We left the beach this morning to explore the El Yunque Rainforest. It's the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest Service. With an average rainfall of 120 inches a year, it has a very diverse ecosystem, hosting hundreds of unique plant and animal species, including the island’s famous coquí frog.
There is a large system of hiking trails with varying levels of difficulty. Some lead to observation towers that give you amazing views of the lush green forest overlooking tree tops and the blue water of the northern coastline. Other hikes lead to waterfalls with natural pools you can swim in.
Unfortunately a lot of the trails have not reopened since Hurricane Marie. They're working hard to get them cleared and ready for the public to use them again. We did get to see Juan Diego and La Coca Falls and Yokahu and Mt. Britton Towers. The only hike we did was to Mt. Britton Tower...it was enough for today. See our stats for the day. We didn't hike far but we climbed a lot.
This peak reminded me of El Capitan at Yosemite.
La Coca Falls
Juan Diego Falls
Yokahu Tower
Views from Yokahu Tower
Looking towards Fajardo
Mt. Britton Tower
Climbing up the tower...it was a very very windy day.
Views from Mt. Britton Tower
We could see Fajardo and the peninsula we hiked to La Zanja from the tower.
Our stats for the day...look at the flights we climbed.
El Yunque Rainforest map.
Unfortunately a lot of the trails have not reopened since Hurricane Marie. They're working hard to get them cleared and ready for the public to use them again. We did get to see Juan Diego and La Coca Falls and Yokahu and Mt. Britton Towers. The only hike we did was to Mt. Britton Tower...it was enough for today. See our stats for the day. We didn't hike far but we climbed a lot.
This peak reminded me of El Capitan at Yosemite.
We celebrated Valentine's Day this evening with a nice dinner at a place called Pasion por el Fogon.
Your photos from the past couple of days show a surprising amount of undeveloped land. I think many Americans like me assume Puerto Rico is densely populated and crowded.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your posts.
Puerto Rico is an amazing place...everyone from the states should come and see for themselves. Beautiful people, beautiful beaches...clean and modern towns. I've been very impressed. We will definitely came back and stay longer.
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