El Yunque: Guided Forest Day Trip with Pickup & Waterfalls

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(250 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We were already winding up into the green when our guide, Luis, started pointing out these trees I’d never seen before—he called one a yagrumo, which I probably mispronounced three times. The air changed as soon as we left San Juan behind; it got heavier, but in a good way, like everything was alive and humming. There was this earthy smell coming through the van windows—sort of wet leaves and something sweet I couldn’t place. Luis kept telling stories about how El Yunque has always mattered to Puerto Ricans, and you could tell he actually cared. At one point he laughed at my rain poncho (“You’re ready for anything!”) but honestly, I was glad I brought it because there’s this sudden drizzle that just happens up there.

Our first real stop was Yocahu Tower. It’s not that tall but climbing those spiral stairs made my legs wobble (don’t skip breakfast). At the top though—wow. You can see all the way out to the coast if the clouds let you. We stood there for a minute in silence except for some birds and distant water sounds. Luis pointed out where hurricanes had hit years ago; you could still see patches of different greens where new growth was coming back. On the drive deeper into El Yunque National Forest, we passed an 85-foot waterfall—I tried to snap a photo through the window but mostly caught my own reflection.

Later we stopped by a river spot where locals were splashing around. The water’s cold at first, straight off the mountains, but after you dunk your head it feels like you wake up all over again. Some kids were jumping off rocks and their laughter echoed through the trees—it made me wish I’d grown up near a place like this. Lunch was simple at a roadside spot (I went for arroz con gandules), nothing fancy but honestly perfect after swimming. Heading back toward San Juan, everyone in the van was quieter than before—tired but kind of glowing.