How to Visit the Monteverde Ficus Root Bridge

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One of the coolest things to do in Monteverde is to climb the ficus root bridge, otherwise known as the Ficus La Raiz.

It’s a very cool spot near downtown Santa Elena that makes for great photos so if you have an hour to kill in between the Monteverde guided hikes and tours, definitely check out this spot!

In this post you’ll find out how to plan your visit to the Monteverde Ficus Root Bridge.

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Monteverde Ficus Root Bridge Map

On Google Maps, it is called “Ficus La Raiz.”

What to Know About the Monteverde Ficus La Raiz (Monteverde Ficus Root Bridge Tree)

  • 1000 CRC (~$2 USD) per person entrance fee.
  • There is a large parking lot with bathrooms.
  • 4×4 not required
  • Easy 5 minute walk down. Has some concrete steps, dirt paths, sitting areas, benches and a handrail the whole way down. There is now a viewing platform.
  • You can walk on the bridge a little if you’re careful/adventurous but we don’t recommend going all the way.
  • Do NOT touch the roots, steps on them or disturb them.

How to Find the Ficus La Raiz (Ficus Root Bridge)

On Google Maps, it is “Ficus La Raiz.” It is also on Waze as that. You will see a gate with a sign that says “Raiz Parqueo.”

Drive through, all the way down and park. Then go to the entrance office by the gate to pay the entrance fee.

Ficus La Raiz entrance
This is the entrance, look for the signs that say “Raiz” and “Raiz Parqueo”

The beginning of the trail is right by the parking lot, behind the bathrooms. There is a sign and there are two benches around it, so you can’t miss it.

Entrance to the trail

Once you’re ready, head down to the trail to walk down to the ficus root bridge tree.

The Trail

This trail is very easy and the family has done a great job maintaining it and keeping it clean. There are some concrete and dirt steps, a guard rail, benches, sitting areas and a viewing platform.

It takes in total maybe 5 minutes to get down to the river where the bridge is.

The path

There are plenty of sitting areas along the path, even one with a roof, fire pit and grill if you want to enjoy a snack or drink.

Once you get down, the trail to the left goes to the viewing platform.

the viewing platform

The other path to the right goes down to the river. Here, you can get a full view of the ficus root bridge in all its glory!

the ficus root bridge and you can see all its roots
So cool to see all the roots

In all, you can spend maybe 20-30 minutes or so here to take pictures, walk along the river and enjoy the views.

The Monteverde ficus root bridge tree is a super cool spot for photos and a unique attraction in Monteverde. We see why it’s a spot beloved by locals who want to preserve this interesting tree for as long as they can.

Hopefully this post helped you so that you can visit this awesome ficus root bridge and get some great photos!

Please remember not to touch or disturb the roots as the tree is still very well alive.

Read About Other Things to Do in Monteverde below!

Selvatura Park: Nature adventure park with ziplining, hanging bridges, butterfly garden, sloth sanctuary and reptile/amphibian exhibit

Cerro Pinocho: Amazing sunset spot

Curi Cancha Reserve: Private reserve with trails, best for birdwatching

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve: The most popular cloud forest with hiking trails

Bosque Nuboso Santa Elena: A private cloud forest reserve with hiking trails

100% Aventura: Adventure park with hanging bridges and ziplining

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9 responses

  1. Miguel

    hola, mi nombre es Miguel y paso a contarles que soy el hijo de unos de los dueños ya que son 2 propiedades las cuales unimos en un nuevo proyecto para hacer un pequeño parque para que las personas puedan disfrutar mas el lugar, por seguridad, para cuidar el árbol y muchas cosas mas. estamos en el inicio así que aun no tenemos muchas cosas que queremos pero poco a poco con la contribución de nuestros visitantes vamos haciendo todo lo que podemos.
    Todas las personas son bienvenidas a nuestro proyecto siempre y cuando respeten ciertas reglas, y uno de nuestros objetivos es controlar la entrada a la propiedad, ya que hay ciertos problemas con uno de nuestros vecinos que tiene el sendero que especifican en estas fotos, ya que ingresan por propiedades vecinas a la nuestra sin permiso y lo cual ocasiona problema con los turistas por que piensan que es un lugar publico y de ingreso gratis.

    muchas gracias a las personas que no les duele apoyar a las personas que están intentando hacer las cosas bien.

    «No hay ejercicio mejor para el corazón que tender la mano y levantar a la gente». John Holmes.

    Reply
    1. Sammi

      Saludos, nos alegra que comenzaran El Proyecto cuando tengan tiempo nos Mandan la information para actualizar el articulo y dar la information a los lectores

      Reply
  2. Paul

    We visited in June 2022 and they were charging a very reasonable 1000 colones per person. Owner seems like a really nice guy and is still doing a bunch of work to build it up. Def recommend this for people looking for something cool/different in monteverde that takes very little time to get to.

    Reply
  3. J.Thomas

    We walked to the Ficus Raiz today. The guy is doing lots of work to improve access: adding gravel to the pathway, and a bench! The main entrance is now through the driveway of a repair shop. The path that you pictured is possible, but now Very Steep.

    Reply
    1. Sammi

      Thanks for the feedback

      Reply
  4. Sidra martin

    Thanks for sharing this. I would encourage an update as the owners of the accesa property are clearly doing a lot of work to ensure its easy to find, allow parking and especially maintaining and upgrading the trail. He was very cool about not needing anything from me to access it but clearly donations would be very well appreciated for their efforts as they make this beautiful thing more accessible to all.

    Reply
    1. Sammi

      Thanks for the feedback – we have not been since beginning of 2021 so I’m glad to hear the owner is working on the proeprty

      Reply
  5. Cate

    La Raiz ficus. Were were lucky that even though it was rainy season they had cut steps into the muddy hillside so we could still safely walk down the trail down to the ficus tree.

    Reply
  6. Mary Prophit

    Thank you so much for this info! Our rescheduled from 2020 trip is in about 60 days and we are so excited. Our first two nights will be in Monteverde so we will definitely check this out. I appreciate you both so much!

    Reply
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