Which Monteverde Cloud Forest Should You Visit? A Look at Children’s Eternal Rain Forest, Monteverde and Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

If you ask any seasoned Costa Rica traveler what are the must visit places in Costa Rica are, Monteverde is usually on the list. Voted as one of the wonders of Costa Rica, the Monteverde cloud forests are truly a spectacular sight to see. You would never imagine that a cloud forest would exist in a tropical country!

But what most people don’t know is that there are actually 3 cloud forest reserves: Children’s Eternal Rain Forest, Monteverde and Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. Monteverde is the name of the entire region encompassing the cloud forests and the towns, not a town or just the cloud forest so people get confused. (Read our guide to visiting Monteverde.)

Many visitors spend just 1-3 days in Monteverde so they only have time to go to one of the three cloud forest reserves. They are all incredible but if you’re trying to decide which one to go to, this post will help.

(But of course, any one you go to will be an amazing experience!)

First, let me explain a bit…