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The Monteverde area in Costa Rica is world famous for its cloud forest. There are now two reserves, the original Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and the new Santa Elena Rain Forest.
 Monteverde Cloud Forest In these forests you can enjoy the cloud forest climate and hike the trails amongst the varieties of plants and magnificent epiphytic laden trees, there have been over 450 bird species seen in the Monteverde area. The native birds are joined at certain time of the year by those, which migrate through from North America. The resplendent quetzals with their long tails feed at various locations in the area and one can at times hear the "bong" of the bellbirds. These areas sit astride the continental divide at an altitude a bit above 5000 feet.
They protect and provide habitat for hundreds of species of plants and animals. The road to Monteverde from the international highway can be somewhat bumpy, dusty and warm. But taken in stride, without hurry, you can see variety of birds along the way and can see the change in habitats as one ascends up into the mountains. For those people who have sufficient time, the Monteverde Conservation League operates as wonderful nature trail in the forest just bellow the cloud forest. Here you can find a number of lower drier forest bird species. The trail is called the Bajo del Tigre Trail.
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Ecotourism and Nature 
