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Puerto Rico Day 5: El Yunque National Forest

29 December 2021 • 190 km / 118 mi (map)

  • Added to Eric Scouten :: Travel on 6 January 2022
  • Puerto Rico 9

We left San Juan this morning, rented a car, and explored the tropical rain forest in El Yunque National Forest.

A sweeping view from the lush, forested mountains of El Yunque National Forest looking out over rolling green hills toward the distant blue Atlantic coastline, under a bright blue sky filled with puffy white clouds.

Today’s highlight was the hike up the trail to the tower at Mount Britton.

by Lisa Rozmyn
A large palm frond seen from below against a pale gray sky, its leaflets showing green centers with yellowing and brown, blighted tips and edges. More palm foliage fills the background in the tropical forest.
A misty, cloud-shrouded view over the forested peaks of El Yunque National Forest, with a young palm tree and lush green tropical foliage in the foreground beneath a heavy overcast sky.
A gravel footpath winds uphill through lush tropical rainforest, flanked by tall grasses, ferns, and palm and tree-fern fronds under an overcast gray sky.
A grove of tall sierra palms and dense green undergrowth line a paved trail winding through the rainforest, set against an overcast pale gray sky.

Once we got to the top, the view would have been amazing but for the wind and clouds …

A dirt path lined with stones leads through dense tropical rainforest toward a stone tower with an arched, doorway-like opening, framed by palm fronds and moss-covered tree trunks.
View through an arched stone window at Torre Britton, its rough interior walls tinged with green moss, looking out onto a lush tropical scene of palm fronds and dense green foliage.
A misty rainforest canopy shrouded in thick fog, with lush green palm fronds in the foreground and forested hilltops fading into the haze beyond.

Thankfully, some sky poked through before we headed back down the hill:

by Lisa Rozmyn

On our way out of the park, we explored the once-popular bathing grounds at El Baño Grande. The swimming grounds were closed in 1968 and transitioned to a tourist site:

A concrete walkway with tubular metal railings runs alongside a wet stone-cobbled retaining wall in a lush tropical rainforest, with bright green tree ferns and dense foliage crowding the slope below.
Lush tropical greenery cascades over a wet brown rock face, with long strap-like fronds and broad leaves hanging down against the mossy, damp stone in a rainforest setting.
by Lisa Rozmyn
A calm green pond ringed by a low stone wall and a wooden-railed bridge, set in lush rainforest with tall palm trees and dense tropical foliage under an overcast, misty sky.
A lush tropical rainforest valley in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico, with dense green foliage and palm fronds in the foreground giving way to forested mountain ridges beneath a heavy, overcast gray sky.

Our final visit as we departed was at the Yokahú Tower.

by Lisa Rozmyn
A tall cylindrical stone observation tower with castle-like crenellations at its top and small arched windows, rising against a cloudy gray sky in a lush tropical rainforest. A concrete walkway leads toward it through dense green vegetation and palm trees, with forested mountains visible in the distance.
Two small arched windows with mint-green domed metal hoods and grated glass panes set into a weathered wall streaked with rust-brown and patches of white lichen and mold, at Yokahú Tower in El Yunque National Forest.
by Lisa Rozmyn
A misty, tree-covered mountain ridge in a tropical rainforest, its slopes densely packed with lush green foliage and tree ferns, with an exposed grey rock cliff face on the peak’s side. Low clouds and fog fill the pale sky above and drift over the distant hills.

After leaving the park, we drove to Salinas where we spent the night at Marina de Salinas. The restaurant offered nice water views and good food, but the room was shall we say … minimally … furnished.

San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Salinas, Puerto Rico · 190 km / 118 mi
(Mouse over or tap on the markers to see the photos there. Use the button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)

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