the bat jungle

The Bat Jungle was an unexpected gem! Never knew that bats were so important, so incredible and that there were so many varieties. The tour leader, a Danish biologist, shared his immense knowledge in an engaging and entertaining way. Cannot wait to build/install bat houses in our yard. Totally loved the Bat Jungle; you will too! And, if you have time to have lunch at the restaurant on the site, please do--it's delicious!!!!!

This is one experience that will change your mind about bats. Even a seasoned pair of biologists like us learned a ton during our visit. The knowledge of the owners/managers is extraordinary, and to be able to see live bats feeding, interacting, hanging out (literally) was amazing, humbling, and exciting. This is one of the obligatory stops for a visitor to Monteverde.

Very relaxed visit with an excellent introductory tour. Not much to see in the cave, but lotsa interesting info.

Very informative guide on this 45 minute tour. Bats are generally dormant in the daytime unless stimulated, so you might have to be patient and benefit from a feeding session. Lots of bats to see in the enclosure - certainly a unique place to visit. Restaurant was closed when we visited so can't comment.

Tons of bats and an informative museum to explore. The staff are very knowledgeable and friendly. A must see if you have kids.

So, so glad we went. What a discovery. I learned so much and have a more positive attitude about them. The "jungle" is run so well. Don't miss it

Guide really knows his stuff, and it was pretty cool to see the bats during the feeding time. Good cafe/restaurant upstairs.

We are huge fans of bats. We thoroughly enjoy the ones in our backyard. They eat tons of mosquitos. The bat jungle explained about all sorts of different bats; fruit eating, carnivorous, and insect eating. We were able to get some wonderful photos of the bats they have on site. a must see in Monteverde.

You will find a new love for the winged insect heros of the night. It was amazing. The guy who did the tour was very informative. I took my girlfriend. She thought the bats were cute. See the bats!

How often do you get to really watch bats? We did the self guided tour. Probably would have learned more with the full tour but it was enough for us. Adults, teens and kids enjoyed

We took our 8 year old to the Bat Jungle. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and passionate about bats and made the tour fun for our son. Great thing to do as it starts to get dark in the afternoon.

We recently visited Monteverde at the end of January and the beginning of February. Based on previous Trip Advisor reviews, we planned to visit the Bat Jungle and actually made a reservation online before coming.Because we did not rent a car on this trip, we took a taxi from town (Santa Elena) for 2 colones ($4) each way. Tours are about one hour long. We booked the 2:00pm tour because they feed the bats at 3:00pm and we wanted the opportunity to observe.Our guide, a young man whose name we cannot remember, was absolutely wonderful. We were in a group with another couple. We began our tour by discussing the informational displays outside the entrance. The Bat Jungle's agenda is to educate the public on bats and to discard the old myths we may have learned over time. We were then led into the reception and adjoining rooms to discuss bats more in detail. We learned about the importance of bats in our ecosystem as well as the various species of them (fruit, nectar, insect-eating, vampire, etc...) It was quite fascinating to learn about their echolocating abilities. We were then led into their simulated bat cave. Not sure how many species of bats they have but it was fascinating. Bats of different sizes, shapes, some grouped together, others singled out. Our guide pointed them out, describing the varying differences between them. Then he left to feed them. Many of the fruit eating bats flew to grab a piece and return back up to the ceiling, hanging upside down while eating. Some of the nectar eating bats would fly up to sip the juice from the fruit being eaten by a fruit eating bat. It was quite entertaining and we really enjoyed watching them.We had definitely left with a new appreciation of bats. This is a must do on your visit to Monteverde.

The Bat Jungle is a great place to learn about and see these incredible creatures. There is a strong educational component and then you enter into a darkened room where the bats are behind glass. There are several species in the cave and the guide feeds them so you can see their behavior while eating.While it is important to educate people about these elusive animals it is also sad that a few of them must live in captivity in order to do so.

This was a very interesting exhibit and I think it is important to have a way to introduce people to these important creatures of the night. My only problem is that it seems very sad to keep these intelligent creatures in captivity.

Perhaps kuepper would be willing to share with me just what he was expecting to find at the Bat Jungle? He implies that our bats are in a small space. The enclosure is in fact 17 meters long, and the bats are very small animals. There is plenty of flying space for them. If the enclosure were much larger, it would be almost impossible to see the bats except for a few flying around. Instead the space is long and narrow so bats are close to the viewing windows. His comment, "Mostly a laptop experience" belies our long guided tour with our many scientifically designed exhibits (some of them interactive) and informative posters. He suggests going to YouTube instead, and he is perfectly welcome to do that, although there you see only videos, not our 95 live bats of 8 species.