With the power out all over the island, many Puerto Ricans woke up Thursday (9/22) morning in the smothering heat without air conditioning. Since most businesses were closed, people had the day off and needed to find a way to cool off. So everyone flocked to the beach, but Rob and I had different plans. We’ve been wanting to visit El Yunque National Forest since we arrived in Puerto Rico. What better way to beat the heat than to hike up into the clouds and swim under waterfalls?
El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the US Forest System and is located about 45 minutes west of San Juan. We arrived around 8:30am and we were the first ones in the park. It felt like a scene from Jurassic Park as we drove through the thick, lush forest without another car in sight.
El Yunque Peak
We decided to hike to El Yunque peak first. We wanted to summit before the afternoon clouds and thunderstorms rolled in. The trail begins across the street from the Palo Colorado Information Center near the Bano Grande pool. This natural infinity pool was developed as a swimming area, but is now closed to the public. The first thing we noticed on the trail was the large number of orchids and air plants. I love air plants and we always have a few on the boat, but these were MASSIVE.
When we were near the top of the peak, we came to a junction with Las Picachos trail. Since we weren’t in a hurry we decided to take it out and back. It led us to an old observation tower, where we had great views of the park. We continued hiking up El Yunque trail and eventually reached the peak and another observation tower. However, we couldn’t see much from the look out, we were engulfed in the clouds.
On our way back down, we took Mount Britton Spur trail which eventually reconnected with El Yunque trail. Our hike was 6 miles round trip with 1500 feet elevation gain and took us about 3 hours.
Juan Diego Falls
After the hike, we were hot and sweaty and needed to cool off. We took a short trail to Juan Diego Falls. The lower falls is about 15 feet tall and is picture perfect. When we arrived there were a handful of people swimming at it’s base. We decided to continue up to the upper falls. Though it’s a little more difficult to get to, the upper falls is about 40 feet tall and absolutely gorgeous. We had it all to ourselves, so we took our time swimming and taking pictures. It was a perfect way to relax after a long hike.
Rio Espiritu Santo Waterfall
The second time we visited El Yunque, we decided to explore Road 186 in the rainforest. Shortly after entering the park, we came upon Rio Espiritu Santo Waterfall. The waterfall is visible from the road, but requires some scrambling over rocks to get a good view at the base. This area was incredibly peaceful. We could have stayed the entire afternoon, but we had the pups with us and they were anxious to do some hiking.
La Coca Trail
We returned to Road 191 in El Yunque and decided to hike La Coca Trail. The trail is only 1.8 miles (3.6 miles roundtrip), but it is steep in some places and very muddy. We were slipping and sliding the entire way downhill. Maybe that’s why this trail isn’t very popular. We only saw one other couple on the trail, but they turned around after about a ½ mile. Most of the day we spent hiking in the rainforest with no one else nearby. There are three river crossing on this trail with small waterfalls located at each crossing. We took the time to swim and play in a few, but we’ll have to return to check out the ones we missed. The pups loved that they were able to tag along on this visit, but by the end, they were exhausted and ready for a nap.
You could spend a week in El Yunque and not see it all. We only got to see a small slice of it during our two visits and we were in awe of its beauty. Despite being a major tourist attraction there are still many places where you can find isolation in the forest, if you’re willing to hike a little or travel off the beaten path. The rivers, cascades, and waterfalls are breathtaking. And there are few things more peaceful than sitting next to a waterfall, listening to the flowing water and staring out into the lush green forest.
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