Ficus Root Bridge Trailhead — Attraction in Monteverde

There are two entry points to the ficus root bridge, separated by less than 100 ft. The one pinpointed here is "free" in the sense that it doesn't require a donation but is not marked and is a little harder to get to. It's to the right of a red and white house. Once you arrive at the river, cross it and follow it downstream. You might have to cross another time or two to find a walkable path to the tree, which is about no more than 300 ft away. You'll find yourself at the foot of the tree where you can see the entire full face of the bridge.

Now if you want to find a better marked and maintained route to the tree, venture into the private lot about 50 ft to the right of the previously mentioned unmarked trail. The private lot houses large construction vehicles and commercial trucks, so you can't park there. Anyhow, look for a sign on the left with "Raiz." There's a donation box where you should drop in some coin to help the landowner's efforts to maintain the path for public use. From there, just follow the path down to the top of the bridge. Cross it at your own risk! There's not much to hang on to and can be super sketchy if damp!

Hope that helps! Whichever path you take, have fun, be respectful to the landowner and others sharing your experience,...

Would have been nice to make it down the path, but the famed scammer was there and started to harrass me before I could get to the donation box and walk down. He demanded I pay him, and got aggressive and close to me when I had said I'd read the trail was free/by donation. I asked him about the place, seeing as he said it's his property - but he refused to answer anything, just kept telling me I was a bad person etc. In a group would have been safer, but as a woman alone with a man aggressively telling me people like me who expect to receive things for free are a problem (??), I didn't feel it was worth the risk to try to walk into the forest alone with him following. There's an unmarked overgrown steep pathway on the street, just above the curve of the road, that is likely another way down, but the man was following me onto the street after having blocked me walking in and said he would not let me go down that way either without my giving him money. I believe he works at the shop beside the entrance to the path where the signs are, he was washing a vehicle when I walked in... Shame to miss it, as two friends had just been and didn't mention seeing him, I suppose I was just unlucky. Aggressive man, 10/10 would not recommend going without...

The evening before visiting this place we lost all our money. We picked this place specifically because it says "Free Trailhead" and every other hiking spot in the area charges an entry fee. However, at the beginning of the trail there was a guy charging an entry fee. We said we had no cash but he couldn't care less. We turned away to walk back and on the way back we saw a small path leading down, supposedly towards the Ficus. The man saw us taking the path and started yelling, and as we ignored him he chased us down with two large dogs. He said it was private property and that we can't pass without paying (there were no signs saying private property). Let's think, who was the first one to cheat, us or them? Don't call it Free Trailhead if it's not free! I'm not coming back and wouldn't recommend anyone...