Entering the cool, misty cloud forest, you’ll hike where exotic birdlife such as the Resplendent Quetzal, and jungle animals including monkeys and ocelots, reside. With a professional guide trained to help you locate and observe local wildlife, you’ll follow a well-manicured natural trail through moss covered trees dripping with hanging vines. You’ll end with a visit to an on-site research station where you can see displays of delicate insects and learn about their contribution to the circle of cloud forest life.
This tour is available to guests staying at the Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel and starts from the edge of the hotel property. You will meet with your Greentique certified bilingual guide, who will take you on a 2-mile guided hike into the neighboring El Silencio Cloud Forest private reserve. Your hiking elevation for this easy to moderate hike will be around 2,300 feet.
With considerable local knowledge, your guide will share with you a wealth of information while listening for telltale bird calls and animal vocalizations. You’ll want to have your binoculars and camera ready to see and record this extraordinary experience.
Known as a birder’s paradise, the cloud forest hosts not only rare endemic species such as the 3 Wattled Bell Bird and the Resplendent Quetzal, but also provides temporary shelter for many migratory birds from both North and South America.
The heavy forest canopy filters only a slight amount of sunshine keeping the forest cool and misty. Within the cloud forest, you’ll find an amazing diversity of wildlife. Much of the animal life lives in the densely interwoven treetops. Orchids and other flowering epiphytes are found in abundance as well as a vast assortment of insects, reptiles and exotic animals.
This private, biological reserve is home to Spider, Howler and White-Faced monkeys as well as peccaries, sloths and a variety of jungle cats such as jaguars, ocelots, and pumas. Members of the cat family are all nocturnal and rarely seen during the day. There is plenty to see during daylight hours though!
At the end of your hike you’ll visit the Jose Miguel Alfaro Research Station where you’ll find displays of delicate butterflies, beetles, and other interesting insects with information about their importance maintaining the fragile balance of life in this diverse environment.
The tour is only offered to guests staying at the Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel and includes admission into El Silencio Cloud Forest private reserve plus a certified Greentique professional bilingual guide.
The Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel is a quiet and intimate setting that offers individual cabinas with garden terraces, private patios, and wood-burning stoves. Located adjacent to El Silencio Cloud Forest Reserve, it is designed to bring you into direct connection with your natural surroundings.
Please wear fully enclosed hiking shoes and long pants. You will want to bring insect repellent, rain gear, drinking water plus your binoculars and camera.
There is a presence in the cloud forest that can only be felt by being there. Come see what it’s all about!
The El Silencio Cloud Forest Guided Hike is available from Villa Blanca
6 and up
Latitude: N 10° 12' 8.6"
Longitude: W 84° 29' 3.53"
03/28/2019
Esteban was our guide and he was great about focusing on our interest in birds. He knows the bird calls and can use those to locate the birds. He can also make bird calls. He worked very hard to find birds for us to see. He is the director of the research station on campus and was very personable and helpful. Esteban was also our guide on the Mar 29, 2019 Bird Watching Highlands & Quetzal Tour and he was fantastic there as well...
12/15/2018
This recommendation is for the Nocturnal Guided Tour. It is not to be missed. We did not take the day time tour.
09/29/2018
Catherine was a very knowledgeable and personable guide.
10/15/2017
Really fascinating hike with a very knowledgeable guide
01/17/2016
Super tour guide, so knowledgeable about the area, plants, and birds.