"A Piece of heaven"
This is the phrase that thousands of national and international tourists use after visiting the beautiful area of Monteverde every year. Not just for its impressive landscapes or exuberant vegetation, but for the warm reception by the Tico population. People from Monteverde are typical Costa Ricans.
The history of Monteverde began in the early 1950s, when a group of Quaker families from United States arrived to Costa Rica in search of peace and tranquility. Some members of these families were imprisoned by the American government due to the fact that they didn't want to take part in the Korean War. For that reason they decided to settle in Costa Rica, mainly because of its lack of an army and also because of the nature they found.
However, long time before the arrival of these Quakers, the Monteverde area was already settled by a group of Costa Rican farmers, coming from towns like San Ramon de Alajuela, Esparza and Miramar. Their purpose was to establish farms for subsistence living.
Monteverde Costa Rica has become a tourist attraction all over the world, due the biodiversity of its forests, crystalline waters, fresh air and the existence of outstanding species such as the Quetzal, the Three-wattled Bellbird, the Bare-necked Umbrellabird and the Golden Toad (nowadays extinct).
For this reason, in 2007 Monteverde Cloud Forest is considered one of the Costa Rica's Seven Wonders, along with Cocos Island, Tortuguero, Arenal Volcano, Chirripo Mountain, Celeste River and Poas Volcano.
The biodiversity of Monteverde includes more than 400 bird species, including the magnificent quetzal, bellbird and black guan, 120 species of amphibians and reptiles, 490 of butterflies, 100 of mammals (60 being bat species). Some species of mammals like the tapir, ocelot and jaguar are nowadays threatened by extinction.
