In Monteverde, there are no clear lines between where civilization ends and nature begins. Instead, it’s a gradual change, where carefully trodden paths offer us the chance to explore cloud forest reserves, where the natural world comes right up to your front porch, and beauty both ecological and manmade is constantly intertwined with each other. 

I have been fortunate to travel a great deal in life so far, both for work as a travel and hospitality writer as well as to satiate my own oft-insatiable desire for new adventures and experiences, and in that time I have come to deeply appreciate the value of seeing new destinations through the eyes of the people who live there. 

You can’t talk about the Ocotea Boutique Hotel without discussing Nectandra, the restaurant at the heart of this welcoming place in the mountains of Monteverde. From the very beginning, founders Karen and Valeria Fallas knew Nectandra needed to capture the soul of Monteverde, with fresh ingredients, warm hospitality, and an understated elegant atmosphere. 

Any artist who’s had a chance to visit Costa Rica will tell you that the experience is inspiring. The landscapes are dramatic and striking, the natural world is vibrant and exploding with color, the sunsets are breathtaking, and the blend of welcoming hospitality and pulse-pounding adventure provides a broad spectrum of emotions from which to draw. 

The very first blog published by our team was titled Deep Roots and Big Wings | The Story of Karen and Valeria Fallas, which dove into the story of Karen and Valeria, the founders of the Ocotea Boutique Hotel, and the turbulent challenges that they had navigated to open this gorgeous hotel in the mountains of Monteverde. 

Monteverde is one of the most unique places in Costa Rica and features a combination of geography, climate, plants, and animals that are found nowhere else on Earth. In the heart of the global ecotourism capital, Monteverde offers something a little different than the steamy tropical rainforests Costa Rica has become known for. 

When you arrive by car and enter the Ocotea Boutique Hotel, you’re welcomed under the branches of the Damas, a mid-sized, flowering tree with a gentle scent and pale flowers. The Damas tree is a favorite for the honeybees and other pollinators in the area, and whenever the flowers are in bloom, you can see them industriously buzzing around in their day’s work. 

Each journey to Monteverde brings something different. That’s the beauty and the joy of living a life intertwined with thriving and untamed wilderness. But the dream we have for your stay with us in Monteverde is something that remains the same time after time. 

Accompanying the release of our new eBook, The Complete Guide to Monteverde: The Reserves and The Natural World, we’ve put together this article for anyone who wants a brief look at the Monteverde Cloud Forest. To dive deeper into the rich natural world that exists here in the forests of Monteverde, you can read the full eBook online here.