The Ultimate Guide to El Yunque

Jan 11

Written By Brik

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El Yunque is the ONLY tropical rainforest located within the United States. It is full of incredible fauna, flora, and history. It is no wonder why it receives as many as 600k visitors a year.

BEFORE GETTING TO EL YUNQUE

Number one: Because of the COVID pandemic, the National Park Service has implemented a ticket system to make sure that the park does not get overcrowded. To book your ticket you just need to visit recreation.gov and search for El Yunque. There you will choose the option called El Yunque Reservations that will take you to a different page where you will click on "Book Now". Select the day you are planning to visit el Yunque and the amount of cars you'll be arriving in. It is important to note that one ticket accounts for one car. You can fit as many people you'd like into a car. You also have to pick a time slot in which you will be arriving at the park. You can choose between 8AM - 11AM and 12PM - 3PM. What this means is that if you pick the 8AM - 11AM time slot, you can arrive at the entrance gate anywhere within that time slot, and you can stay till the park closes at 6PM. The same applies to the 12PM - 3PM time slot. We suggest if you really want to see everything, you shouldn't arrive later than 12PM. Once you arrive at the entrance, give your name to the park rangers, and you're in! If you want to be extra careful, make sure you have the copy of your ticket saved as a photo on your phone since phone coverage can be choppy in the mountains.

Second thing to keep in mind before coming to el Yunque is what things you should bring with you. Keep in mind you are visiting a rainforest so at any moment you could get a good amount of rain pouring on you, so you want to find ways to keep your things completely dry. Using a dry bag is a great way to keep your snacks, water, towel and electronics dry. Alternatively, you can use a backpack rain cover that fits around your backpack. And we also suggest bringing a rain jacket to keep yourself dry. If you are planning on visiting any trail, we highly recommend using boots or sneakers that completely protect your feet from the rocky and muddy terrain. Lastly, if you plan on getting into any of the ponds or waterfalls at el Yunque you'd want to bring an extra set of clothing with you that you keep in your car to change into once you leave El Yunque.

Ok! You've got your entrance ticket, your bag full of the essentials and the day has come for you to visit el Yunque. Great! If you're coming from the metro area near San Juan, getting to el Yunque is a quick one hour drive if you take Route 66. Keep in mind that this route does have tolls so make sure your vehicle has the toll pass necessary to go through them. If you are renting a car, make sure you understand how the rental company manages these tolls during your rental period. If you're on a budget or just want to skip on the tolls, the trip can go up from ten to half an hour more of travel time, depending on the traffic. This is especially important when you are coming back to the metro area after you trip since many locals and tourists alike are coming back to the metro area in the afternoon.

You followed the trusty Google Maps and you've finally arrived at the access control gate at el Yunque! Great! Now, where do I go?

La Coca Waterfall El Yunque — LA COCA FALLS

Your very first stop should be the beautiful La Coca Falls, an 85 feet waterfall that cascades onto an impressive rock formation. This is the perfect spot to take photos and videos, though during the high season it can get very crowded. You can get closer to the fall by going up a trail next to it, but be careful because it can get very slippery.

Next stop on the list is the Yokahú Tower. Located a few minutes drive from La Coca Falls, the Yokahú Tower offers impressive views of El Yunque. But unfortunately, due to the Hurricane Irma and María that affected the island in September of 2017, this tower is temporarily closed. But the good news is that there is another observation tower located a little further up that offers even more breathtaking views.

Juan Diego Falls, El Yunque — JUAN DIEGO FALLS

Your next stop after the Yokahú Tower is definitely one of the lesser known attractions of El Yunque, the Juan Diego Falls. This is a small collection of unique ponds and waterfalls that get more and more breathtaking the further up you go on the trail. If you’d like to visit Juan Diego Falls make sure to park in the designated areas on the side of the main street. Go up the trail and you'll find that it ends at a picturesque waterfall, but if you look to your right you'll find a steeper trail that leads to another breathtaking waterfall that cascades over a dark rock formation.

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After you visit Juan Diego Falls your next stop would have been La Mina Falls. This small yet impressive waterfall used to be one of the main attractions of El Yunque. On a normal day, visitors could be seen lounging around on the rocks and enjoying water falling on their shoulders. But unfortunately, this attraction has faced the same fate as the Yokahú Tower and is currently closed to the public due to damages caused by the hurricanes.

But, in the same area where you'd find the La Mina Trail you can find the El Yunque Trail and el Baño Grande, or the Big Baths. El Baño Grande is an 18ft deep man made pool that was built during the time of the great depression. It was in continuous use from 1936 to 1968 when it was closed permanently because of safety concerns. However, now visitors can admire the lush greenery and beauty of this scenic spot.

If you came to el Yunque for a hiking experience, you need to start from el Yunque trail. This is approximately a three hour long journey, in a moderate pace, up to the peak of El Yunque. After you reach the peak, you can come back down the same trail or once you've reached the peak of El Yunque walk down the paved road. This will lead you to the Mt. Britton Trail. Walking down this trail will lead you to another paved road which takes you to your parking area near the El Yunque Trail. Just be careful with traffic when walking next to the street after you finish the Mt. Britton Trail.

If you are looking for a shorter route to the peak of El Yunque, you are in luck. If you drive up the street past the El Yunque Trail you will eventually get to the beginning of the Mt. Britton Trail. This trial will get you to the Mt. Britton Tower and is part of a one hour and a half hike up to the peak of el Yunque.

As I mentioned earlier, the Mt. Britton Tower is currently open to the public and I highly suggest you come up to breath in some fresh air while admiring the amazing 360 degree view of the north, east and south of Puerto Rico. If for some reason, clouds are blocking the view, just be patient and wait a couple of minutes. The clouds will move along, revealing this breathtaking landscape.

Moving along on your journey to the peak of el Yunque, you need to come down from Mt. Britton and continue up the Mt. Britton Spur which will turn into the El Yunque Trail. You will know you are nearing the peak when you see La Roca, a rock that is teetering over a cliff that offers an even more impressive view of Puerto Rico. This is the perfect spot to take photos and videos, but I also want to advise everyone to be very careful when climbing onto this area since it is close by to a cliff. If you don't take the right precautions, you could slip and take a seriously dangerous fall. After stopping at La Roca you want to head back up the trail to finish your adventure. The trail will lead you to a paved road, which you should walk up till you reach the peak of el Yunque.

If you find yourself at the end of the paved road, congratulations! You've reached the peak of El Yunque! El Yunque peak is one of the highest mountains of Puerto Rico standing at 3,540 ft above sea level, the highest being Cerro Punta in Ponce, standing at 4,356 ft. Here at the peak of El Yunque you want to check out the historic lookout tower, which kind of looks like a church, but was actually used as a radar tower during World War II.

Like I mentioned before, to head back to the beginning of the Mt. Britton Trail where you left your car, you can either go back down the trail, or you can walk down the paved road which is much faster and easier. Which is what we're going to do today. (movement transition) When you reach Mt. Britton just go back down the Mt. Britton trail and you're back to where you started!

And that's the end of your day at el Yunque! Now, here are the bonus tips I promised to make this trip even better!

If you want to spend a whole day at el Yunque you really do need to have a good breakfast so make sure to stop by Street 955 in Rio Grande. There you'll find great food options for breakfast and lunch, including my personal favorite, Puertorrican Bakery and Lluvia if you're looking for some delicious coffee.

Also, after all this hiking you will probably be starving! We suggest before going back to the metro area, you should stop by the Kioskos de Luquillo. This is a street completely lined by restaurants and bars right next to each other. There you can find all kinds of Puerto Rican street food like alcapurrias, bacalaitos, pastelillos, and all sorts of seafood. Disclaimer, this place can get very very crowded with locals! But that's how you know it is really that good. If you're interested, I'll probably make a complete travel guide covering the Kioskos de Luquillo later on in this channel.

And that’s it! I hope you found this travel guide helpful. Make sure to check out my YouTube channel, Brik’s Travel Guides, to see the full video of this and other Puerto Rico travel guides.

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