Aside from being the largest dedicated forest area in Puerto Rico, El Yunque National Forest’s claim to fame is that it is the only rainforest within the US National Forest System.
View from El Yokahu Tower
Located between San Juan and Fajardo, El Yunque makes an ideal day trip.
Considering the dire financial situation of the Forest System, I fully expected the facilities to be antiquated or at least a bit run-down.
Boy, was I wrong! The towering Visitor’s Center was spotless and appeared to be only a few years old.
Throughout the rainforest, well-maintained hiking trails made it a breeze to get around.
To be honest, El Yunque was better cared for than many National Parks in the continental US.
Not to mention, it was stunning and we nearly had the entire forest to ourselves.
Beautiful photos of a wonderful place! We were in El Yunque a few years ago and were also surprised how scenic and peaceful it was. We loved hearing the coqui sounds as we hiked to the waterfalls. Glad you enjoyed it too.
I loved the sound of the coqui! Although I completely thought it was birds at first.
Gorgeous!!! I have always wanted to visit Puerto Rico, but this post has me wanting to go even more. What a special place. Thanks for sharing it.
Happy New Year! Hope that 2012 brings you more grand adventures and lots of peace and joy!
Happy New Year to you too! Can’t wait to see what you get up to in 2012!