El Yunque, Puerto Rico Rainforest
In Spanish, “el yunque” means “the anvil,” named for the powerful lightening that sweeps the rainforest during storms. El Yunque gets up to 200 inches of rain annually, making mudslides and flash floods a potential hazard.
El Yunque National Rainforest is the only rainforest in the US Forest Service system. Located around part of the Luquillo Mountains range in Puerto Rico, it occupies only a small 28,000 acre part of the island. Some of the main features of the rainforest are Sierra Palms and parasitic plants known as epiphytes. here are 240 native tree species–23 of them found only in El Yunque–50 native orchids and 150 types of ferns.
There are no poisonous snakes, but watch out for stinging nettles plants.
La Coca Falls
Right by the roadside, this 85 foot falls provides an opportunity for lazy tourists to snap photos. The more energetic can climb the rocks to get right up to the fall’s face.
The Trails
If you enjoy hiking, you have a large number of options:
| Trail Name | Length | Time (One Way) | Difficulty | Min / Max Elevation |
| El Yunque | 2.4 miles | 2 hours | Challenging | 2,067 to 3,445 feet |
| Caimitillo | .2 miles | 20 minutes | Moderate | 2,067 to 2,427 feet |
| Baño de Oro | .3 miles | 20 minutes | Moderate | 2,132 to 2,362 feet |
| Enlace / Spur Mt. Britton | .3 miles | 10 minutes | Easy | 2,788 to 2,952 feet |
| Los Picachos | .2 miles | 8 minutes | Easy | 2,952 to 3,051 feet |
| Roca El Yunque | .1 miles | 7 minutes | Easy | 3,379 to 3,412 feet |
| Mt. Britton | .8 miles | 40 minutes | Challenging | 2,493 to 3,087 feet |
Plaza las Americas
I don’t know why Plaza Las Américas has a 4.5 star rating on yahoo travelguide. It’s a big mall; if you’ve ever been to a 300+ store mall before, there’s nothing new here. If it’s your first time to a city with a big mall, maybe you’d be amazed and love it, but otherwise there’s little to set the Puerto Rico mall apart from a stateside one. The mall has been around for over 40 years, has a fire department and two police stations, and three big outlet anchor stores (JCPenny, Sears, Macy’s).
Hours
It’s open 9AM to 9PM every day, and 11 to 7 PM on Sundays.
Fountains
I did find their animated fountains interesting. They have a turtle and manatee which gyrate in streams of water. Peaceful visitors perch candidly on the ledges surrounding the fountains and chitchat.
There are some cool dangly metal sculptures that hang here and there from the ceiling too:
More Puerto Rico
Check out these other posts in the Puerto Rico travelblog series:
Puerto Rico Museum of Art
The Puerto Rico Art Museum is a fantastic way to burn a few afternoon hours. Located on 299 Ave José de Diego, just a few blocks from Plaza las Americas shopping mall, el Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico is open Tuesday – Sunday from 10/11 – 5/6 PM (check the website for hours). For just $11 you can see both the regular exhibit and a special exhibit of Campeche.
Regular Exhibition
The permanent collection consists of some 1,100 works of art in various media. A small sample is available at the permanent collection gallery. One of my favorites is Sobrecielo (2000), by Ada Bobonis, which features dried flowers hanging from a ceiling in waves of different colors, illuminated by a long light:
Sculpture Garden
Outside, a large garden and a dozen sculptures await. This is the only place in the museum which permits photography, so I took a few photos while I was there. I also bumped into a couple taking a romantic stroll!
Special Exhibition
Currently showing Campeche alive: 200 years later, a collection of 17 works reinterpreting the art of José Campeche. Campeche, a puertorican who lived from 1701 to 1780, painted many church scenes as well as famous portraits, such as of governor Ustariz.
Check the future exhibitions page for more information going forward.
More Puerto Rico
Check out these other posts in the Puerto Rico travelblog series: