La Reserva Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena

Gorgeous, well maintained trails! Seriously better sign posted than some of US national park trails we’ve been on. A good first day hiking outing to warm you up for more challenging hikes (e.g. El Tigre waterfall, another I’d highly recommend). We did the blue trail, took about 1.5 hrs, there was a tree fallen right at the half way point but it didn’t take long to go around and take the shortcut through. We didn’t pay to enter, had lovely staff out front to answer questions and recommend trails. Nature abounds, we didn’t see many animals but I’m sure a guide would be able to point plenty out. Also a decent size parking lot if you drive!

Really fantastic set of trails! Well maintained and a nice easy 2 hour hike. We did the blue trail, part of the yellow, and part of the green in about 2-2.5 hours. We are all hikers and in average hiking shape. We did not go with a guide but it was still beautiful! It was wet and rainy and lots of clouds 🥰 got a little muddy and get wet but I wore my hiking water shoes. Bring a rain coat, shoes you don't care getting wet and snacks and water (also a waterproof backpack or backpack rain cover). We didn't see much wildlife, a few birds and bird calls, but lots of plants! 100% you need to climb the lookout tower! Magical! Also a local school/college maintains the reserve and use it for scientific purposes!

We had a fantastic tour with Orlando, who was super knowledgeable! This is definitely not the place to spot loads of animals due to the dense jungle, but the cloud forest experience is very unique compared to all the other well-known national parks at lower levels. Orlando did show us a hummingbird nest though! Well worth the trip.

Our private guide, Lucia, was very nice and knowledgeable. It is a beautiful forest environment. We did not see a lot of wildlife, but that just happens sometimes. We did get a good scope view of a tarantula. Our tour started at eight in the morning and the trails were not busy. You might have to start a little earlier to see much wildlife. Note that the road to get there is very, very rough and takes about 25 minutes from the town.

Absolutely beautiful park. It felt so moody and magical. Unlike any other place I've hiked before. We didn't come across too many people.

Beautiful! Saw very few other people there while hiking. Easy to follow trails thru the cloud forest, sound of rain falling, misting, birds - was recommended over Monteverde as less crowded quiver option and was perfect!

There are five types of trails to choose from, with varying the length and time. We took the blue trail - the advertised time was 2.5 hours but we finished in one hour. We do walk faster than average people though. We went on a rainy day. The trails weren’t particularly muddy because they were paved with small rocks. It could be slippery at some parts because of the wet fallen leaves on the ground. The park felt less maintained compared to the other cloud forest parks. Some signs were a bit confusing. They could have put more signs along the trails to indicate where people are at the entire journey. Overall it was an easy hike. There weren’t more exciting things to see other than immersing yourself in the cloud forest. Ticket is USD 18.

A beautiful mountain rainforest. It’s almost impossible to see any animals, but the forest itself is amazing — one of the best places I visited in Costa Rica. I highly recommend going early in the morning, when the mist is rising — the whole forest feels magical. One big advantage: compared to Monteverde Park, Santa Elena is much less visited, so you won’t be walking in crowds. On the more distant trails, you’ll likely be completely alone. Just a heads-up: in the morning, the forest can be quite cold and damp, so I suggest bringing a light jacket.