4 Best Sights in Puerto Rico

Oversized flora, rushing streams, and powerful cascades are just some of what you'll find in El Yunque, which gets 100 billion gallons of precipitation annually. Two of the island's highest picos (peaks), El Toro and El Yunque, are also here, rising over 3,500 feet amid the more than 28,000 lush acres that encompass four major forest types, roughly stratified by elevation.

These ecosystems are home to thousands of native plants, including 150 fern and 240 tree species—88 of them rare and endemic, 23 of them found here exclusively. There are no monkeys or large cats (and no poisonous snakes, either). Rather, El Yunque is populated with small creatures, some of which—like the cotorra (the island’s greatly endangered green parrot) and the culebrón (Puerto Rican boa)—exist nowhere else on Earth.

The bird-watching is especially good after a shower, so, in addition to a rain poncho, pack binoculars to spot some of the forest’s 68 types, including the Puerto Rican tody, lizard cuckoo, and sharp-shinned hawk, as well as five species of hummingbirds. Rivers and streams provide aquatic habitats for freshwater snails, shrimp, and crabs. The forest's 1,200 species of insects—from ants to beetles to flies—provide food for some of the 14 different types of lizards, geckos among them. In the evening, millions of inch-long coquís (tree frogs) begin their calls.

The best way to experience all this nature is on a hike. The forest’s 13 official trails are short and easy to navigate. Although not as immersive as a hike, a leisurely drive-through is also gratifying. Along the way, you'll encounter beautiful waterfalls; hibiscus, banana, and orchid plants; and the occasional vista. Be sure to stop and climb the winding stairs of Yokahú Tower for breathtaking views of the rainforest and the islands. Advanced reservations are required.

The eastern section of the Bosque Estatal de Boquerón is made up of miles of mangrove forests that grow at the water's edge. Boats from the dock in La Parguera can take you on cruises through this important breeding ground for seabirds. You can also hike through the forest that connects with the nearby towns of Guánica and Cabo Rojo. 

This 9,900-acre United Nations Biosphere Reserve is a great place for hiking. An outstanding example of a subtropical dry forest, it has some 700 species of plants, from the prickly-pear cactus to the gumbo limbo tree, and offers superb bird-watching; its more than 100 species include the pearly-eyed thrasher, lizard cuckoo, and nightjar.

The popular Ballena Trail, which begins at the ranger station on Route 334, is an easy 2-km (1¼-mile) walk that follows a partially paved road past a mahogany plantation to a dry plain covered with stunted cactus. A sign reading "Guayacán centenario" leads you to an extraordinary guayacán tree with a 6-foot-wide trunk. The moderately difficult, 5½-km (3½-mile) Fuerte Trail leads to an old fort built by the Spanish Armada. It was destroyed in the Spanish-American War in 1898, but you can see ruins of the old observatory tower.

In addition to using the main entrance on Route 334, you can enter on Route 333, which skirts the forest's southwestern quadrant. You may also wish to explore the less-trafficked area west of the town of Guánica, off Route 325.

Well-marked hiking trails surrounded by wild impatiens lead up to the 3,900-foot Pico Guilarte and elsewhere in this state forest. Bird-watchers have 26 different species to look for, including the carpenter bird. If your interest is botany, you can find a variety of trees, such as candlewood, trumpet, Honduran mahogany, and Honduran pine.