SITES OF INTEREST

Bajo del Tigre (Jaguar Canyon)

This private 30-hectare preserve, contiguous with the Monteverde Reserve and administered by the Monteverde Conservation League is at a lower elevation than the Cloud Forest Preserve and thus offers a different variety of plant and animal Ito. Quetzals are more easily seen here, for example, than higher up in the wet ter, mistier cloud forest. The same is true for the three-wattled bellbird and long-tailed manikin. It is crisscrossed by a network of easy trails and has strategically located picnic spots. Access is off the main road, just above the CASEM Gallery. Facilities include a Children’s Nature Center de signed to help kids discover and appreciate the wonders of the tropical rainforest; a self-guided interpretative trail; an arboretum; and a visitorfs center and library. Guided tours are offered Mon.—Wed. at 7:30 AM. and 1 PM., plus guided night tours Thurs.—Sun. at 7P.M. Hours: daily 7:30 A.M.—5:30 P.M. Entrance: $5, including map.

Cheese Factory

La Lecheria, tel. 645-5150, in Monteverde, is famous throughout Costa Rica for its quality wares, which are on sale. Production began in 1953 when the original Quaker settlers bought 50 jersey cattle; that year they produced 76,000 Liters of milk, which they turned into pasteurized Monteverde Gouda cheese. The factory produces 14 types of cheese—from parmesan and Emmantel to Danish-style “darnbo” and Monte Rico, the best-seller, popular in fondues. You may observe cheese making through a window in the sales room. Alternately, you can take a guided farm and factory tour. Hours: Mon—Sat 7:30 A.M.—4 P.M., Sunday 7:30 A.M.—12:30 P.M.

El Trapiche Mill

This 100-year-old ox-driven sugar mill, tel. 645- 6054, is two km northwest of Santa Elena, After witnessing how sugarcane is processed, you can four the 24-hectare family farm and, November—February, even join in harvesting coffee. A pleasant patio restaurant lit by a skylight serves typical Costa Rican food and features marimba music and dancing on Thursday and Friday. A souvenir shop sells T-shirts, fresh cane sugar, and other traditional dishes. You’ll see a botanical garden and EcoPark immediately next to El Trapiche. Alas, the latter is merely a rather sad display of animals caged to cull a tourist buck—a Machiavellian example of jumping on the “eco” bandwagon. Maybe it will have improved by the time you read this. Hours: daily 10 A.M.—7 P.M. Entrance: $2.

Monteverde Orchid Garden

It took five years of arduous work to collate this collection but now you can admire the results of the Monteverde Orchid Investigation Project, an ongoing effort to document and research local orchids. Short paths wind through the compact Orquideas de Monteverde, tel. 645-5510, displaying almost 500 species native to the region and arranged in 22 groups (“sub-tribes”), each marked with an educational placard. Miniatures are preponderant, including the world’s smallest flower, Platystele jungermanniodes, about the size of a pinhead (fortunately, you are handed a magnifying glass upon arrival). Hours: daily 8 A.M.—5 P.M. Entrance: $5.

Much of the information on our site as it relates to Costa Rica is:

Courtesy of Christopher P. Baker and Avalon Travel Publishing.
© 2004 Christopher P. Baker. All Rights Reserved.

Spanish Abroad, Inc. highly recommends Christopher P. Baker's book: Moon Handbooks Costa Rica. Click on the image to visit his website where you can purchase this book or find out more about the author.