This internationally acclaimed reserve straddles the Continental Divide. Its upper-elevation forests are cloaked year-round in swirling mists formed by humid Caribbean trade winds condensing as they are forced up and over the ridge crest.

The reserve encompasses 10,400 ha, covering eight distinct life zones on both the Caribbean and Pacific slopes. The diversity of flora is astounding. Zoological treasures include more than 100 mammal species, not the least all five species of cats, plus howler and capuchin monkeys, deer, and sloths.

There are 400 species of birds, including 30 species of hummingbirds, and the endangered three-wattled bellbird. About 100 breeding pairs of quetzals also nest within the reserve, migrating to lower levels during the spring mating season.