Canopy Tours and Suspended Bridges

Monteverde, Costa Rica

Canopy Tours / Zip Line Cables

There are also 'Combos' available with Sky Trek and Selvatura where you can save money and combine treks, walks and visits to either the serpentatium or a butterfly garden.  Contact Us for details.

Video of the Sky Trek:

view Promotional Video by Sky Trek - 876 KB .WMV
view Homemade Clip of the Sky Trek - 1.55 MB .AVI

The actual name CANOPY TOUR belongs to the Original Canopy Tour.  They were the first company to operate a canopy tour in Costa Rica. It's home has been Monteverde.  The company now operates tours in a number of locations in Costa Rica.  At the time of writing this The Original Canopy Tour is in a legal battle over the claim to have invented the system used to traverse from tree to tree.  This method basically consists of suspended platforms, pulleys, cable and gravity.  They were granted intellectual property rights in 1998.  This is an important issue as there are some 50 potentially "pirate" canopy tours in Costa Rica.

"The 50-plus zipline tours in Costa Rica have become the most popular day tours among tourists. While no official numbers exist, it is estimated that 25% of the million plus tourists who visit Costa Rica each year go on a canopy tour."

 - Tico Times - Daily Edition: August 22, 2003 - Read the whole article here

We will be using the phrase, 'canopy tour' to describe any of the attractions where a person traverses a cable through the canopy of the cloud forest, essentially a large zip line.

First of all, these tours are a lot of fun and are a good complement to a day spent hiking in the cloud forest.  We say complement, as this is not the same experience as taking a walk through one of the reserves.  While this tour does offer an opportunity to view nature and provides a new perspective, that is altitude, the tours main focus is a little adrenaline and fun.  That is why we also suggest going for an early morning hike and experiencing the quite and magic of the cloud forest with a little more calm.  That being said these tours are very popular and Monteverde offers the best selection and quality for this type of tour.

Our personal favorite is the Sky Trek.  While it does not have a rappel it does have the longest and highest cables.  Extremo Canopy Tour also has a good tour with a towering Tarzan Swing and the rappelling is a good experience.  Selvatura has an excellent canopy and a very nice suspension bridge set up, both set in Primary and Secondary Cloud Forest.

Selvatura and Sky Walk/Sky Trek (Suspended Bridges)

For those less adventurous exists the Sky Walk and Selvaturas Walk Ways.  These tours consist of a series of suspension bridges, hung in the canopy, which one can walk across.  The sides of the bridges are fenced off with the railings reaching chest height.  It takes about an hour and a half to walk the bridges and trails that connect them.  Depending on the speed you walk. 

As the bridges are suspended they do bounce a little.  Overall the feeling is pretty secure due to the high railings and solid structure. Unless you have an acute fear of heights this should not be a problem.  The bridges offer a nice perspective with plenty of time to look around and take photos.  You can see many small trees and ferns from above and also admire birds that inhabit the upper regions of the trees.  The trails are in excellent condition. 

The Selvatura Walk Ways charge $20 per person for an unguided tour and $35 per person for a guided tour.  Sky Walk/Sky Tram charge $50 per person for a guided tour.  Both canopy companies offer discounts for children and students.  Hours are 7:00 am to 4:00 pm.  No reservations necessary although a naturalist guide can be arranged beforehand to accompany you.