The guide was engaging and gave us a host of information on bats which was both fascinating and... read more
The guide was engaging and gave us a host of information on bats which was both fascinating and... read more
Our guide was very friendly and so well-informed about bats at this rescue centre. We enjoyed... read more
Although we had seen active bats in zoo exhibits, we decided to visit The Bat Jungle to see if we would learn anything new about Costa Rican bats. We're glad we did.
There are lots of informative printed exhibits to browse as you wander towards the ticket desk. There, we met our guide, who appeared to be a graduate student who is working as a research assistant for Dr. Richard LaVal, who studies bats in the area. The guide proved to be very knowledgeable and enthusiastic as he explained bat biology and showed us the indoor exhibits. (The "bat ears" are very cool.) The best was yet to come, though.
Inside the bat exhibit, the lights are kept dim while you watch the bats behind the glass partitions. Their internal clocks have been modified so they believe daytime is nighttime, so most of them are quite active, especially after the guide brings in small pieces of fruit for them to feed on. It was fun watching them grab the fruit and protect it inside their folded wings as they nibbled away. It also was interesting how many have established "territories" in the relatively small chamber, and how groups of them occupy those territories.
At $12/person, the tour is a bit pricey, but we trust some of the profits get funneled into funding further research.
We saw more bats in pictures and the lectures and theory about bats are too long for anyone's attention span. We had kids who got really restless since the guide talked for almost an hour before we went into this small room with glass cage with bats. The restaurant on top of this place was decent.
We are very sorry that Madhu K was not satisfied with his family's experience at The Bat Jungle. We point out, however, that most visitors see a lot more live bats than the ones on the posters, since there are about 90 live bats in the flyway. He implies that there are a few live bats in a glass cage - well, in fact it is a very realistic enclosure 17 meters long with huge plate glass windows opening into the viewing area, and huge live plants and real vines. Most visitors love the bat viewing area and are enthusiastic in their praise of the overall experience (see almost all other Trip Advisor reviews). Although children especially love our bats, some kids just don't have the patience to listen to the guided tour. We are glad to shorten the tour for any parents that ask the guide to do so.
We really like bats and now we like them even more! I learned a ton about bats and my wife was very interested in the information as well. The guide we had calmly explained everything interesting we could ever want to know about the local bats and some of his experiences with catching them for research purposes. Of course you can't leave without stepping on the scales that tell you how many bananas you would need, per night, to survive as a bat your weight! After that, you get to go see the bats flying around and snuggling or sleeping. They eat fruits and drink nectar in their home while you observe them.
We came here as a group. The naturalist was really into bats, a little too batty. But that is his thing and I get that. It's kind of strange, but here is a bakery cafe above the bat area, that has great pastries, juice and wine. It is a fun way to end you tour and watch the terrific sunsets.
Great experience! Learned more than I ever wanted to know about bats in general and those species that inhabit Costa Rica. Well worth a stop if you're in Monteverde.
My daughter loved it!
The talk was VERY interesting.
At first I felt like I'm going to waste my time on the 30-min talk before actually seeing the bats.
At the end we didn't want to leave, kept asking questions.