Monteverde

Not to be confused with Montevideo or Monteverdi.
This article is about the administrative canton. For the cloud forest reserve, see Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.
Monteverde
Canton and District
English: Monte Verde ('green mountain')
Main commercial street in Santa Elena, the hub of Monteverde.
Main commercial street in Santa Elena, the hub of Monteverde.
Map
Canton of Monteverde
Monteverde canton location in Costa Rica
Monteverde canton location in Costa Rica
Monteverde
Monteverde canton location in Costa Rica
Coordinates: 10°17′27″N 84°49′31″W / 10.29083°N 84.82528°W / 10.29083; -84.82528
Country Costa Rica
ProvincePuntarenas
Canton creation29 September 2021
Head citySanta Elena
Districts
Districts
  • Monteverde
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
 • BodyMunicipalidad de Monteverde
 • MayorTo be defined in 2024
Area
 • Total53.05 km2 (20.48 sq mi)
Elevation
1,330 m (4,360 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total4,155
 • Density78/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−06:00

Monteverde[1] is the twelfth canton of the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica,[2] located in the Cordillera de Tilarán (Tilarán range). Roughly a four-hour drive from the Central Valley, Monteverde is one of the country's major ecotourism destinations, with the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde (Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve) being the largest, in addition to several other natural attractions which draw considerable numbers of tourists and naturalists, both from Costa Rica and abroad.

National Geographic has called the Monteverde Cloud Forest "the jewel in the crown of cloud forest reserves".[3] Newsweek ranked Monteverde the world's No. 14 "place to remember before it disappears"; by popular vote in Costa Rica, Monteverde was deemed one of the seven natural wonders of the nation, along with Isla del Coco, Volcán Arenal, Cerro Chirripó, Río Celeste, Tortuguero, and Volcán Poás.[4]

Santa Elena is the head town in the region, serving as the area's principal tourist and visitors' hub. Together with the nearby neighborhood of Cerro Plano, and the community of Monteverde proper, visitors have diverse options for accommodations, dining, guided tours, and more when visiting the area's numerous reserves and natural attractions.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference dta2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Declara oficial para efectos administrativos, la aprobación de la División Territorial Administrativa de la República N°41548-MGP". Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Top Ten Costa Rica – National Geographic Traveler". Traveler.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2009.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference 7 Maravillas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "viajes a Costa Rica". archive.org – ES (in European Spanish).