Monteverde cloud forest and elfin forest
Anna:
Although my last many
posts have been about the Pacific
slope seasonal forest around Monteverde,
most people don't go to Monteverde to see this area. Instead, the
town is merely a staging ground for the cloud forest that sits atop the
mountain.
Cloud forests are found
on tropical mountains, where the peaks drift up
into the clouds. The copious moisture from constant fogginess
eases the dry season, allowing huge quantities of mosses and other
epiphytes to colonize the trees. Due to the uniqueness of the
cloud forest ecosystem, many endemic species tend to be found in such
areas, making these spots a mecca for ecotourists.
From a less scientific standpoint, cloud
forests are simply
beautiful. Imagine a forest constantly cloaked in fog, the trees
turning into silhouettes, and you'll understand why thousands of people
flock to Monteverde every year.
The images in this post
are from a subset of the Monteverde cloud
forest --- the elfin forest. Although the mountain above 4,900
feet at Monteverde is all considered cloud forest, only the windy peaks
are home to elfin forest. There, trees are dwarfed and gnarled by
the weather, and the forest captures even more moisture from the clouds
than do the trees in the main section of the cloud forest, so epiphytes
are particularly numerous. The combination makes for vivid images
and (from a botanical standpoint) easy access to the fascinating
epiphytes that are often invisible above your head.
Our
first trip to the cloud forest took us straight up into the
elfin forest at Cerros Amigos (aka, the TV towers) --- elevation 6,043
feet. The road up to the towers was very steep and I gasped my
way to the top.
Maggie:
3-7-01
I
write quite literally from the clouds. It is chilly, so I am sitting
inside the black bag for Anna’s bookbag. It was a long long walk
from the hotel to the cloud forest, mostly uphill. I jogged a few
short stretches. Some tourists saw me and were impressed.
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