An amazing reserve to visit. Every bit as great a wildlife experience as Monteverde reserve and they both have their own character and we strongly recommend taking time to do Monteverde reserve one morning and Santa Elena reserve another morning (mornings are better in terms of wildlife being more active). We are a family of four with a 9 year... More

My husband & I had the afternoon free, so with the help of Jen from Hidden Canopy Treehouses, she thought Santa Elena would be the perfect hiking spot for us. She called up the bus driver that drives right by the B & B and he would be by in about 5 mins. We grabbed our backpacks and headed out... More

Less populated than Monteverde. Quieter and, for use more enjoyable. We actualy had a nice hike instead of a stroll on city like walkways.

We had a great 4 hour tour with an excellent guide, seeing owls, monkeys, snakes, tarantulas, and a huge variety of birds. This was an excellent tour.

There are 2 cloud forests in this area, and this is the lesser known and less visited. If you only have time to explore 1, this is the place I would recommend. My group spent the day hiking multiple trails and only encountered one other group. The views are spectacular, the height of the trees dizzying, and the amount of... More

We took the 3.5 hour hike. I highly recommend doing it with a guide. We wouldn't have spotted 1/10th of the things he did. We got to see the rare Quetzal bird (both male and female) along with a Bell Bird and others.

I chose a tour that could have up to 8 people, but was the only person. The son of one of the original quakers that moved from Alabama to Monteverde to protect this most beautiful place was my guide. With the help of some of the trail workers was able to see a resplendent quetzal. One of the most beautiful... More

this was a lovely place; very thick mossy jungle and very young forest. however, it rains there 'a lot'. be prepared to be very wet the whole time.

This is where I would like to retire. Kind people, amazing views. Not expensive.