Montecristo Cloud Forest

Advantages: Lush, green & refreshing!
Disadvantages: Ca be wet at times

...I was planning a day and a half for the Monteverde cloud forest and ended up staying a week. There is a lot to do, and the area is very safe and comfortable. I've been in Nicaragua and Honduras (I liked these places too), but there is no way you can wander safely for hours by yourself, in the jungle, like you can do in Monteverde. Plenty of well maintain and marked trails, great diversity (primary forest, secondary forest, pre-mountain forest, waterfalls, etc.) and many other things to do like Sky Trek, a new canopy tour ( 11 zip lines, 3 suspended bridges, a observation tower, and 2 miles of lush trails, about 3 hours: $35) that was the most thrilling thing I did in Costa Rica ( the "original canopy tour" is overpriced at $45, and last only 1h15, 3 zip lines ). I liked also the reserve Santa Elena, the Children's eternal cloud forest... Read review

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Advantages: beautiful scenes, waterfalls, black rhino
Disadvantages: a little difficult to get to

..., the lions have their full mane which when you go to zoos or other safari tours, you don't see. All you would see is captive lions who are scared and withered. Not at Aberdare National Park. You see them at their full spectacular. The rarer of the animals like the Golden Cat, the bingo, and the forest antelopes can only bee seen by going high up into the moor lands. There aren’t many attractions here. The main one is just seeing the animals. But you can also take a walk in the moor lands to either the Lesatima Peak or Kinangop Peak. Here, you'll be looking over the forest and views are quite breathtaking. The weather is misty so it's like you're high up in the clouds looking down. There is a waterfall within the forest. You are not able to go into the river below, because it's quite rapid, but it is very pretty to watch. Wildlife As I said... Read review

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Advantages: Extremely beautiful
Disadvantages: Only two hotels and it gets packed with local tourists

...which anyone in the area should put at the top of their things to see list. In essence, it's an ancient Mayan city in the middle of the Guatemalan tropical rainforest, where a thousand years ago, a million people lived. It was "rediscovered" (ie everyone in the area knew perfectly well it was there but that didn't count, then a bunch of Europeans found it) earlier this century, I think, by which point most of the buildings had disappeared under vegetation. Even today, only the central area has been excavated, and if you wander off through the forest you'll find lots of pyramid-shaped little hills, under which undiscovered temples lie. The only thing visibe then was the two huge pyramids of the central temple, an area which has now been completely excavated and restored. The fact that no-one knows anything about the Mayans adds... Read review

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