When I visited the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica I fell in love with its haunting beauty. After my return, my vibrant impressions compelled me to paint the spirit of this remarkable environment. My fascination also led me to learn about what made it unique. The following is what I discovered.

A cloud forest is a rain forest. The difference between a lowland rainforest and a cloud forest is the elevation and resulting temperatures. The Monteverde Cloud Forest rises 4790 feet above sea level. On average it receives 102 inches or over 8 feet of rainfall a year.

All rain forests have four levels: emergent, canopy, understory and forest floor. Each layer becomes a distinct habitat for different plants and animals, although some are seen on other layers as well. They live primarily in the layer where they can receive the amount of sunlight and food to which they are best suited.

More than 3,021 species of plants, including 1,360 of orchids and 755 of trees exist here. There are over 900 species of birds. It is home to 212 mammals. The forest has 1200 species of amphibians (breed in water, i.e. frogs) and reptiles. Five thousand different insects live here and about 1000 of these are butterflies.