Riding The Rain Forests Of Puerto Rico

Tropical rain forests, as their names suggests, are located in the world's equatorial zones between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.  Countries with great swathes of rain forests include Australia, Brazil, Borneo, Congo, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and The Philippines.

These tropical havens are home to half of the world's animal and plant species by way of thousands of eco systems, many of which are highly protected by their country's governments or other conservation bodies.

However there are also just as many rain forests around the world which are not protected at all leading to these areas being pillaged by logging, oil and mining companies. The unscrupulous work ethics of these companies have led to mass deforestation, soil erosion, the exploitation of local communities and the loss of hundreds of animal and plant habitats.

Due to this there is much debate from conservationists as to whether tourists should be encouraged to visit rain forests, especially as most of the world’s rain forest access roads were originally constructed by these large multi - national companies.  
 

Therefore there is really only one rainforest road which I feel happy to advocate on this blog and that is Puerto Rico's PR191 which travels through the United State's only tropical rain forest, the 28, 434 acre El Yunque National Forest, also listed as the Bosque Nacional El Yunque or the Caribbean National Forest. 

This tropical moist broadleaf forest eco region has been officially protected by law since 1876 and for a thousand years before that was a revered sacred and holy place of the island’s indigenous people the Taino Indians, making the forest, which was named after the 1,080 meter high El Yunque Mountain located in the rugged Liquilla Mountain Range, one of the world’s true virgin rain forests which actively encourages responsible visitors.  

  

Showing the location of El Yunque National Forest

 

The PR191 begins in the township of Palmer just outside the city of Rio Grande, which is located 39 kilometers east of the island’s capital city San Juan along interstate highway PR3.

The road terminates in the small town of Naguabo, where it links with rural highway PR31. 

The road travels for only 13 kilometers through the rain forest but passes several designated observation points and picnic areas, links with six designated walking trails, spans the forest’s Mameyes River and offers visitors access to the El Portal Tropical Rain Forest Centre and the Palo Colorado Information Centre.

The road also gives access to the 937 meter high Mount Britten and provides some fine views, when it’s not raining or covered in low cloud, of the surrounding five mountain peaks of Cerro Punto, La Mina de Pantolones, El Pico Del Oeste, El Cacique and the island’s highest mountain the 1,232 meter high El Toro Negro.  

The forest is open daily between 07.30hrs and 18.00hrs

For more information about the forest visit - www.fs.usda.gov/elyunque    

Showing Puerto Rico's PR1, PR2 & PR3 Highways

  

El Toro Negro is home to Puerto Rico's highest cloud forest, the Toro Negro State Forest, located in the country's Cordillera Central mountain range. The cloud forest has ten small hiking trails which cover around 18 kilometers and offers visitors daily guided walks. The forest is also home to a designated camp site.  
The cloud forest can be accessed by way of Puerto Rico's famous Ruta Panoramico, a 167 mile / 269 km scenic route which crosses the island from west to east across it's interior. The road lies between the towns of Mayaguez, which can be accessed from the island's PR2 highway and Maunabo, which can be accessed from the island's PR3 highway. The road is made up of forty rural highways which also pass through the island's Maricao State Forest and the Carite (Guauate) State Forest.   

A detailed map of Puerto Rico

Found below is a list of all Puerto Rico's twenty one protected forests - 

Aguirre State Forest - 2,390 acres.

Boqueron State Forest - 4,630 acres. 

Cambalache State Forest - 1,019 acres.

Carite State Forest - 6,499.

Ceiba State Forest - 352 acres. 

Cerillos State Forest - 194 acres. 

El Yunque National Forest - 28.000 acres.

Guajataca State Forest - 2,286.

Guanica State Forest - 10,670 acres.

Guilarte State Forest - 4,816 acres.

Los Tres Pichachos State Forest - 2,289 acres. 

Maricao State Forest - 10,478 acres.

Monte Choca State Forest - 238 acres.

Pinones State Forest - 1,515 acres.

Pueblo State Forest - 737 acres.

Rio Abajo State Forest - 5,607 acres. 

San Patricio State Forest - 68 acres.

Susua State Forest - 3,241 acres.

Toro Negro State Forest - 7,968 acres.

Urbano del Nuevo Milenio State Forest - 388 acres. 

Vega State Forest - 1,150 acres. 

Puerto Rico is also home to three national parks - 
The San Juan National Historic Site, located along the shore and in the old quarter of the island's capital city San Juan. 
The Marquesa Forest Reserve, a six hundred acre forest landscape located at Guaynabo, twenty minutes south of San Juan, which provides unique aeriel tram and zip wire tours of the area known as Canopy Tours. 
Camuy Cave Park - Parque Las Cavernas Rio Camuy - a 268 acre park which is the world's third largest cave system consisting of over ten miles of underground caverns located along the route of the subterranean River Camuy. The park also includes 220 caves, three sink holes, a visitor centre and several viewing platforms.The park is open from 08.00hrs - 16.00 hrs every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The park has seventeen entrances located in and around the townships of Camuy, Hatillo and Lares but it's main entrance is actually located at Quebrada near Camuy.      
                      

El Yunque
Image courtesy of Stan Shebs, wikimedia commons

                                        

Puerto Rico, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States, is the smallest of the islands which make up the Greater Antilles island chain and is located where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. 
The island is home to 95,569 acres of protected forestry by way of one national forest, one forest reserve and twenty state forests. 

The island experiences year round temperatures along it’s lower elevations of between 21 – 32 degrees centigrade and year round temperatures along it’s higher elevations of between 16 – 27 degrees centigrade.

The island’s rainy season occurs between April and November, where the island also experiences very high humidity levels. The island’s hurricane season occurs during August, September and October and the island’s driest, coolest and least humid months are between December through to March. 
    

The Coca Falls

  

If you are considering camping in Puerto Rico try and stay at a designated or governmental run camp site as these are much safer, many have guards, and they will also provide more in the way of services. Several of these camp sites also provide visitor centres, guided walks and fishing trips. 

The island has some beautiful scenic roads, especially along it’s coast, but beware, many of the older roads on the island are very narrow, it’s mountainous roads are liable to landslides during the rainy season and local drivers are known to be quite reckless.  

The speed limit in Puerto Rico is 60 miles an hour and traffic drives on the right hand side of the road.

Distances are sign posted in kilometers but speed restrictions are signposted in miles per hour, so do get used to this unusual practice.

Gas/petrol in Puerto Rico is sold by the litre only. 

Car theft is common in Puerto Rico but all hire cars are fitted with anti – theft devices.

Car hire is cheap and available by way of all the well known international car hire companies and can be obtained from the country’s three international airports and in it’s larger cities.

Car hire is available to anyone over the age of 21 but drivers between 21 and 25 will have to pay a premium. 

Don’t forget to bring along your passport and driving license when applying for car hire, this applies to American citizens as well as foreign nationals.  



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