Selvatura Adventure Park at Monteverde

By Kelly Kneival and Lacey Merica

Monteverde did not always start out as one of Costa Rica’s top three tourist destinations. In its early beginnings Monteverde was a milk producing community that was settled by Quakers who were in search of a better future for their family. The Quakers settled Monteverde in a humble fashion for the single purpose of providing sustenance for their families. This value was one shared by both Costa Ricans and the Quakers.

During the initial settling of Monteverde families were primarily concerned with planting and growing crops and milk cattle. Families would take their goods to local markets in the area such as Guacimal, Chomes and Puntareanas. At this time the Quakers practiced controlled deforestation. The practice of controlled deforestation is cleaning the farm land of trees and other plants to make room for planting and areas for cattle to graze.

The intention of deforestation was never to destroy the natural forest land in Monteverde. The forests around Monteverde were plentiful with precious wood, however at the time it was not profitable for the Quakers to commercialize in that area.

Soon after the Quakers had settled into their farms and their growing community they began construction of a cheese factory. The Quakers encouraged other Costa Ricans to build cheese factories where they could sell their milk to. This proved to be a successful idea for the Quakers and the development of cheese factories grew steadily to the point of commercializing products outside of the Monteverde area. The cheese factory still remains today and many products are found in different areas of the country.

The cheese factory solidified the economy for the Quakers and a new idea was born, the Biological Reserve of Monteverde Costa Rica. The Quakers decided they must make up for the deforestation they had caused and decided to preserve the virgin forests of Monteverde\

The Tropical Science Center heard of the Quakers conservation efforts as time went on. The non-profit organization met with the Quakers and explained their philosophy of conservation and at that time the Quakers donated their Reserve to the center for continued conservation efforts.

After receiving the land, the Tropical Science Center constructed footpaths for investigations of the land. After this many films and documentaries were made that highlighted their conservation efforts. Monteverde soon became an ecological tourism hot spot. The Center began to use the footpaths for tourism. As tourism and fame increased the organization was able to buy more than 30,000 hectares of land from sales and also from sizeable donations. This has allowed the Tropical Science Center to continue the conservation of Monteverde’s forests. With the acquisition of the land Selvatura has become the largest private reserve of land one of few protected cloud forests in the world.

Since the consolidation of the biological reserve Monteverde’s town has changed from a milk producing community to a tourist destination. The city’s people are developing commerce in the hotel, restaurant, adventure and recreation industries. The original legacy is still preserved by the founding families who live in the area and have made this their home and the home of future generations. Monteverde is one of the most important Costa Rican tourist areas and is an international symbol of conservationism.

In addition to Monteverde Cloud Forest at Selvatura Park there are many other activities guests can enjoy that showcase the natural beauty of Costa Rica and encourage conservation. These include the hummingbird garden, insect museum, butterfly garden and the amphibian exhibition. Hours of operation, prices and detailed descriptions of the tours can be found at the websites listed below. Tours can also be taken of the Monteverde Cheese Factory.

http://www.selvatura.com/
http://www.monteverdeinfo.com/canopy/selvatura
http://www.monteverdetours.com/tours/monteverde/selvatura_park.htmhttp://centralamerica.com/cr/areas/selvatura.htm