Our last day in the Monteverde area gave us one more glorious hike through the rainforest at the Bosque Eterno de los Niños, or the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. This rainforest covers 57,000 acres and is protected and preserved by the non-profit Monteverde Conservation League.
There are four locations to experience this preserve. We arrived at the Bajo del Tigre area ready to experience this incredible forest. We drove down from the main road along a winding dirt path, parked the car, and walked the path to the visitor center. Entrance into the forest costs $17/adult, $11/child for a self guided walk along the trails.
The funding for this preservation area came after a biologist from the U.S. gave a presentation to a class of students in Sweden. The children raised thousands of dollars. And the word about their project spread until children from 44 different countries around the world were raising and contributing money to protect this area. Today only a fraction of the forest is open to the public, while most of it is preserved for research and conservation.
This rainforest is one of the most biodiverse areas on earth. It is home to 450 different species of birds, including some that are endangered. It is also home to multiple species of monkey, sloth, and wild cat. And if that weren’t enough, this forest has the largest number of orchid species in the world.
There are many trails of differing lengths you can take. We opted to take a the loop along the outside that would include a few of the trails. Beginning at the visitor center we followed the ‘Bat Trail’ then connected with the ‘Bellbird Trail’ before turning off towards the lookout. We had wanted to do the ‘Jaguar Trail’ but it was closed due to being in the rainy season.
The views of the forest around us were beautiful. The lookout didn’t really provide a view because the trees had grown up so much around it which was disappointing. After we finished at the lookout, we continued back along the ‘Monkey Trail’. At one point we could hear the monkeys above us, but when we looked we couldn’t see them through the lush green above us.
The last part of the trail was the ‘Children’s Trail’ leading back to the visitor center. Along this part there were interactive information boards teaching about the forest and the animals that lived there. And next to the visitor center was a brightly colored club house full of games, books, art projects, and teaching tools for kids.
We felt quite honored to spend a few hours in this forest that so many children worked to preserve. We underestimate sometimes what a difference can be made by those so young. But that so many children, from so many countries, were able to collect the funds to create such a massive preserve is truly inspiring.
For more hikes in Monteverde, check out these:
Hanging Bridges in the Cloud Forest
Cloud Forest Biological Reserve
Thanks for coming along on this hike through the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. May you always want to preserve and protect the natural world around you.
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