Conditions worsen at Santa Elena Reserve
The day before I hiked Monteverde on a misty gray day, but conditions deteriorated when hiking Santa Elena Reserve. In the small town of Santa Elena the temperature was moderate and the sun even came out from time to time. This changed as we drove uphill to reach the cloud forest reserve.
Check out: Monteverde Rainforest photo essay
We stayed at La Colina Lodge, which is only 1 kilometer away from the Monteverde Cloud Forest. I reached this by foot in a matter of minutes. Santa Elena was at the other end the small community. We walked the 3 or 4 kilometers into town and grabbed a cab from the bus station. It is about 7 kilometers to the gate from town. We decided to cab it there and then walk back. The cab cost $6.00.
As we drove towards the park, we picked up elevation and the partly cloudy day turned into a misty rain. The wind had been blowing ever since we arrived, which is common in the area in December. The rain came down almost horizontally as it was carried down to earth by the strong gales. Fortunately, the wind would not be a big factor when we were hiking Santa Elena.
Santa Elena arrival
We got to the gate, and my friend Paul and I each paid $14.00 for the entrance fee. We got a map and asked the gate keeper for any tips on cool places. He pointed to one place that he said had a good lookout where you could see the Arenal Volcano, and then he added we would not be seeing it today. There was also a small waterfall. Other than that, it is all trees and plants.
The longest trail that looped around the reserve was closed. We came at the end of the rainy season, and I imagine the trail that was the most remote was probably in too bad a shape for hiking.
When hiking outdoors, the last type of weather you want to hike in is cool and rainy. Normally I would not be too enthused to hit the trail on such conditions, but we decided there were definitely some perks to visiting this beautiful place when it is raining. I was impressed with the green conditions at Monteverde the day before, but if possible, Santa Elena was even greener. Perhaps this was due to the fact it was raining or maybe because Santa Elena is a little higher it gets more moisture. I did not think it was possible to find a more lush jungle than Monteverde, but we were now hiking in one.
Hiking Santa Elena during rainy season an incredible experience
I am just going to throw out all the words to describe a green forest and get them out of the way. Santa Elena was verdant, lush, green, vibrant, moist, wet, rich, tropical, bursting with life, thick vegetation, and any other word or expression to let readers know how alive this forest was. I have been in many a tropical rainforest over the last several years, but I have never seen anything like Monteverde and then Santa Elena.
There are less than 10 miles of trail in the reserve, and the longest was closed, but when you are walking through vegetation that elicits all those descriptions of greenery noted above, the length of the trails are irrelevant. In fact, I think it is better to have a shorter trail system. You do not come to Santa Elena to walk 20 miles in one day.
To really enjoy the rainforest, it is best to walk slowly because wherever you look there is life. In fact, I had inner turmoil walking through the jungle because I wanted to see everything and was not sure if I should look up into the trees, look into the jungle, or look straight on the ground. This is why it is critical to take your time because there is so much to see.
When walking through the forest, I usually look in front of me and occasionally glance to the left and right of me into the woods. I rarely look up unless I hear or see an interesting bird. In the cloud forest, everything is worth checking out. Huge trees create canopies that create very little opportunity for the sun to filter through if it is a sunny day. Vines drape down and each tree hosts over 70 species of other plants including bromeliads, orchids, and ferns. Even the ground below your feet has something to look at as fungi, ferns, and other vegetation coat the ground.
Copyright © 2015 by Traveling Ted. This article was written by Ted Nelson and originally published on travelingted.com.
