Monteverde in 4 days

About 10,500 hectares astride the continental divide, in fog almost daily, every trunk covered in moss, bromeliads and orchids.

A former farm of mixed old and regrown forest where wildlife is easier to spot; guides come here for quetzals between February and July.

A steep track to the area's high point at 1,842 metres, topped with antennas; on clear days the view reaches Arenal volcano and its lake.

Two hours by torchlight with a guide spotting tarantulas, red-eyed tree frogs, sloths on the move, kinkajous and snakes.

Founded in 1953 by Quakers from Alabama who settled here in 1951; their choice to protect the watershed above their pastures led to the reserve.

A cable of 1,590 metres high above the canopy, part of a circuit of around ten lines with a Superman-style run and a Tarzan swing.

Three kilometres of trail with eight suspension bridges at canopy height, the longest over 170 metres, for a bird's-eye view of the cloud forest.

A reserve run by the local secondary school since 1992; higher and windier than its neighbour, with stunted, moss-covered trees.