Monteverde, a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, lays claim to some of the best kept cloud forest in the entire country and is a paradise for bird watchers. Several nature preserves have sprung up to make sure this stays the case.

Because of the beauty of the area, it is only natural that Monteverde (Spanish for 'green mountain') has become a major part of the Costa Rican tourist trail - despite the notoriously bad roads leading up to and through it.

Founded by Quakers evading the draft for the Korean War in 1949-50, it still retains a North American feel yet is less of a town than a spread of dwellings couched off the main through-road. It was chosen by its founding fathers for its cool climate in aid of dairy farming. The town is now moving towards eco-tourism as a more sustainable income source.

There are many types of animals including howler and white faced monkeys, non-venomous and venomous snakes, frogs and toads, and thousands of beautiful birds.

A thriving tourism industry has grown amidst this all to accommodate nature-lovers of all ages and stages. Activities include Sky Trek, horse riding and mountain biking and there is ample accommodation for visiting tourists.

Quakers still form a considerable population alongside the native 'Ticos' - in fact, they run a medium-sized bilingual school. There are two currently two main Quaker families - the Guindons and the Rockwells.

Direct buses from San Jose or transfer in Ciudad Quesada (San Carlos). Local bus from Tilaran.

By car it is a 3-1/2-hour drive from San Jose, but the junctions are not very well marked, so bring a good map.

Most tourist activities will include transportation. For other purposes you can use taxi.

See

* Arenal Volcano

Do

The main attraction in Fortuna is of course the Arenal Volcano, but there are a lot of other activities/tours to be found. The prices listed are typical prices, but there are a lot of operators, so you should check around. Full day tours usually include lunch and soft drinks. Most tours start between 7 and 8 in the morning.

* Arenal Volcano tours usually start out in the early afternoon and include walking for about an hour through lava rocks before reaching El Mirador, the best place to view the eruption from the volcano. There are also possibilities of skipping the lava rock walking and go straight to El Mirador. At the observation point you hopefully will see eruptions and lava flow that can be quite spectacular set against the black night sky, but often it will be so cloudy that you won't see a thing. Most tours state that they will stay for a hour/hour and half at this place, but if there is nothing to be seen probably a lot less. Also be aware that it might be chilly, so bring a jacket. The tours come in a variety of options: with buffet dinner and entrance to the Tabacon hot spa $64, with entrance to Baldi hot spa $30, just the tour $25. There is also a possibility of a no frills tour by mini-bus to El Mirador and back to Fortuna for $10.