"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountain is going home; that wildness is necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life".John Muir
...So... we decided to go to a fountain of life!!!
Prior to our visit to the beautiful Caguas Mountain for our hiking and ziplining adventure, we toured and explored the El Yunque National Forest on our first day in Puerto Rico
El Yunque National Forest is the only tropical rain forest in the US National Parks system
We drove from San Juan airport to the most amazing El Yunque Rainforest. The drive is beautiful and it took us about 45 minutes. All the signs are in Spanish, which was not a hindrance at all.
We made a quick stop at Palmer Bakery which is on the road to the rainforest in the city of Palmer. We packed some lunch and were geared up for our rainforest exploration to begin.
El Yunque National Forest
We skipped the visitor’s center since I had a printout of the map and we headed to our first stop
La Coca falls at KM 8.1
We parked our car and walked to La Coca Falls. It’s a fall that can be seen from the road and there is no hiking required to enjoy this beautiful glistening waterfall. We did some rock climbing to get up close and personal with the beautiful falls.
 |
| Little one in training |
Yokahu Observation Tower at KM 8.9
Our next stop was KM 8.9 to Yokahu Observation Tower. The tower is a must climb (about 100 steps) for all to enjoy the Rainforest views. As soon as we were ready to head down from the tower it started raining and it was extremely beautiful. Rainfall in the Rainforest and views from the tower - perfect timing, so we stayed a little longer in the tower enjoying the wonderful views
We had our lunch in the serene and beautiful rainforest watching the pitter patter rainfall.. and then we headed to our next spot ...
La Mina Falls at KM 12.2
This is the most popular trail in El Yunque. It has a drop in elevation from 2100ft to 1640ft. The trail is rated ‘challenging’ in difficulty by the US Forest Services, with a narrow path and a series of steps along the trail. As soon as we started the trail, we were immersed in the beauty of the rainforest
The trail is paved and well-maintained making the footing much easier.
The rainforest scenery is beautiful and we passed through a lot of small waterfalls that was so picturesque.
To be so up and close to La Mina waterfall is a wonderful experience.. We loved it !!!
Juan Diego at KM 9.8
This is a hidden treasure. Its not touristy and popular. We were the only one's here and it was magnificent. To reach this secluded spot, we had to do some rock climbing for about 10 minutes. Its not paved and the climb into the wilderness is a quintessential rainforest hike. We could hear the coqui frogs as we hiked to the falls and my toddler totally loved it.
The crescendo of joy the beautiful El Yunque rainforest immersed us in is unexplicable. We then drove to our resort in Fajardo and, at night we all slept peacefully with a smile on our face and with an unforgettable memory in our life.
A break in the rainforest is SO worth it!!!!
