Costa Rica’s Cloud Forests

Extract

Shrouded in mist, dripping with water and boasting an extraordinary richness of plant and animal life, the cloud forests of Monteverde in north-western Costa Rica offer a glimpse into what seems like another world.

With vines curling down from the trees, and orchids and ferns in abundance, it is no surprise that the forests are home to well over 2,000 species of plants.

Animal life is also plentiful, and tourists often hope to catch a glimpse of the resplendent quetzal, a bird famed for its iridescent green and red plumage and the male’s elaborately long tail feathers.

Climate change is, however, putting in doubt the future of cloud forests in Costa Rica and elsewhere in Latin America.

Tour guides in the cloud forests, which are easily reachable on foot from the main town in Monteverde, tell visitors that these habitats are migrating to higher altitudes as the climate changes.

The threat posed by climate change was identified at least 25 years ago, and in recent years the impact has become increasingly apparent.

“It’s very likely that the overall area of cloud forests will be reduced, because the conditions that create them are changing. The clouds are moving up,” said Gerardo Avalos, a professor of ecology at the University of Costa Rica.

“Cloud forests depend on water, on a lot of water, not only in the atmosphere but in the soil, on the ground. And the flora has been adapted to these high levels of humidity.

“What we see now: the dry season is getting drier, the wet season is getting more intense. We have these fluctuations.”

Up in the clouds

A 2025 study by researchers based in Mexico and the United States found that cloud forests in the region have migrated upwards by between 1.8 metres and 2.7 metres per year since 1979