Where are the platforms?
Are they in trees, on towers or a mix? And how much of the route stays within the forest canopy?
Canopy tour vs zipline: what's the difference?
A zipline is the ride itself: a cable-based way of moving from one point to another. A canopy tour is a guided experience through the forest canopy, typically using a series of ziplines and platforms as the route. One describes how you move; the other describes the experience built around it.
What is ziplining?
Ziplining means riding a cable stretched on a slope between two points, held by a harness clipped to a pulley that rolls along it. Gravity does the work.
A zipline can be a single line or one of many. It can cross a canyon, a river or a forest. On its own, the word describes the ride, not where it happens or what surrounds it.
What is a canopy tour?
The canopy is the upper layer of a forest, formed by the crowns of its trees: the part of the forest you normally see from below.
A canopy tour is a guided experience built around moving through the forest canopy. It typically follows a route of platforms connected by ziplines, with guides leading the group through the experience. The ziplines connect the experience. The forest canopy is the experience.
The zipline was the means. Experiencing the canopy was the idea.
How canopy exploration became a guided tour
The Original Canopy Tour was the first in the world to turn canopy exploration into a guided tour. That is why it is called The Original.
Why the two terms get mixed up
In Costa Rican tourism listings, “zipline tour” and “canopy tour” are often used for very similar experiences, sometimes for the same one. “Canopy” is also widely used in Costa Rica to describe this kind of activity.
So the name alone doesn't always tell you how an experience is designed. A few questions do.
What to ask before you book
Who guides the group?
Do the same guides stay with your group from start to finish?
How large are the groups?
How many people are in each group?
What happens between the ziplines?
How much of the tour is spent ziplining, and what does the rest of the experience include?
How The Original Canopy Tour works
In Monteverde, ten ziplines connect platforms built into living trees. Along the way there is a Tarzan Swing, and a rappel alongside a hollow ficus followed by a climb through its hollow interior. Both are optional. Groups are limited to 10 guests, with two guides who stay with the group throughout.
