| El
Yunque
 El
Yunque, the only rain forest in the U.S. National Park Service,
is 28,000 acres of lush tropical forest, unique flora and fauna,
and myriad brooks and waterfalls. Hiking trails and rest huts
abound, and an observation tower offers sweeping views of the
northeast corner of the Island. El Portal Tropical Forest Center
has film exhibits and interactive displays about the rain forest.
Groups can also use the Forest Center building for special events
after 5:00 PM. The rain forest is only 45 minutes from San Juan.
There are more than 400 tree and fern species
in the 11,200 ha (28,000 acre) reserve, most of them growing like
crazy in the hothouse conditions created when sopping clouds blown
in by the Atlantic winds dump their load on the Luquillo range.
There are 13 well-maintained hiking trails in the reserve, ranging
from leisurely 15-minute prances along sealed paths to a trek
to the peak of El Yunque. You might not see the Taíno spirit
up top, but on a clear day you may bag an eyeful of the Virgin
Islands.
Please note
that additional info (prices, activities, etc) are found to the
right of this pages. 
Río Camuy Cave Park
A 268-acre park preserved and administrated
by Puerto Rico Park Trust. Enjoy a vacation day for the whole
family on walking trails, picnic areas, food facilities, exhibition
hall, theater, souvenir shop. Experienced cavers can get dirty
and wet by climbing, scrambling, abseiling and swimming through
the underground river system, but you have to know the difference
between grappling and rappelling to contemplate entering this
dangerous terrain. Mere mortals can get an antiseptic version
of these thrills by riding a trolley-tram into a sinkhole and
accessing Cueva Clara. From the safety of viewing platforms, you
can glimpse the Camuy River as it flows past the 120m (400ft)
deep Tres Pueblos Sinkhole.
San Juan
 The
beautiful city of San Juan was founded in 1521. The capital of
Puerto Rico is a spirited modern metropolis with high-rise beach
strips, a major commercial center and a justly famous historic
colonial core. The city was used as a stopover for ships that
came from Spain and a stronghold to prevent the enemy from taking
control of the island and making Puerto Rico an enemy base. It
dates from the early 16th century, making it the second-oldest
city in the Americas (after granddaddy Cuzco, Peru). Today the
cobblestone streets, interior patios, hanging balconies, plazas,
and chapels make of this historic city a charming and picturesque
place to visit.
San Juan had the first municipal government
in the "New World," outside Santo Domingo, as well as
the first military presidio in Spanish America. By the 19th century,
the old city had become a charming residential and commercial
district. The city itself, with its institutional buildings, museums,
houses, churches, plazas, and commercial buildings, is part of
the San Juan Historic Zone which is administered by municipal,
State and Federal agencies.
Arecibo Observatory
Tucked away in the gorgeous backroads and byways
of northwestern Puerto Rico is the largest radio telescope in
the world. The facility is operated by Cornell University and
word has it this is where the US government monitors extra-terrestrial
life, but even if you want to steer well clear of X-ophilia, you
can enjoy the excellent science and space interactive museum and
the impressive 305m diameter (1000ft) telescope itself.
Ponce
 Ponce
is Puerto Rico's second largest city. Also known as "La Perla
del Sur" which means 'Pearl of the South'. Ponce was founded
in 1692 by Loíza Ponce de León. Ponce was Spain's
capital of the southern region until it fell to the U.S. in 1898.
The heart of Ponce dates from
the late 17th century and has been declared a national treasure.
It consists of plazas and churches and highly decorative colonial
homes, some glorious fountains, many beautiful neoclassical buildings
and facades and a unique fire station. The city's reputation as
a center of cultural excellence comes in the modern form of the
Ponce Museum of Art, the best in the Caribbean, and is enhanced
by the Museum of the History of Ponce and the Puerto Rican Music
Museum. If you're a sucker for a vista, the plexiglass Cruceta
el Vigia just north of the center looks over Ponce to the sea.
Ponce is an important trading
and distribution center, and has a port of entry, Playa de Ponce
Port is Puerto Rico's principal shipping port and one of the busiest
ports in the Caribbean area, handles tobacco, coffee, rum, and
sugar cane.
The excellent Tibes Indian
Ceremonial Center, a reconstructed Arawak village on an Amerindian
archaeological site is about 15 minutes north of the town center.
Access to the site is by guided tour only - it's a very interesting
walk through a botanic garden, a reconstructed Arawak village,
sporting grounds and the archaeological site where digging continues.
The museum, though small, is well-presented and informative.
San Germán
This picturesque town set in the southwestern
foothills of the Cordillera Central looks like it was lifted lock
stock and barrel from Mediterranean Spain. It's Puerto Rico's
oldest settlement outside San Juan, and it wears its flaky plaster
heritage with charm and aplomb. There's nothing more taxing to
do here than take a genteel stroll through the town's two plazas,
admire the courtly townhouses graced with gingerbread trim and
poke your nose in the Church of Porta Coeli ('Gate of Heaven').
The latter was built by Dominican monks in 1606, and its august
career includes a stint in the 19th century as the town jail.
San Germán is close to Phosphorescent
Bay, where you can prove you're inhabiting the body electric,
and Boquerón Beach, one of Puerto Rico's most gorgeous
strands
|
