Puerto Rico - El Yunque National Forest

I have not traveled as much since Covid, and I really wanted to take a trip – so I looked at the National Parks that I have NOT been to and decided on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Angee came along, and we visited so many beautiful spots – one of which was the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico.

Unfortunately for us, there is a pass that you need to buy ahead of time to visit the most heavily traveled parts of the National Forest, and we were not quick enough to get one of those passes. Once they are gone, they are gone, and apparently, they go quickly to the multitudes of tour vendors that cater to the cruise ship crowds and visitors to the islands.

Regardless, off we went to the visitor’s center. Once there, we asked about hikes that we could go on WITHOUT the pass and found the Angelito Trail. By the end of the visit, we no longer cared that we didn’t get the pass, this trail was AMAZING!!

But first, we stopped at the El Porto Visitor Center. The building is beautiful and tucked into the natural landscape. At the visitor center, there is a short walk that takes you into the rainforest and past a multitude of different flowers and plants native to the area.

At the Visitor Center, they have many exhibits about the plants and animals that are around and encourage conservation – to the point that they do not have extra paper for the passport stamps – I tried using my arm, but they smeared pretty quickly.

After the Visitor Center, we made our way to the Angelito trail. We were told to wear swimsuits, and that we could hike in sandals. It was a relatively easy hike – although it is in a rainforest, on a mountain, so it wasn’t completely flat. It was about a half mile, and ended at a wide spot in the river, where swimming is encouraged. It was a hot day, and we loved it! It was so beautiful!