After waking up at 5:30 to bird calls and beautiful views from my Monteverde Hotel room, the group quickly headed to the Cloud Forest for an early morning hike. To say the least, the Cloud Forest was breathtaking, literally and metaphorically (it was pretty steep). We spent the first hour of our day with a tour guide, who helped point out different fauna and animals such as bats, wild avocados, and hummingbirds. For the rest of the hike, we were on our own to explore. While venturing in the Cloud Forest, some highlights were the suspension bridge, La Ventana, which overlooked the Pacific, and spotting a monkey. Spotting a monkey was the main objective of my small group, so when I heard rustling in the trees and looked up, I was overjoyed when my wishes came true.
Afterwards, the group headed to the Monteverde Institute for a brief lecture on sustainability. In this lecture, I took note of several statistics I found interesting. While Costa Rica makes up only 0.03% of the land in the world, it accounts for 5% of biodiversity. In addition, Costa Rica contains 750 species of trees (that’s 150 more than the number of tree species in the United States). Yet, these statistics clash with the fact that Costa Rica ranked number 1 in agrochemicals per hectare in the world, relying heavily on pesticides and fertilizers.
Monteverde also faces conflicting interests of productivity, conservation, and sustainability. However, our instructor believes that tourism is inevitable and holds the potential to spread awareness, education, and encourage service. While Monteverde’s population is roughly 8000 people, it is estimated that there were roughly 300,000 tourists in 2024. Although this increases waste and pollution, our instructor saw this as an opportunity for education, improved economy, and spreading the Monteverde vision of sustainability. If I were prioritizing one of these three interests, it would be sustainability. Protecting and renewing the biodiversity of the region is crucial for maintaining the ecosystem’s health and economic stability.
Overall, I have enjoyed my stay at Monteverde and can’t wait to see what the rest of this trip brings.
