden was underrated, we loved having a quite place to rest, have a cool drink and enjoy the dozen or so species that we had never seen before close up. Again, the sardine packed van, and the sign in process was also very crowded, no place to sit and wait for various tours, too many people.
02/07/2019
Wow what a great hike with a knowledgeable guide. The butterfly habitat was too warm but provided a great opportunity to see them up close.
01/26/2019
The guide was outstanding! He has Superman eyes!
01/23/2019
Guided hanging bridges tour was very interesting. Tour guide was excellent. Butterflies tour guide not as knowledgeable as I had hoped. Loved the hummingbirds.
12/26/2018
Good, thought we'd see more.
12/14/2018
Though this was a small group tour, it was very enjoyable. 100% satisfied with the guide on the hanging bridges walk. He worked extra hard so we could see the beautiful bird, Quetzal. He pointed out so many little things along the way such as pointing out some micro orchid flowers. I especially enjoyed the open time in the hummingbird garden. That was truly an exciting experience.
10/05/2018
We didn't have much information about this tour so didn't know what to expect. the guide did his best it what were appalling weather conditions.
08/28/2017
Another great day. Our guide was very good. Busy at 'check-in' but well handled.
07/14/2017
Hummingbirds were amazing. Guide was very helpful.
07/09/2017
Check in on site very confusing, a lot of frustrated guests, lengthy waits, unclear movement from section to section on site. Good restaurant.
04/24/2017
Very interesting.
03/07/2017
We had a great guide! I wish I could think of his name. He spent lots of time helping us see lots of wildlife, especially the birds! This was our best tour of the trip!
03/06/2017
Too many people at Selvatura - would have preferred to go to Monteverde without all of the crowds.
02/23/2017
Nice hike and views, but nothing to write home about.
02/20/2017
Had a lot of fun and this guide was one of our best. We had a TEST! - oh my - had to pay attention and learned so much about CR. Extremely well organized place - really kept the tourist moving without pushing. Very safety conscious.
02/18/2017
Very knowledgeable and passionate guides.
01/24/2017
Guide was very informative and pointed out several things we would have missed.
12/29/2016
This tour has three parts. The hummingbirds was amazing! Everyone really got a kick out of the hummingbirds that fly right up to you and even land on you! Beautiful and magical. The walk through the forest on the hanging bridges was a great hike through various levels of the cloud forest and our guide was very engaging. These guides can spot wildlife with their telescopes and tell you all about it. Very educational.
12/25/2016
Loved it.
12/08/2016
No one's fault, but the weather meant that we saw fewer animals ... luckily there we had many more days in Costa Rica to see monkeys :)
11/23/2016
Pouring rain after the hurricane Otto, so we saw very little wild life. Saw 2 owls. Hummingbird experience was good. Guides were excellent.
10/01/2016
Beautiful hike and the butterflies are breathtaking. Don't waste your money on the hummingbirds! Takes all of 2 minutes.
02/02/2016
Very pleased with the guides who were well trained and very helpful. Much better experience than Monteverde. Guide knew his birds and the flora and fauna, and was very happy to share this knowledge. Hummingbird garden was amazing, worthwhile to do at your leisure not with a guide. We just sat and watched. Butterfly area was okay, but we should have been there earlier in the day as that is when they would be more active.