If you’re looking for not one, but lots of perfect hiking trails, there’s no need to look all over Costa Rica. Look no further than the 10,500 hectare Reserve Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde.

Sightseeing
There are nine trails inside the reserve, the three most popular—Sendero Bosque Nuboso, El Camino and Sandero Pantonoso—creating a triangle, are bisected by other popular trails like Sendero Rio, Chomogo and Sendero Brillante. The Sendero Bosque Nuboso goes through the cloud forest and is perfect for pensive, quiet time, while the El Camino is the trail for bird watchers and Sendero Pantonoso is for nature lovers. But Monteverde is one of the most fragile ecosystems in the Costa Rican reserve and visitors are limited to 160 at a time. Unless your plan is to wait around all day for someone to come out of the park just so you can get in, you’ll need to be there before the gate opens or visit during the off-season, which is better but wetter.

Getting there
From Santa Elena, you can either ride the bus or walk the 6k, and while long and uphill, the walk is absolutely breathtaking and a wonderful introduction to the hiking trails you’ll be privy to once inside the reserve.