Today you will mix it up with the extreme thrill of ziplining, a must do for anyone coming to Costa Rica, and a relaxed guided hike in the unique Monteverde cloud forest complete with 8 hanging bridges. High up on the continental divide overlooking the world, this is the place to do it all!
Your awesome full day of adventure begins at Selvatura, a private conservation area sharing the same eco-corridor as the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. When you check in it will be determined which tour you go on first. Mornings are typically best for hiking the bridges, as more wildlife is stirring.
The enchanting Hanging Bridges tour, led by a professional naturalist bilingual guide, leads you along a 2 mile stretch of terrestrial trails with 8 well constructed, well secured suspension bridges. This is a time to slow down and tune into the beauty and sounds surrounding you.Your knowledgeable guide will call attention to many wildlife sightings along the way. Camouflaged insects protecting themselves by blending into the environment will surprise you with their unique adaptations. One of the highest concentrations in the world of flowering orchids and epiphytes can be found here.
Likely there will be birds calling and, following their song, you could catch a glimpse of some of the bird life unique to this area. You might hear a rustling that may reveal one of the forest mammals such as a coatimundi or a family of howler monkeys. Each day is different so there are no guarantees, but there are always things to see and your guide is an expert at tracking what is available.
The hanging bridges are designed to carry you to various levels in the canopy to give you different perspectives of life in the rain forest. Built to the highest of standards, these sturdy bridges do not sway. People who have shared a fear of heights often have remarked they felt safe and secure walking over these structures.
Whether viewing the old growth giants from high above or at tree top level you will certainly have a close up experience of life at the top. Looping back, the trail brings you again to where you began as you savor the experience of all that you’ve encountered along the way.
The Canopy Zipline tour is sure to boost your adrenaline level as you head out to conquer any fears you might have had about zooming over the forest canopy. You’ll begin with safety instructions before being fitted into a harness and hiking to the first platform. Here your experienced guide will demonstrate how the wheel and harness assembly works and hook you onto your first cable.
When you land at the first platform another guide will be waiting to receive you and will be changing your shackle so you can prepare to take off on the next cable. The first two cables are short to get you accustomed to the fun of ziplining.
This thrilling adventure will send you soaring over magnificent views of the rain forest canopy and mountainous terrain. In between the 18 platforms you will do some moderate uphill hiking before resuming on one of the 15 zip line cables.
And you don’t want to miss the Tarzan Swing! An elastic cable attached to your harness allows you to hold on and swing through the jungle back and forth practicing your best Tarzan scream.
Your last zip line is a full kilometer long, giving you a chance to connect to the spectacular Costa Rican landscape, a country full of lush rain forests, unique wildlife, friendly people and fun adventures.
Transportation, professional guides, equipment and entry fees are included.
The Selvatura course also has a Superman Zipline, which you can add by paying an additional $12 ONSITE AT THE SELVATURA FACILITY.
The Selvatura Canopy and Guided Hanging Bridges Combo is available from Monteverde
4 and up
Latitude: N 10° 20' 33.26"
Longitude: W 84° 47' 55.34"
05/30/2024
Our guide took 15 minutes to call and find a beautiful bird he heard. We were able to see and take pics on his telescope. Incredible!!
08/10/2023
Great day! Good option to combine the suspending bridges and canopy
01/30/2023
Zip lining was so fun! We got to see so many wild life here. Monkeys, sloth & Coates.
01/16/2023
I enjoyed the hanging bridges, and it was nice to have a guide that was able to point out the things we would've missed on our own.
01/03/2023
Another highlight of the trip. Beautiful park! Wish we would see some animals, but didn’t get lucky that day. But still enjoyed our tour and walking in the forest. Zip lining was amazing!!
01/02/2023
WOW. WOW. WOW. Had most amazing time at both bridges and zipline
08/12/2022
Very knowledgeable guide who explained the cloud forest and showed us some of the exotic orchids and birds. The zip lining was exhilarating with the only small disappointment was that we had to do 2 lines as a three some.
08/07/2022
We first had a guided tour through the hanging bridges and our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the fauna and went out of his way to show us different types of animals. The canopy was amazing and the group that was taking care of us were safety-oriented and made our experience unforgettable.
07/04/2022
Not too many animals but great guide and tour.
Loved the zip lining better than 100% Aventura. Martin, Alex, and the others (I’m so sorry I cannot find the list of names) were great!! So, so fun! Loved getting to know them.
04/26/2022
Guides were great, location and duration was awesome
03/31/2022
The tour was boring but the ziplining was very fun.
02/21/2022
It was all good but I would have liked to have gone on the hanging bridges earlier in the morning to see more animal activity
02/20/2022
Our tour guide through the jungle/bridges was very knowledgeable and obviously loved his job. Our daughter is a nature fan and together they had many conversations on various plants, birds and bugs. We were even able to spot a Kestrel!
The zip lines were exciting and provided exercise walking up some of the trails.
01/16/2022
Both the hanging bridge and the zipline was great.
08/08/2021
The canopy and hanging bridges combo was awesome: we might have done it without a guide because we had done so many tours with naturalists, we kind of became "experts" in our own way. lol. However, Andres, our guide, did point out things that we normally wouldn't have noticed ourselves, so that was really awesome. The zip lining was incredible. We got pelted with rain but the last long run----the views were simply breathtaking. It was a different experience to be high about the canopy and see the world from this point of view. Plus, the guides who helped us were fun, helpful, and kind.
06/17/2021
OUTSTANDING!! The guides were extremely well coordinated and trained and had the whole group moving like clockwork. My only disappointment was that we paid to be photographed & paid extra for the 'superman' zipline but they do not photograph the 'superman' portion. It was LOADS of fun and really cool to be ziplining over the canopy of the rain forest!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
02/20/2020
The hanging bridge tour was great and the guide very knowledgeable. The zip line tour was fantastic but unfortunately the guides ruined it at the end. The zip lining was moving along nicely up to the last zip lines were the guides had everybody wait and bunch together before going on the last zip line. No reason for this, they should have kept the line moving. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy that day and they mad everyone wait about 20 minutes before going the last zip line. To make it worst once you completed the last zip line they had everybody wait another 20 minutes in the rain while everybody completed the last zip line. The only reason they did not want you to walk back to the shelter to collect your things is that they wanted to thank you all as a "group" and make a last pitch for buying pictures and tipping the guides. This actually back fired on them because our group of 10 were so frustrated waiting for the overall group of about 40 that it ruined the experience and we did not tip the guides. Too bad because the actual zip line course is fantastic.
02/02/2020
we couldn't go to the zip-lines it was too rainy and cloudy. Guided tour perfect
01/21/2020
Fantastic! Juan was our guide for the bridges, very knowledgeable, eager to share his passion for the forest! Zip line was great! My daughter was terrified, but they talked her through her fear and she ended up having a fantastic time!
01/20/2020
WOW Selvatura was awesome! Our hanging bridges tour was a great experience learning about the flora and fauna of the cloud forest. After that we were able to zipline! What a thrill!! Despite being rained on for about 4-5 hours we still loved every minute!
01/14/2020
Amazing.
01/10/2020
great experience
01/09/2020
Quite an experience.Bridge walk guide was excellent.Zip line guides tended to rush people through.
01/01/2020
Highlight of the trip. Walking tour was excellent, and the staff were efficient at moving a large number of zipliners through very quickly.
12/30/2019
The staff were very knowledgeable -- it was a very busy time of year but we did not feel crowded.
12/28/2019
unbelievably knowledgeable guide on the hanging bridges. And the zipline staff were very kind and reassuring an professional.
12/15/2019
The canopy tour and our guide was fantastic! He was very knowledgeable and personable. The ziplines were absolutely awful. Too big of a group so all you did was sit and wait while the guides tried to get to the platforms without exceeding the max limit (which they did on a number of occasions). Then everyone had to wait for those to do the swing which took even longer. Would not recommend the ziplines at all.
11/12/2019
Guides were generally pleasant. Seemed like they were rushing to complete the zip lining near the end. Not much information regarding the area was provided by tour guides.
09/02/2019
We loved this combo. Easy to do both in 1 day. Our guide for the hanging bridges was amazing. He knew every tree, flower, plant and bird in Latin, Spanish and English. He could spot a bird 50 yards away and could mimic every bird's call. The ziplining was fabulous. Amazing views, competent but fun guides. The hummingbird garden was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They were so beautiful and landed right on your hand. Amazing!
08/07/2019
Poor transportation form the hotel to Selvatura Park.(people were literally packed in the bus) Fantastic tour in the Hanging bridges. Rained a lot during the ziplines (nobodies fault)
08/03/2019
The tour guides were great and very knowledgeable. Definitely recommend this tour.
08/01/2019
The zip lines were amazing and the views incredible, but the whole experience felt very rushed which lead to us feeling like we didn’t really get to enjoy the moment. The guided tour through the cloud forest/bridges was great though. Our guide was knowledgeable and very friendly.
07/21/2019
Excelente no hay más palabras.
07/18/2019
Unfortunately for us, it down poured the entire time we were doing this tour. We did the guided bridges and I definitely recommend going to Selvetura park, but we had already gone on a wildlife tour earlier in the week somewhere else and it was a lot of the same things. So I would maybe skip the guide, personally. We did see a howler monkey up in the canopy trees though which was awesome so close and high off the ground! The zip lining looked fun but we were soaked and cold so we ended up heading back to relax and skipped the zip lining. I think my only complaint was they told us we had to do the hanging bridges first and I would have maybe done the zip lining first just so I wouldn’t have been standing soaked in the rain for hours. It was a little too long for us. But I definitely recommend the company/selvetura park. OH side note, the tour ends at a hummingbird park and it’s amazing!
07/16/2019
The hanging bridges guide was very knowledgeable. The canopy tour was great the whole family loved it. The guides on the tour did rush through the group a bit and made you feel a little unsafe that they may not be checking safety enough. Overall this was an amazing experience. It was a shame that the restaurant onsite was closing when we got back from our tour.
07/10/2019
We LOVED the canopy ride so much!!!! We enjoyed the hanging bridges but the guided tour was a little long. I would tell everyone to get the pictures and the video. They came out so good and are great memeories.
06/28/2019
The zip line guys were Fantastic and patient and funny and crazy. Loved every minute of it.
06/19/2019
I can't say enough as to how much we loved this trip. Our guides were fantastic and the scenery was beautiful.
05/30/2019
Andres very good and passionate guide for hanging bridges tour in morning. Zipline crew did a nice job in pouring rain, kept us moving while safe and fun. remind everyone to keep their rain gear, we didn't for zipline and regretted it-but no worries. also have amble cash and credit cards available for food, pictures, gifts, tips
05/09/2019
The transfer driver was a bit late. Feels a bit uncertain, but in the end it worked out well. Staff at the park were extremely nice and professional.
04/19/2019
Very good experience
04/16/2019
Our guide was fantastic and his passion for nature was evident from the start of our walk. I highly recommend the guided tour to get the full experience. There is so much we would have missed if we had gone alone! The zip lines were far better than we had anticipated and there were so many. Staff was very professional and knowledgeable.
03/31/2019
Our guide Mauricio was excellent, very knowledgeable. The zip line was fun, but waiting for people to finish the Tarzan Swing before continuing to the last zip line was painful, we just stood around for approx an hour waiting before finishing up with the last zip line. Zip line guides were excellent, so personable and calming for someone, me, who was very nervous starting out.
03/28/2019
Excellent guides
03/16/2019
The guide on the bridges was again very good as were the zipline guides. Great experience - a first for us!
03/09/2019
The nature guide was extremely knowledgeable.
03/04/2019
So glad we had a guide to go across the hanging bridges. Had we not had a guide we would have missed several great nature viewing opportunities. The zip lines were amazing. We have zip lined in other places but never through the clouds. It was well worth the time spent
02/10/2019
The zip line portion of the tour was fantastic and the staff very helpful to ensure a safe and enjoyable time. The guide on the hanging bridges portion was not as knowledgeable and did not add a lot of value,
02/09/2019
Very enjoyable day. The Bridges guide could have been a little better in his communication, but it was lots of fun and the zipline portion went great. We felt a little misled by the photo offering at the end. It looked like many photos plus a video when they put the "teaser" up on the screen, so we purchased it. Turned out to be one still photo and a very brief video. Not so great...
02/01/2019
The guide on the walking tour was quite knowledgeable. The zipline guides were really incredible and lots of fun. We had lunch at the restaurant there which was good, and also went into the butterfly exhibit which was pretty cool. With all that they have at Selvatura, you can easily spend the day there.
01/17/2019
Excellent guide on the hanging bridges. Zipline felt a bit rushed, but overall, good. Would have been nice to have an All Inclusive price which included the gardens (this was an extra, as were the trails).
01/16/2019
Awesome Tour. Guide was very informative and the zip line leaders were great.
01/08/2019
The guided walk including the hanging bridges was good, the guide informative and knowledgeable. There was not much wildlife to be seen; this was mainly about the vegetation, which was quite interesting. The zip line was fun...exciting enoug( without be8ng too scary. Safety was obviously taken seriously and the guides were enthusiastic and fun while keep8ng things moving along.
12/30/2018
Loved it
12/22/2018
Amazing zip lines. Nature tour was good. Really bad weather day. Everyone dealt.
12/06/2018
Our guide Juan Carlos was amazing. A great and fantastic day
11/26/2018
Amazing guide for the hanging bridges tour- fantastic day
08/13/2018
the zip line was amazing, the tour of the bridges wasn't really necessary, I could have done the walk on my own, but since it was my first time, I didn't know
04/14/2017
Same guide as the night tour but this time he had a scope!! Again a wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm, great sightings and pictures. Saw male and female quetzals!
Zip line was fun!
03/22/2017
The guides were so much fun and so informative. We felt that we had learned so much about the cloud forest while having a really fun adrenaline rush!
03/21/2017
hanging bridges guide wasn't very engaging
03/02/2017
Everything was great! It was a little confusing upon arrival with what was going to happen first, but we figured it out!
02/28/2017
Hanging Bridges portion was great. Zipline was good, but there were way too many people on the zipline portion, so it took a very long time and guides were a bit too quick in their safety checks trying to get people through.
02/10/2017
At times guides seemed to be rushing throughout zip line as an effort to beat the rain which we ended up getting just in time for the last 3 zip lines. Overall fun and friendly hanging bridges tour guidelines qq818
02/08/2017
This was fabulous!
02/03/2017
The canopy tour was absolutely amazing and would definitely rate a 10. The hanging bridges were a bit long and the shuttle transportation selvatura provided was a bit disorganized.
01/12/2017
The zip line and tarzan swing were fantastic and the guides very good. The guide for the hanging bridges did not meet expectations on knowledge of flora and fauna but was very nice.
01/09/2017
this trip was cancelled due to the very poor weather and safety concerns
01/02/2017
Our hanging bridges guide was sweet but not the best communicator
12/14/2016
We would have done the zip lining again if we had an extra day in the area!
12/06/2016
The guided tour was boring. The ziplinging was magnificent!!!!!
08/03/2016
hanging bridges were nice, guide was very good in the beginning but ended up rushing a bit at the end. It felt like he had to meet a schedule. Guides on Canopy tour were fun.
07/27/2016
Lots of fun. We all had a blast and our guide was very informative.
05/24/2016
Amazing place with a lot of life and wildlife to see. Our guide was very knowledgeable and really made it interesting. Highly recommend.
05/09/2016
It was busy (lots of tourists) and there were fairly large groups and lines.
04/20/2016
Very interesting and exillerating!
03/26/2016
Our guided bridge tour had a great guide. My teenagers loved this excursion but I felt it was a little unsettling in that unlike the canyoneering adventure there isn't a set guide but rather just a series of different people clipping us on to the zip line. It was a very busy day so I felt a little insecure because they were trying to keep the lines moving. Everyone was very pleasant but it was a little stressful (for me). Also, we did not like that a large group of children kept being moved to the front of the line (away from their parents and partnered up with us). We were not sure of the logic in this and we didn't like waiting so long for them to go in front of us several times. I would say that my teens felt this was a highlight but they too did not like how the large group of kids kept getting moved in front of us.
03/16/2016
Our tour guide for the nature walk was not very interactive and it was just us and the guide. He pointed out a handful of things, but it was pretty much silence most of the walk. Other walkers coming the other way (we did the walk from end to start) told us where to see monkeys, which was cool. The zip lining was good. We were the last tour of the day, so we felt "rushed." When we finished, we were waiting for our photo package and the transport was about to leave. I personally would recommend to do this activity earlier in the morning/day, rather than later in the day like we did.
02/28/2016
The hanging bridges were a great experience. We decided not to do the zip lines as it was raining constantly. This would have been our first zip line tour ever and we were uncertain about enjoying it in the rain. We were able to trade our vouchers in for the Butterfly Garden, Insect & Reptile Exhibition and Hummingbird Garden. Our guide on this part was great--I didn't know anyone could be that enthusiastic about bugs and snakes!
02/23/2016
Beautiful surroundings, and an amazing zip line experience. There were many zips and they were very long and really fun. The forest surrounding the hanging bridges was beautiful.
02/17/2016
An extremely informative guided tour. Maurice was amazing. He was so full of information and took the time to make sure we were having a good time. The zipline experience was loads of fun.....
02/16/2016
The hanging bridges tour was more like a lecture. Was a disappointment that we didn't see any animals.
12/31/2015
Lots of fun. The guides was very helpful.
12/23/2015
The hanging bridges were beautiful and the zip lining was a real hoot! We enjoyed enormously!
11/19/2015
Loved everything about it.
11/13/2015
It was great
07/30/2015
Really enjoyed the guided tour through the trails and bridges as our guide was knowledgeable and interesting. He didn't over promise but delivered all he could with the tour. As for the Zip Lining, the tour was tremendous fun and the guides were excellent.
07/16/2015
Excellent time!!
06/13/2015
Another great guide in Hector! You can tell he loves what he does and we were so impressed with him on our morning hike, we booked a night hike with him as well. The zip lines and tarzan swing were quite the adrenaline rush!
06/05/2015
Our driver was late in picking us up at our hotel, so we arrived late. As a result, we were rushed into the zip lining second portion of the day and the guides rushed through the tour. We would have liked to have gone at a slower pace and enjoyed it a little more. It seemed like the guides were more interested in getting off early from work than helping us to enjoy that portion of the day.
05/10/2015
Go on a guided tour of Selvatura hanging bridges if you can, it made it much more enjoyable and we were able to see a couple of birds we wouldn't have been able to locate if not for the help of our guide. Alex was very helpful and very, very knowledgeable. Knew his birds and wildlife extremely well. Canopy/zipline tour was among the best we've ever experienced. Guides was all great and the scenery was fantastic. The Tarzan swing was a kick and the last zip line was the longest I've ever been on. There was a moderate amount of walking but gave us a chance to talk with other zip liners. This was a great experience.
05/03/2015
really enjoyed this tour, highly recommend it.
04/14/2015
Awesome experience
04/05/2015
The tour on the hanging bridge was nice. I am glad we started with that as it forest and animal sighting was probably the least impressive of the places we visited. I believe the activity was a very good choice.
The zip line was great. The experience of the last 1km zip line in superman style was fantastic and a unique moment we will remember our whole life. The only caveat about the zip line is that my 10 yr old was separated from us to be with the other younger kids and also was too young to do the superman style, so she certainly didn't have the same great experience, especially feeling a bit lonely without the rest of her family with her. It is going to be hard to get as excited by other zip lines after doing that one!
02/20/2015
Amazing.....Great fun......
02/14/2015
The bridge tour was great and very informative. Our guide really took the time to explain the plants and wild life. The pace was appropriate for the information and seeing sites. The zip line was a lot of fun; it felt a little rushed like we were cattle. It was a very big group and they were just trying to get us down the line as quickly as possible. It felt safe, however. The last zip line was incredible; one km long!
01/31/2015
Awesome. Ziplining was another highlight of our trip.
01/22/2015
This was the most challenging part of the trip but the guides were very careful to reassure me and to explain how to position myself. It was indeed thrilling to zip high over the canopy.
01/18/2015
The guided walk was good. I did not enjoy the zip line. It felt rushed and "production line" and I did not feel comfortable on any of the platforms. Additionally, I did not expect the foggy, misty weather and was very disappointed in this area of Costa Rica.
01/02/2015
Our guide made this a great day
12/25/2014
I loved the zip lining.
12/23/2014
Canopy /zip line tour was great, although my daughter had faulty equipment which caused her to be separated from the rest of our family and to wait for new gear. Transportation was late going to the tour, and there was confusion among the staff over whether we had a guide for the hanging bridges portion of the tour. Bridges themselves were enjoyable, but the guide slowed everyone down and didn't add much to the the experience.
12/22/2014
group was too large--lots of waiting time for the zip lines. other than that, beautiful
12/10/2014
It was fantastic. An experience that I'll never forget. The staff was very good natured and seemed to love their jobs.
12/02/2014
Guides were really rushing everyone through the zips, to the point that it felt borderline unsafe in the beginning and made my mom really nervous. After awhile they slowed down. Great zips but the guides could have done a better job making us feel comfortable.