In the 1950’s 11 Quaker families from Alabama moved to Monteverde to farm (and avoid the Korean War draft). Over the next 10-20 years they decided t set aside and preserve the native virgin cloud forest – at the time there were few preserves or national parks in Costa Rica. Today this gorgeous forest is large tourist draw for people seeking to explore this unique biome. The reserve has 15km of trails and we strongly recommend taking a guided tour (daily Natural History tours at 7:30, 11:30, 1:30; Night yours daily at 5:45 PM) – reservations highly recommended s they sell out)