El Yunque National Forest (aka "the rain forest") is one of the many places you can visit in the northeastern part of Puerto Rico. It covers 28,000 acres of land and is the watershed for much of the northeast of the island.

El Portal Rain Forest Center is the main visitor center in El Yunque National Forest. It features an elevated walkway through the tree tops, educational displays, a short interpretive walking trail, a deli/restaurant and a small gift shop. Though completely optional, the Forest Center is an informative stop for first-time visitors to El Yunque.

El Portal Rain Forest Center

The entrance to El Portal Rain Forest Center is along an elevated walkway that provides a view of the forest from the tree tops. The first thing you come to inside the Center is the information desk, which is staffed with some really helpful people. You can pick up a El Yunque Forest trail map and get answers to all of your questions.

On the first floor, you’ll find a bunch of displays with information about the rain forest. There is a short movie (approximately 15 minutes) about El Yunque National Forest that runs continuously, alternating between English and Spanish versions. The Center also has a deli/restaurant, gift shop and restrooms on this level.

One the second floor, there are a number of rooms that have educational display about conservation, ecology, water, rain forests, wildlife and other nature-oriented themes. On the last weekend of every month, a number of local artisans display their artwork & crafts, and offer items for sale.

El Portal Trail

There is a short interpretive trail right at the Forest Center. The trail head is located at the edge of the parking lot, just to the left of the elevated walkway that leads to the Forest Center building. There’s a Vereda/Trail sign marking the trail head.

This short (0.4 miles) trail is enjoyable and easy to walk, and it is a loop (meaning that start and end in the same spot).

It is a packed gravel trail, so it is pretty easy walking, but it is not wheelchair-friendly. It is in the lower forest area, so you will see some different vegetation than you will see on trails farther up the mountain. We went in October and had to watch out for falling breadfruit!

On the trail you will be able to see many native trees, some bananas, heliconias and gingers. Along the way you will find bi-lingual information placards about the flora & fauna of the trail and the rain forest in general. It has some pretty views and scenery. It is a nice starter trail.

Details

Though there is no cost to get into El Yunque National Forest (for hiking, etc.), there is a small entrance fee for El Portal Rain Forest Center. They charge $3/adult and $1.50/child or senior. They collect the entrance fee upon entry to the parking lot.

El Portal Rain Forest Center is open 9am to 5pm, 7 days/week.

For more information, including driving directions, please refer to our Getting Started in El Yunque National Forest article.

This article is copyright © PuertoRicoDayTrips.com Travel Guide.

Stay at Coqui's Hideaway in the Rain Forest!

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Puerto Rico has a long history of Indian cultures that lived here many hundreds to thousands of years ago. The most recent Indian culture, the Tainos, were really into making drawings or carvings (called petroglyphs) on rocks near rivers or in caves.

Coming across this evidence of indigenous people is always something that I find very cool. I really like seeing the petrogylphs, wondering what messages the people were trying to leave, and for whom or what those messages where intended.

Piedra Escrita Recreation Area

The town of Jayuya has a nice example of a written rock (piedra escrita, in Spanish) that contains many different Taino petroglyphs. The town has even created a recreation area (La Area Recreativa La Piedra Escrita, in Spanish) with a beautiful wooden walkway down to the river and rock so that everyone can appreciate this artifact.

The petrogylphs are carved into a large rock in the middle of Río Saliente in Jayuya. Most of the drawings are on the top and on the river-side of the rock. There are all kinds of different shapes — many spirals, some faces and other beings.

You can swim in the river and play in the water near this Piedra Escrita. Supposedly, there is another smaller rock with petroglyphs (La Piedra Taino) in the river about 1KM upstream. We found this trek upstream to be difficult — it is a large, fast-flowing river and it was deep in spots, too. Of course, this other rock is not marked, and we couldn’t find it. If anyone knows specific information about it’s location (GPS coordinates would be helpful), please leave us a note in the comments section below.

Preserving History?

One thing that I find odd, and will never understand, is how no one is trying to preserve this historical treasure. People are allowed to climb, play on, and even picnic on this rock. The promotional video for the town of Jayuya shows kids jumping off of it into the river! I really hope they try to limit this activity in the future, so the petroglyphs remain intact for future generations to enjoy.

There are many sites with petroglyphs and other evidence of the Taino culture across the island. If you enjoy this type of stuff, you might also want to check out La Cueva del Indio in Arecibo, La Cueva del Indio in Las Piedras or the Cemi Musuem in Jayuya. Additional things to do nearby in this area include the Cemi Museum, Canales House and the Dona Juana waterfall.

Details

There is no fee to view these petroglyphs.

The recreation area is open during daylight hours.

Expect to spend about 30 minutes at this site.

You can contact Jayuya tourism office at 787-828-1241 for more information.

You can visit the Jayuya tourism web site for more information.

There is a restaurant (with restrooms) right next to the recreation area, but they’re not open every day.

The boardwalk and ramp that leads down to the river is wheelchair friendly, but it will be a big push back up to the parking area!

Piedra Escrita is accessible from Route 144 (between KM 7.7 and KM 8 ) in Jayuya. There is a good-sized parking lot right next to the ramp that leads to the river.

If you happen to have a GPS unit handy, you can punch up the coordinates 18.216842, -66.573703 to help you find these petroglyphs.

You can locate Piedra Escrita on our Interactive Island Map

This article is copyright © PuertoRicoDayTrips.com Travel Guide.

Stay at Coqui's Hideaway in the Rain Forest!

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One of the things I like best about Puerto Rico is that it so varied. We usually hike in the El Yunque rain forest in the north-east of Puerto Rico, but you can find great forest hikes all over the island.

One place we found to explore is the Guajataca Forest (pronounced gua-ha-TA-ca) in Isabela. It is in the karst region of Puerto Rico, so the landscape and plant life is totally different than what we are used to seeing. And in my opinion, the best part about this forest is the cave you get to explore. But a trip to this forest and cave cannot be done on a whim — you definitely need to plan this trip.

The Forest

The Guajataca Forest (Bosque de Guajataca in Spanish) is not huge — it only covers about 2,350 acres. It is said to have loads of trails (like 46 trails measuring over 25 miles!), though they don’t appear to be well used at all. As a first-time visitor to the forest, you will probably just do 2 trails: Cueva del Viento (Cave of the Wind) or the Interpretative Trail. We did them both in the same afternoon. In this article I’ll describe Trail #1 and the trail to Cueva del Viento.

You will see and hear the many birds that call this area home. I really enjoyed seeing how the trees and shrubs adapted to their landscape. They find ways to cling to the rocks and other trees for support. The forest is rugged and beautiful.

Getting Started

The forest can be accessed from Route 446 in Isabela. There is a forest information office and parking around KM 9 on Route 446. There’s also a picnic area within a short walking distance.

At this time they are rebuilding forest office, but it looks like there will be bathrooms available there, as well as information. Honestly though, I would not really bother stopping for the map or information unless you speak/read Spanish and are good with puzzles — the map they hand out is horribly confusing! The trail to the cave is decently marked (some signs have fallen over, but it’s still easy to follow).

We had hiked to the cave a couple years ago, so we kinda knew what we were doing this last time. We had our GPS unit with us, so we were able to map the entire trail that we walked. That GPS data is what we used to draw our trail map (below). So, if you take our map, and follow the signs, you’ll be able to navigate with no problems. When we drew the map, the dashed trails are the ones we walked on. The dotted trails are just on the map so you can see where some of the side trails meet the main trail. They can serve as points of reference for your navigation.

La Cueva del Viento

The trailhead for Cueva del Viento is right at the parking area/ranger station at KM 9 on Route 446. Look for the sign for the Interpretative Trail and Trail #1. The trip we took was about 2.5 miles round trip (it included the side trail up to the Observation Tower, the Interpretative Trail and the trip to the Cave). It is a relatively flat trail except for the steep part that brings you down to the cave entrance. The trail is packed earth with limestone rock in it, so you do have to watch your step while walking.

Once you get started on the trail, almost right away you will see a trail marker for the Observation Tower on your right. This is a short (though up hill) side walk you can make and get a nice view of the tree tops. It is great for getting a nice breeze and birdwatching.

Along the beginning of Trail #1 you will also be on the first part of the Interpretative Trail. After a while of walking, you will get to a point where Trail #1 and the Interpretative Trail part ways and there are other trails that go off of it. You always want to stay on the Cave Trail #1 — don’t go off onto other side trails (or verderas in Spanish).

Eventually, you will get to the top of the steps to the cave (you can’t miss them, there is a huge sign!). This is where you will start your descent to the cave. There are about 40 steps, and then you have to make you way down a steep, slippery, muddy path. Luckily, there are hand rails for stabilization.

When you get to the cave entrance, you will descend into the darkness. If you did not bring flashlights, you will be limited to seeing only the entrance.

If you plan ahead and bring strong flashlights, you can walk pretty far in two directions away from the entrance. There are all kinds of stalagmite and stalactite formations to look at.

The cave is really very interesting the further you go into it. Many of the formations near the entrance have been broken-off by past visitors. Make sure you watch your step as there are some areas where the floor is slippery, and there are even some holes in the floor that you could fall into. There are also tree roots running through the cave.

My not so favorite part of this cave were the bats! As you go further into the cave, you and your lights will annoy them more and more — so they take flight and make noise. But, thankfully, the cave did not smell like guano.

We found, to get good photos, we had to use our flashlight to illuminate the formation, focus and them remove the flashlight. You may need to experiment with what works best for your camera, because you don’t want to miss getting some good pictures. We also found that there was a lot of mist deeper inside the cave. Because of the mist, all of the photos had a lot of backscatter from the flash. You might be able to get better photos deep inside the cave if you have an external flash unit.

To get back to our car, we retraced our steps until we got back to the Interpretative Trail. Then we turned left and continued on the Interpretative Trail until we got back to the road. The trail ends ends at the picnic shelter just a few hundred feet away from the trailhead and our car. It took us about 2 hours total time (about 1 hour of walking on trails and about 1 hour that we spent in the cave).

Other Helpful Information

There is a nice picnic shelter where you can have lunch. There are no food (or other) facilities in the forest.

La Cueva del Viento is a non-illuminated cave. There are no lights inside. There are no guardrails inside. You must bring strong, bright flashlights if you intend to venture more than a few feet into the cave.

The Route 446 gets VERY small (I’d estimate a maximum of 1½ cars wide) even though it is a 2-way road and is surprisingly well-traveled. Drive slowly, honk your horn before each curve, and listen for other peoples’ horns around curves. One car will have to pull over to let another past, so be aware of the edges.

They allow camping with a permit, but I don’t think many people do it, and the facilities didn’t look like they were in working order.

This forest is not often visited during the week — we were the only ones there when we went mid-week. You may see more people on weekends.

If you want to hike on trails other than Trail #1 and the Interpretative Trail, I would get information from the forest office before starting out on your own. There are lots of trails in this forest — the forest map looks like a big maze. You will see some trailheads further down Route 446.

It often rains in the late afternoon in this part of the island, so plan accordingly.

Details

There is no fee to use the forest trails and facilities.

The forest is open during daylight hours. The information office (located at Route 446 KM 9) may be open daily from about 7am to 3:30pm.

Allow about 2 hours to hike to the cave and return to your car.

The Guajataca Forest is managed by the DNRA. You can call them at 787-999-2200 for more information.

Take Route 2 to approximately KM 108 and turn onto Route 446 (there is a Reliable Mortgage building on the corner). Follow Route 446 into the forest.

The forest is about 2 hours from the San Juan area and about 1 hour from Rincon.

If you have a GPS, you can punch up these coordinates for the parking area / trailhead on Route 446 (18.420527, -66.965956), the top of the stairs leading to the cave (18.411492, -66.976214), and for La Cueva del Viento itself (18.411348, 66.976736).

You can locate the Guajataca Forest our Interactive Island Map

This article is copyright © PuertoRicoDayTrips.com Travel Guide.

Stay at Coqui's Hideaway in the Rain Forest!

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Like most people, Ray and I enjoy waterfalls. There are plenty of them to be found in Puerto Rico, but they are usually in obscure, out-of-the-way places and finding them usually becomes an adventure in itself. We had heard about Las Garzas Falls in Adjuntas, though we had no definitive information about it’s location. During a recent thrip through the south-central part of the island, we were passing through Adjuntas, so we decided to ask around and try to find Las Garzas Falls.

The Falls

This one was a challenge to find! As with most of the waterfalls around the island, there are no signs or other indications that the waterfall even exists. When we did find the trail down to the waterfall, we were glad we made the effort. It was Las Garzas Falls is pretty and multi-tiered. The trail emerges from the forest at the top of the falls. But you can scramble down the rock wall to a mid-section — that’s where we had our picnic lunch. We could also see trails over on the other side of the falls, which lead down to a place where the kids jump into the deep water of the lower falls.

The top falls was about 20 feet tall (pictured above), then there was a pool, then it went down to a taller falls (about 40 feet tall). Without jumping in, we couldn’t figure out how to get down to the base to get a picture. There were swimming holes at the base of each of the falls. The pools at this waterfall appeared to be deep, but the water wasn’t clear or blue like we are used to seeing in other parts of Puerto Rico — the water was more of a brownish color. Many of the rocks were covered with algae and were slippery.

We decided not to go swimming at these falls, though I know many people do. I assume it is clean, it just looked more "natural" than what I like!

Getting to Las Garzas Falls

We didn’t have real directions for this one, so we asked the folks at Casa Pueblo. The info they gave us got us into the general area, where we ended up asking around for more specific directions. With that information, and a little exploration on our part, we were able to find the falls. We will give you the information we have, and will be as specific as possible, but this town was a little difficult to manoeuvre, so you might want to stop along the way and ask for more specific directions.

If you’re heading out of Adjuntas, take Route 10 North, make a right onto Route 123 North and follow that until you can make a left onto Route 123 South (having a map of the area will be helpful!). Go South on Route 123 for a bit, then turn right onto Route 522 (follow the signs for Parador Sotomeyer). When you get to Parador Sotomeyer, go to the left, at which point the road gets smaller. As you continue up this road, it will continue to get smaller and "V" a couple times. Stay on the "main" road. At one of the V’s, you’ll notice a newish-looking bridge to your left. Use that bridge to cross the river and then continue up the road to the right. Continue on this road for about 5 minutes. Eventually, you will come to a place where there is a lot of "parking" (meaning places where people pulled off of the road) along the edges of the road. You’ll see the (unmarked) trail on the left of the road. Follow that trail down to the falls. Be careful, the trail can be muddy and slippery.

After you’re done at the falls, you can turn your car around and drive out the way you drove in (recommended), or for a more scenic drive through center of the island, follow the road to the end, where it meets Route 518, which is part of the Ruta Panoramica. Note that these roads are very twisting/turning mountain roads. The driving is slow (maximum of about 20MPH) but the views are beautiful. If you take this route, leave lots of time so that you can get off of these small roads before nightfall.

If you happen to have a GPS unit with you, the parking near the waterfall is approximately at latitude 18.153615, longitude -66.740540.

You can locate this waterfall on our Interactive Island Map

This article is copyright © PuertoRicoDayTrips.com Travel Guide.

Stay at Coqui's Hideaway in the Rain Forest!

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The town of Jayuya seems to be loaded with the traces of the ancient Taino Indian culture. It could be because the Tainos, and other indigenous cultures in Puerto Rico, appeared to have a preference of living and/or gathering together for ceremonies in the mountains in the central part of the island.

The Cemi Museum (Museo El Cemi, in Spanish) in Jayuya is a visitor center for the area and a showcase of Taino artifacts. Archaeological digs and large rocks with shapes carved into them (petroglyphs) prove that pre-Columbian cultures lived in this area. The leaders of Jayuya wanted to preserve and educate about the Taino culture, so they opened this odd-shaped museum in 1989.

What is a Cemi?

According to Taino tradition, a cemi is a god, spirit or ancestor. It is also the name given to the religious symbol that is the physical representation of a god. The most common shape for cemis in Puerto Rico is a form with three "points" carved in stone or wood. These idols have carved representations of both humans and animals.

The scholars who study this culture are not sure if the shape of the cemi was meant to mimic the shape of the nearby mountain range (Tres Picachos), but is sure looks similar.

The Museum

The building that houses the museum is itself in the shape of a cemi. The museum is small, but it is nice. It has pieces of pottery, some tools and other artifacts from daily Taino life. There is a mural with examples of the petrogylphs that have been attributed to the Tainos and other indigenous cultures. Those petroglyphs have been found on rocks and caves all around the island, including Jayuya, Arecibo and Las Piedras.

The signs and informational placards in the museum are in both Spanish and English. The first thing to see at the museum is a video (about 20 minutes) of all the things the town of Jayuya has to offer. There is no audio track, but it does have subtitles (only in Spanish). The video helps you know what to look for during your visit to Jayuya.

After the video, you’re free to wander through the museum — which takes all of 10 minutes.

What Else is Nearby?

Casa Canales located adjacent to the Cemi Museum. Dona Juana Waterfall is about 15 minutes away. Not far up the road is the Hacienda Coffee, that offers tours on Friday – Sunday. Piedra Escrita (which is a big rock covered with petroglyphs in the middle of the river) is a short drive away. So plan on making a day out of exploring the area in and around Jayuya.

If you do head to this area, keep in mind that the roads are mountainous and twisty, so plan accordingly so you can get back to "flat ground" before sunset.

Details

Admission costs $1/adult and 50¢/child.

The museum is open 7 days/week from 9am – 4pm.

Allow about 30 minutes to view the museum.

You can call 787-828-4618 or 787-828-1241 for more information.

There are clean restroom available in the buildings behind the police station (across the parking lot from the museum).

Driving directions: From Route 149, turn left on Route 144 and take it to KM 9.3 (or so). You will see the Cemi Museum and police station from road.

You can locate the Cemi Museum on our Interactive Island Map

This article is copyright © PuertoRicoDayTrips.com Travel Guide.

Stay at Coqui's Hideaway in the Rain Forest!

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If you are headed to Puerto Rico for vacation and want to do some SCUBA diving, there are a few different regions that are popular for diving — the north-east (including Culebra and Vieques), the south and the west.

During a recent trip to the south-west part of the island, we found some diving that I would highly recommend. That region is home to "the Wall" and the diving was great! We went wall diving at La Parguera with West Divers, and I would recommend other divers do the same.

Our Dive Experience So Far

We live the north-east part of Puerto Rico and we enjoy the diving here — but we are less than impressed. We look at diving in this area simply as "time underwater". But, as they say "a bad day diving is better than a good day at work". Having read in numerous dive magazines about how great the diving is in Puerto Rico, we figured that we must be missing something — so we ventured out. During a recent visit to Guanica, we decided we had to check out the south-west below the surface.

Our Trip into La Parguera

There are a couple dive shops located in La Parguera, but we found West Divers on a flyer and contacted them by email. They were speedy at answering my questions and concerns. I was impressed since so often emails to businesses in Puerto Rico go unanswered.

We wanted to go during slow season, but we lucked onto a day when they had 2 other experienced divers already booked. We ended up on the boat with our Captain, Don Jose (who stayed on the boat the whole time), fellow divers Brian and Juan (visiting while on leave from the Army), dive Master in training Carlos and Dive Master Victor (who was also the photographer in the group).

We met early (7am) at the dock (located in the La Parguera marina area). After the usual paperwork, they had us take all our stuff out of our bags and put it into basket (1 per person) that they supplied. This is a great idea since it made getting geared up on the boat easier.

Since we were diving in open ocean, and the waves can get rough, we all set up our own BCs and tanks before leaving the dock. The crew gave us a brief boat orientation (they have a lot of safety equipment!) and then we headed out into the ocean.

The boat ride was approximately 30 minutes each way. The first 20 minutes are in a calm channel, then you head out into open seas where the waves pick up. Luckily it wasn’t too rough that day, but Ray was glad he took his Dramamine! Once at the first dive site, they gave us a dive briefing, then we got geared-up and jumped in!

The Diving

What can I say? It was fantastic! Diving the wall here was comparable to Cozumel, but without the current. The water was warm, the visibility was great — probably around 70 feet. There was a slight current on our second dive, but it was not too bad. We went during a rainy day, so unfortunately the sun was not out. I imagine, if the sun was out, the reefs would have been spectacular.

The first dive site is known as both Black Wall and Effrie’s. It was on the wall, starting at about 60 feet and from there it goes down to more than 200 feet. Of course, we only dove to about 85 feet and then worked our way back up. It was great. I found West Divers to be more safety conscious than many other dive companies I have dove with. For example, requested that you notify the divemaster when you were down to 1200 PSI and required a 5-minute safety stop. I have no issue with their procedures — better safe than dead! With that said, we were still able to get a 48-minute dive at that first site.

After a nice, long surface interval, we had our second dive at a site known as Old Buoy. Another nice wall dive, but of course shallower this time. Our maximum depth on this dive was about 60 feet. There were all sorts of canyons and trenches you could swim in. We stayed down only about 35 minutes, but I could have stayed all day!

At both sites, the walls and reefs were covered with fans, corals, sponges and all sorts of sea life. Everything was very colorful, healthy and alive.

Their Dive Boat

The boat was nice — it had room for about 12 divers (though that would be cozy). The whole back of the boat has a roof for sun and rain protection. They provide a storage box to keep your stuff (wallets, car keys, etc.) dry, and there is a small changing room below if you need it — but no head. There was a fresh-water hose for rinsing, buckets for cameras, and they supplied mask defogger.

By default, they swapped your gear onto a fresh tank between dives, but you could always do it yourself if you preferred. They helped during water entry (giant stride off the stern) and getting back onto the boat (ladder on the dive platform at the stern). They run a really nice operation.

They even had soda and water if you wanted, and delicious sandwiches during the surface interval as a between-dive snack. We were back on shore before 11:30am.

We already plan to head back there for more diving with them!

Details

Dives cost $80/person when there are 3 or more divers. They will go out with only 2 divers, but cost then is $100/person.

[tips]

You meet at the dock for morning dives at 7am and return to the dock before noon (depending on the dive sites, seas, etc.). They also do afternoon dives closer to shore. Reservations are required.

You can call them at 787-899-3223 for more information or to make a reservation.

You can visit their website for more information.

other info – has same bullet as website

Driving directions: Follow the signs for La Parguara. Continue on Route 304 to KM3.1, which is just after Towers Condominium. Park at the store. The dock is at the end of the street to the right (a short walk).

You can locate West Divers on our interactive island map.

This article is copyright © PuertoRicoDayTrips.com Travel Guide.

Stay at Coqui's Hideaway in the Rain Forest!

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We were at the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse a couple weeks ago and the panoramic views observation platform on top of the lighthouse were simply magnificent.

As I spun around, soaking it all in, I turned toward the north … and there it was … a white crescent beach with bright blue water. I was surprised to see one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in Puerto Rico.

Once we saw it, we knew we had to get over to explore it. We asked the lighthouse ranger about the beach and, he said lovingly, "Oh – the jacuzzi? That is La Playuela". Luckily there are trails that lead right to the beach from the lighthouse.

Lunch On the Beach & A Quick Swim

When we got to La Playuela, there were only 3 other small groups of people on the beach, so we had our choice of spots to set-up. We chose a nice spot under a tree with a little shade. We spread out our beach blanket, had our picnic lunch (that we had packed at home) and then took a short swim. The water was warm and the calm, since the beach is in a large, protected crescent. The sand was white and fine. The water had seagrass/seaweed along the surf line toward the ends of the beach, but the bottom was clean and soft toward the middle of the beach.

The views from the beach are spectacular — the lighthouse on the cliff to the right and more cliffs to the left. The water isn’t crystal clear — it has fine sand particles in it, making it turbid. But it is so nice. And the water here has high salinity, so your skin feels so soft when you come out! I have read that sometimes there are waves at this beach, but the day we went it was almost flat.

There are trails all around the beach, so you can walk around and find more great views. But be aware — it is hot, sunny and the limestone rocks are sharp. So take water, sunscreen, a hat, and sturdy shoes.

This beach is a favorite for off-the-beaten path locals and tourists alike. I imagine that this beach could get pretty busy on weekends and during the summer, just because it is so pretty there. Some people and travel guides incorrectly refer to this beach as Playa Sucia, which the ranger said was further inland, on the Bahia Sucia, in the nature reserve.

The Details

Both this beach and parking are free.

The beach is open during daylight hours.

There are no services (restrooms, showers, food, etc.) at this beach.

This is a remote beach. To get there, drive to the end of Route 301 (continue on the dirt road once the asphalt ends). You will eventually come to the parking for the lighthouse — at that point you want to take the road to the left. This road has huge pot hole/craters, so only drive as far as you feel comfortable then park and walk to the rest of the way to the beach.

You can locate La Playuela Beach on our Interactive Island Map

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Stay at Coqui's Hideaway in the Rain Forest!

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Located on top of 200-foot limestone cliffs overlooking the Caribbean Sea, the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse marks the south-west tip of Puerto Rico. Built in 1881 by the Spanish government, the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse (Faro Los Morrillos de Cabo Rojo and know locally as El Faro) uses the same building design as the Fajardo and Arecibo lighthouses. We have visited both of those other lighthouses, and it was kind of interesting to see how similar they all look.

The Cabo Rojo Lighthouse has been renovated/restored over the years. It is still operational and helps ships navigate safely through the Mona Passage from the Caribbean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

Unless you are really "into" lighthouses, I think you will be less than impressed with the lighthouse. In itself, it is small in scale. There is a permanent "art" exhibit plastered all over the inside of it that is less than appealing. You can walk up the spiral staircase that leads to the observation deck on the roof of the building, and there are some nice panoramic views of the surrounding area. There are "park rangers" there to welcome you and answer your questions.

More Than a Lighthouse

Though the lighthouse is interesting, the big attractions here are the incredible views from the limestone cliffs this lighthouse is built upon. Walk outside the fence of the lighthouse and you will be amazed at the beauty! Just be careful not to walk too close to the edge, since there is no guard rail and you can see where pieces of the cliff have broken off over time. We spent a lot of time here, just taking a million pictures from all the angles as we walked along the bluff. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

The other great thing about visiting this lighthouse is that you can see (and easily get to) a beautiful coved beach called La Playuela. You need to plan to spend some time on that beach, too. The water there is warm, calm and it is just beautiful.

Getting to this lighthouse is part of the fun. You have to drive past the salt flats on Route 301, at which point the road changes from asphalt to packed dirt. The dirt road is rutted and full of potholes, but it is still passable in a regular vehicle. Just drive around any big, water-filled holes (you never know how deep they are).

We parked at the first "parking-lot-looking" area and walked up the cement driveway to the lighthouse. There are other paths that eventually lead up to the lighthouse, if you are in the mood to do some walking/hiking on rock in the full sun. The parking is a considerable distance from the lighthouse — maybe ½ mile. So wear a hat, bring water and mosquito repellent.

Details

Admission to the lighthouse is free.

The lighthouse is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00am to 3:30pm.

You should allow an hour to see the lighthouse and walk around the grounds. Allow more time in the area if you want to visit nearby attractions like La Playuela Beach or the Salt Flats.

You can call 787-255-1560 for more information.

To get there, take Route 301 in the Cabo Rojo area all the way to the end.

You can locate the Cabo Rojo Lighthouse on our Interactive Island Map

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Waterfalls are facinating — they are beautiful, powerful and natural. With a mountain range (the Cordillera Central) that runs through the middle of the Puerto Rico, we get a lot of rain that falls on those peaks, resulting in a number of waterfalls across the island. Many of them require hiking in forests and wading rivers to get to see them. But Dona Juana Waterfall is right along the road. How much easier can it get?

Dona Juana Waterfall it is a beauty! Called a number of different things by the locals (salto, charro or cascada), Dona Juana is probably the largest waterfall I have seen in Puerto Rico up to this point in time. If I had to guess, I’d say it is about 100 feet tall from the top. It’s actually composed of a series of 3 waterfalls.

You can swim in under the falls by climbing down on either the right or left-hand side of the bridge. Water was pretty clean and clear.

Unfortunately, there was a some trash around from past visitors. I would expect these falls to be crowded on weekends and in the summer.

This waterfall makes a nice, cooling stop on the way to Jayuya to see the Taino sites or hiking in Toro Negro Forest.

How to Get There

The falls are located on Route 149 at KM 41.5. On a Monday morning, it took us 1½ hours to drive from Rio Grande to Exit 91 (Juana Diaz) off of Route 52, then another 45 minutes (on twisting/turning roads) from the exit to get to Dona Juana Falls. There is parking on the right-hand side of the road just before falls.

You can locate Dona Juan Falls on our Interactive Island Map

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While doing research for a recent trip to the south-west of Puerto Rico, I found that a day trip to Gilligan’s Island was on everyone’s "must-do" list. Gilligan’s Island (the official name is Cayo Aurora) is a little speck of land about a mile off the coast of Guánica. It’s popular with locals and tourists who want to "get away" from civilization for a few hours.

The Island

Gilligan’s Island (sometimes referred to as Guilligan Island by locals) is a small island managed by the Departmento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA) — that’s Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural Resources. The island is part of the Biosphere Reserve of Guánica.

It has a few SMALL, sandy beaches, but it is mostly covered with mangrove trees. There is a small beach on the north-west side of the island that has a roped-off swimming area that is marked with buoys to protect swimmers and snorkelers from watercraft. This area has some nice coral formations and is good for snorkeling. The water around the island is crystal clear and warm. The bottom is sandy and you can swim all around and through the mangrove channels.

There are a number of picnic pavilions (all pretty close to one another) on the north side of the island, some with BBQ pits, changing huts, a composting bathroom and trash cans. There is a pier for boats to tie onto when loading/unloading passengers. And there are millions of hungry mosquitoes — bring bug spray and apply generously!

Our Trip

We decided to kayak over, so we rented kayaks in Guanica, and started off. It took us about 20 minutes to kayak to the island. The kayaking was not difficult as there are not large waves or anything between the mainland and the little out-islands (at least not when we went). When we got to Gilligan’s island, there were some DRNA employees there, but no one else. We had the island to ourselves. We left our kayaks right at the pier and began exploring.

Our exploration lasted about 5 minutes — there are only a couple trails through the trees and very few open areas where you could set up your beach camp. After applying copious amounts of bug spray, we spread out our beach blanket on the small beach to the right of the pier (the north west corner of the island).

We went snorkeling off that corner of the island and along the western side. It was really nice — the sea floor was covered with underwater hills of finger coral. Tons of it! All alive and healthy. There were a decent number of fish here, also — puffer fish, barracuda, and those big red starfish. We snorkeled up and down this side a few times, just enjoying the experience.

We did notice a few fishermen in boats, conch hunters and spear fishermen right in the reef areas where we were snorkeling. It was a little sad to see they were not conserving the waters around this natural spot.

While we were there, the ferry brought another couple over, but they chose to stay in the mangrove channel area. We saw them later in the day as we set off in our kayaks to see the other side of the island. We kayaked through the channels to explore the southern side of the island and found more sea grass on that side. There was a reef on the south side, but the Caribbean sea crashing on it and it didn’t look like an ideal spot to try snorkeling.

After checking out the south side, we kayaked over to see the other little islands out there (Isla Ballena and another smaller one) and then kayaked back home. All in all, we spent about 4 hours on this excursion.

Logistics

We rented kayaks at MaryLee’s by the Sea. They have both double and single kayaks available. If you have enough people, they have a motor boat that will take you over to Gilligan’s Island. They charge $15/hour or $35/day for double kayaks, and $10/hour or $25/day for single kayaks.

There is an hourly ferry that departs from San Jacinto Restaurant (located just after turn) for $7/person plus tax. This restaurant will deliver a lunch to you on the island if you want. Their phone number is 787-821-4941. There are also a few other places in that area that offer boat trips during busier periods — just look for their signs.

Other Info & Some Thoughts

It was a bit unnerving to be snorkeling with the fishing boats and spear-fishermen hunting right there. But they were aware of us and moved through the area slowly. I would like to see the DRNA section this area off to protect the snorkelers and conserve the fish & coral formations.

We went on a Tuesday morning during low season and the island was basically empty. But on weekends, and especially in the summer and on holidays, it must be a ZOO! The island has limited space.

There are mooring buoys for boats to tie onto right at the island.

The island was clean. Please help keep it that way by using the trash cans and/or taking all your trash home with you at the end of the day.

Some people we talked to snorkeled in the mangrove channels and saw just a few fish. They have placed artificial reefs in the channels to encourage more fish/marine life.

You have to bring everything you want to eat/drink/use while you are there as there are not shops nor restaurants. Glass containers are not permitted on the island.

Bottom Line

Though Gilligan’s Island was nice, personally, I don’t see what the attraction would be for non-snorkelers or non-kayakers. There are many more beautiful beaches and even better snorkeling areas, in the south-west. We had a nice quiet day, but I would avoid it like the plague during busy times (like weekends in July)!

Details

Gilligan’s Island is open daily from 9am – 5pm. It’s closed Mondays (except holiday Mondays, when it is open).

Take Route 333. Go past Cana Gorda and make the right turn after passing CopaMarina resort. You can follow the signs for MaryLee’s by the Sea if you want to rent kayaks.

You can Gilligan’s Island on our Interactive Island Map

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