EPOW Ecology Picture of the Week -- Forest of the Clouds

Explanation: It is cold this morning, here on remote back trails. A dripping fog is nestled in the canopy of these wonderful tropical forests here in the high country of Costa Rica.

We are in Monteverde cloud forest, truly a forest born and raised in mist. After a long and dangerous bus ride on narrow dirt mountain roads, we had arrived on the Continental Divide of Central America, here at nearly 1440 meters (4660 feet) in the Cordillera of Tilarán.

A little further up the trail, the tall forests give way to shrub-sized elfin forests on the very ridge of the Divide. They say that, on rare days of clear air, from there you can see both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans at once. Amazing.

But this morning it is all fog-drip and obscurity. Between the dense understory vegetation and the low cloud ceiling it begins to feel a little claustrophobic until we realize that this tropical realm, this cloud forest, exists because of these unique conditions of topography and weather.

Monteverde Cloud Forest harbors a wealth of life and ecological secrets, with over 100 mammal species, 400 bird species, and 2,500 plant species.

Some universities and institutions offer summer ecology programs in Monteverde by which you can join scientists, live with local families, and enrich your life in many ways.

EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week