Monteverde Forest Night Tour: Nocturnal wildlife with guide
Walk the cloud forest after dark and watch animals the daytime hides
A guided night walk through Monteverde's cloud forest begins at 5:30 pm, where a bilingual guide leads small groups with flashlights to spot nocturnal wildlife active only after sunset. Costa Rica holds 5% of the world's biodiversity, and most of it emerges at night: birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals that sleep or hide during the day. The guide carries a high-definition spotting scope and UV lights to reveal what the darkness conceals, while the sounds of crickets and frogs and the light of stars and moon frame the forest around you.
What’s included
- Expert bilingual guide in English and Spanish.
- entrance fees to the forest.
- flashlights for each person.
- high-definition spotting scope and UV lights to reveal nocturnal wildlife.
Times
- Every day 17:30
Before you book
Operated by Monteverde Nature Tours
Prices and times updated 14 days ago
Traveler reviews
The experience
The tour starts at 5:30 pm, when the cloud forest shifts from day to night. Each person carries a flashlight to navigate the path. The guide carries a more powerful one to locate animals and a high-definition spotting scope to bring distant or small creatures into focus. The UV lights reveal details invisible to the naked eye. You walk for about two hours, moving slowly through the forest as the guide stops to point out what moves, calls or glows in the darkness.
Monteverde's night is not silent or empty. Crickets and frogs fill the air with sound. The canopy above holds birds that roost at night, and the understory shelters reptiles, mammals and amphibians that hunt or forage only when the sun is gone. The guide knows where to look and what to listen for: the difference between a call that means a frog is hunting and one that means it is territorial. Most of Costa Rica's biodiversity is active at night, which is why a daytime walk through the same forest shows you only a fraction of what lives there.
The guide speaks English and Spanish, so the tour works for travelers in either language. Entrance fees, all equipment and taxes are included in the price. You need only bring yourself and a willingness to move slowly through the dark: the tour suits all fitness levels, and the pace is set by the group's comfort, not by a schedule.
Is this one for you?Book this tour if you have a free afternoon or evening in Monteverde and want to see the animals that hide during the day. Most of Costa Rica's wildlife is active only at night, so a night walk shows you a completely different forest than a daytime hike.
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Top questions
What languages is the tour guided in?
Live guide in English and Spanish.
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Youth (12 to 17 years); Child (4 to 11 years); Infant (under 4): free.
What happens if it rains?
It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.
What animals will I see on a night walk in Monteverde?
Monteverde's cloud forest holds birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals that are active only at night. The guide uses a high-definition spotting scope and UV lights to help you see creatures that would be invisible to your eye alone, and knows the calls and behaviors that reveal what is hunting or resting in the darkness.
Why does the tour start at 5:30 pm instead of later in the evening?
The 5:30 pm start captures the transition from day to night, when some animals are still moving and others are beginning to emerge. The two-hour walk takes you through the forest as darkness deepens, so you experience the full shift in activity.
Do I need a flashlight, or is one provided?
Each person on the tour carries a flashlight to see the path and surroundings. The guide carries a more powerful flashlight to locate animals in the forest and a spotting scope to bring them into focus, so you do not need to bring your own equipment.
Is the night walk difficult or tiring?
The tour suits all fitness levels. You walk slowly through the forest for about two hours at a pace set by the group's comfort, stopping frequently to observe animals and listen to the sounds of the cloud forest at night.
Monteverde Forest Night Tour: Nocturnal wildlife with guide
2h · EN · ES
from US$ 60 per person
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