Monteverde's cloud forest has few mosquitoes. The drive up has more.

Not many. Monteverde's cloud forest sits roughly 4,300 to 5,200 feet (1,300 to 1,600 m) up, cool and often windy, and mosquitoes are scarce next to the lowlands. This page still rates the disease risk as elevated, because the map for the CDC's Level 2 chikungunya notice shades the Monteverde area. The bites that matter most come on the hot lowland drives in and out.

Why the chikungunya map counts here

The CDC's Level 2 notice, last reviewed July 30, 2026, says "There is an outbreak of chikungunya in northwest Costa Rica (see map)." The text names no towns, and the map's caption lists "Alajuela, Heredia, Guanacaste, parts of Puntarenas and San Jose." On the map itself, the shading covers all of mainland Puntarenas north and east of the Gulf of Nicoya, which takes in Monteverde. The CDC notes that the map's boundaries are not necessarily authoritative. Read as drawn, it puts Monteverde inside the outbreak area, as it does Manuel Antonio. The notice says "Vaccination is recommended for travelers who are visiting an area with a chikungunya outbreak," and it advises pregnant travelers to reconsider travel to the affected areas, particularly close to delivery.

Puntarenas has seen little of it so far. The province had 29 of Costa Rica's 539 lab-confirmed chikungunya cases by mid-September 2026, against 404 in Guanacaste and 132 in Alajuela, the Pan American Health Organization reported on October 20. An earlier health ministry bulletin listed cases in Esparza, on the lowland road up. Dengue, spread by the same day-biting mosquito, is running above 2025, and Costa Rica is on the CDC's global dengue list.

Cold forest, hot drives

In the cloud forest, cold and wind do most of the work. Santa Elena and the reserves tend to be cool and misty, and in the dry season strong trade winds blow through. Forest after dark is the exception. Night walks and the hanging-bridge parks, such as Selvatura and Sky Adventures, put you in the forest in the hours of the phlebotomine sand flies that spread leishmaniasis, which the CDC lists for Costa Rica. Wear permethrin-treated trousers and socks and put repellent on exposed skin.

The likelier bites come on transfer days. The drive from San José or Liberia runs through the hot Puntarenas lowlands around Esparza and Barranca before the climb, and the route from La Fortuna takes the Tilarán road or the jeep-boat-jeep crossing of Lake Arenal. All of it is inside the notice area, and lunch stops, viewpoints and the lake dock are daytime mosquito territory, so put repellent on before you set off.

Bring a warm, windproof layer for the December to February winds. The outbreak was still active in the northwest in September, so the lowland legs of an early-winter trip may still see transmission.

Where you're going

Scores are for a December–April trip.

The Costa Rica briefing covers the loop, and our Arenal, Guanacaste and Manuel Antonio briefings cover the stops on either side.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from a TripAdvisor thread and linked so you can read it in full. It isn't dated, so read it as the general picture.

• Monteverde

  A long-time resident and several visitors said mosquitoes are scarce in Monteverde compared with lowland Jacó. One group still reported heavy biting on a cloud forest tour. TripAdvisor ↗

One rule outlasts the trip. Any fever or joint pain during or after the trip means a doctor visit, and you tell the doctor you were in Costa Rica, lowland legs included. If you were bitten, bitten in a dengue zone covers what to watch for.

Traveler questions