El Trapiche sugarcane mill machines were brought to Monteverde from San Ramon de Alejuela in 1948 by Iginio Santamaria. The machines were transported for approximately 15 days by oxen to the area that we now know as Santa Elena. It was there, where they were installed and began their work as a sugar cane mill, El Trapiche.

Later in 1961 one of Juan Santamaria Campos’ sons formed a company with Ricardo Arce and brought a sugarcane mill with a diesel motor to the site. They worked for 10 years after which time Señor Juan Santamaria Campos continued the work of producing sugar on his own with the help of his family, which consisted of his wife, and their five daughters and six sons.

At this time the sugar cane was brought from neighboring farms for preparation of the sugarcane. At the end of the process the produced sugar was divided up between the owner of the sugarcane mill and the owner of the farm.

The work of processing the cane began the day before with the cutting of the sugarcane and transporting it to the El Trapiche, sugar-processing machines. The following day grinding of the cane began at 3 a.m and continued until approximately 10 am. With this process 20 hundredweights were produced and then transported by horseback to the community of San Luis where it was sold for the price of 15 colones per hundredweight.

After a while the work of El Trapiche was halted and abandoned until 1989 when Juan de Dios Santamaria Hidalgo and his family took over El Trapiche and started up operation again. Then in 2005 when the family opened the doors of El Trapiche to tourism, it was no longer a place of large amounts of production of sugarcane but rather a place where they can show visitors how the Costa Rican ancestors processed and produced the sugarcane with their educational and cultural tour.

Today this is what the family still strives to show tourists, a tour where one can appreciate a little piece traditional Costa Rican life. We have accomplished this goal with the help of local Monteverde hotels and popular attractions in the area such as the canopy tour, suspension bridge tour, and the Cloud Forest Reserve of Monteverde as well as others who have made it possible for one family to demonstrate a new type of tourist attraction to the Monteverde zone.

Not Students $30

Students $25

Guide, transportation 9:30am/2:20pm

Since the end of the 19th century coffee has been a major part of the economy of Costa Rica. Since 1990 coffee prices have fallen drastically all over the world, and tourism has come to replace coffee as the largest segment of the Costa Rican economy. However, coffee farming still has a major impact on the culture of Costa Rica, and to experience real native Costa Rican life everyone should at least visit at least one coffee farm.

A separate company-Costa Rica Study Tours-operates the Monteverde coffee tour with the permission of the Cooperativa Santa Elena. The tour begins in Monteverde at the newly remodeled coffee shop belonging to the Cooperativa Santa Elena, owners of the brand café Monteverde.

To see the coffee farms everyone hops into a van for the drive to nearby San Luis. San Luis is one of the five villages of Monteverde, but the low altitude makes it seem like a different world entirely. The drive down to San Luis is steep; the road that is nicknamed ‘la trocha’ is dramatic and spectacular. If it is a clear day the van will stop and allow you to take a few pictures of the Gulf of Nicoya and the waterfall of San Luis. San Luis is at an altitude

Shortly you arrive at the coffee farm – ‘Finca la Bella’. The coffee farm-Finca la Bella-is a communal farm divided into twenty-three parcels each owned by twenty-three local families. The families were Each family was given the land free of charge to farm their own coffee and in return they contribute ten percent to the Cooperativa coope.

The tour begins in the lush coffee fields, which in this case are made more beautiful by the shade trees, and ; at this point in the tour, many different aspects of coffee cultivation are discussed. Firstly, all the coffee grown here is arabica strain (shade grown) rather than the robusta (sun grown) coffee that formerly dominated the industry in Costa Rica. This type of coffee offers several advantages; it is more environmentally friendly and higher quality coffee. (**Why is it more environmentally friendly??** Because it uses less chemicals and pesticides, and other reasons-find out.) The only drawback disadvantage is the arabica plants produce fewer beans than the robusta variety.

Not Students $25

Students $20

Guide, transportation 7:30am/1:30pm

Coffee can only be grown at certain heights, generally between 800 and 1400 meters in altitude, which explains why coffee is grown in San Luis and not in other zones of Monteverde. It requires moderate temperatures and good soil.

Complete with over 30 hot and cold pools of different temperatures, Baldi Hot Springs is a friendly and affordable alternative among the Arenal Costa Rica Hot Springs. The facilities include 3 swim-up bars, 2 waterslides, restaurant, Spa, and changing rooms.

The Baldi Hot Springs are easily the most expansive hot spring facilities in the Arenal Volcano area. There are many different walking paths and gardens, and there is a combination of large and small pools with cascading waterfalls. At Baldi, the cold pools you encounter are very enjoyable after sitting in the neighboring hot ones. Since more than 20 minutes in the hot springs will raise your core body temperature, it is healthy to cool off in these cold pools througout your visit.

The Baldi Hot Springs are safely outside of the risk zone (as established by the National Prevention of Risks and Emergency Commission in a 2001 law.) Visiting the Baldi Hot Springs provides a nice combination of relaxation and festive energy.

Entrance costs $26

Sky Walk The cloud forest from a different perspective, enjoy this guided tour where you will learn al about the flora and fauna of the area walking trough and over the treetops.

Sky Trek: Zip in a tour full of adrenaline. Fly over the treetops through 10 different cables which in total make. 13,387 feet, with lengths that reach  2,526 feet, and highs of even 460 feet.

In Sky Tram explore the world famous Cloud Forest of Monteverde in a 5,249 feet ride that would lead you up to Costa Rica Continental Divide.

Rates

Not Students Canopy & Tram $60

Students Canopy & Tram $48

SkyWalk Not Students $30

Students $24

Entrance, guide 7:05am / 09:30am 11:00am / 1:00 pm
necesarry equipment

Selvatura Park Reptile and Amphibian Exhibition includes frogs, lizards, geckos, snakes and many other kinds of reptiles and amphibians from more than 30 different species found throughout Costa Rica and is the only herpetarium (exhibition of both reptiles and amphibians together) in the area.

In this guided tour, our visitors will be able to observe live specimens inside terrariums with specialized climate control that provides these wonderful creatures with home-like habitats.

Each terrarium can be completely circled for an easier observation of each specimen. The creatures are cared for and monitored by the permanent onsite biologist. During this tour our visitors will learn about the behavior of tree-frogs as well as about ground frogs and toads. They will also learn the differences between each of these families. Plus they will also learn about the behaviors of serpents, their feeding habits and their function inside each ecosystem.

Selvatura Butterfly Garden & Insect Museum

The Selvatura Park offers one of the largest butterfly gardens in the Americas, with the giant garden is 300 feet long and 90 feet wide with a 50 feet dome ceiling. The photo-thermic Saran helps control the temperature inside the garden. A perfect temperature that enables our garden to host more than 50 different species of butterflies from different altitudes and climates found throughout Costa Rica.

The butterfly garden at Selvatura Park is a beautiful entomological experience recommended for people of all ages and physical condition. To complement our visitor’s experience at the butterfly garden, we commend to visit the amazing Bio-Art Insect Museum which hosts not only most of the butterflies found in Costa Rica but in the world as well as other insects from all over the planet. The exhibit is a must see for anyone visiting the Monteverde area!

The center features biologist Richard Whitten’s world class educational exhibits “Jewels of the Rain Forest”, one of the largest private insect exhibitions anywhere in the world with over 1,000,000 specimens!

Dr. Whitten has combined natural history and art in a unique format which inspires visitors to appreciate these wondrous creatures from a holistic perspective, totally different from that usually encountered. Visitors will receive a guided tour to learn about arthropod biodiversity worldwide with special emphasis on the remarkable, fantastic, diminutive creatures of the Monteverde area and Costa Rica.

Dazzling Birds That Will Fly in Your Memory For Ever Imagine yourself in a beautiful garden. Now imagine over 100 beautiful hummingbirds flying cheerfully around you! That is what the incredible Hummingbird Garden has to offer you. More than 14 species of hummingbirds will amaze you with their incredible aerial maneuvers and bright lively colors.

Definitively a photography fan’s treat! No matter what mood you are in these small daredevils will cheer you up and give you an unforgettable air show. Come to our hummingbird garden and amaze yourself with these fantastic speeding creatures!

Rates $5

One of the world’s largest live butterfly exhibitions where we host more than 50 different species of butterflies from all over the country. Be sure to join us before or after your Monteverde Zip Line Experinece.

Rates $12

Starts 12:20md

The BEST canyoning tour in Costa Rica! Yes, we mean it! Canyoneering (or canyoning) in in the Lost Canyon, Arenal Costa Rica is a wonderful experience. Imagine yourself in surrounded by lush rainforest atop a magical canyon waiting to rappel down some jungle waterfalls! No experience needed – just a good sense of adventure!

So what is canyoneering? Canyoneering is a mixture of abseiling down waterfalls and hiking in a jungle filled canyon. Prepare to get wet as your experienced guides fit you into your safety harness and assist you as you make your way down a series of 5 amazing rappels! You will be descending a total of 600 meters (almost 2000 feet). This adventure is perfect for those looking to combine the thrill of abseiling breath taking, hundred foot waterfalls while taking in the beauty of the forest. There are 8 waterfalls in total of which you rappel down 5.

We save the best for last.The grand finale is a huge, 210-ft, 3-stage waterfall!

rates from $50

Includes necesarry equipment

Nice and quiet… horseback riding in the Monteverde Cloud Forest area for a few hours, or again to make the fantastic journey to the Arenal Volcano

Because Monteverde is green all year with an average daytime temperature of a cool 18 C (64 F) and offers so many great mountain views, it is considered a paradise for horseback riding in Costa Rica. In fact Monteverde means Monte: mountain and verde: green so Greenmountain.

While it is not permitted to ride in the Reserves themselves, we are pleased to offer the chance to ride with Emiliano on his 139 hectares family’s farms (343 acres) and enjoy exclusive quiet trails, bird watching, sugar cane and coffee plantations, secondary and primary forest, open fields (great for a run), and amazing views of mountains, canyons and the Gulf of Nicoya (Pacific side, where the sun sets).

Emiliano was born in Monteverde 56 years ago and has been a campesino (cowboy and farmer) all his life. His family is part of the original settlers that came to Monteverde to carve a living in the virgin cloud forest before the Reserves or the concepts of conservation or ecotourism were even invented.

In fact the old original rough dirt road to Monteverde can still be seen near the stable. Riding a horse in those times was not a hobby, it was the only way to go around as many “roads” were simply impassable with a vehicle (if you could afford one!).

Today the farm is used exclusively for horseback riding, grazing and producing king grass, sugar cane and cereal for the horses. No more forestry or dairy activities. The remaining forests are preserved and Emilano’s son Alonzo started a reforestation program to reinforce the biological corridors of this perfect environment for often seen and numerous toucans, parrots, bellbirds, toucanets, motmots, and dozens of other species.

Not Student fee $30

Student fee  $25