El Yunque Rainforest: Hiking, Waterfalls & Cliff Jumps Tour

4.79

(180 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“If you can hear the coquí frogs, you’re really in El Yunque,” our guide José grinned as we stepped out of the van — and yeah, those tiny frogs were louder than I expected. The air was thick and green, kind of sweet-smelling, almost like wet leaves after rain. We set off into the bamboo, shoes already muddy. José pointed out these wild ginger flowers I’d never seen before, bright red against all that green. He kept saying “poco a poco” — take it slow — which honestly made sense once we started scrambling over rocks slick with moss. I slipped once; nobody laughed except me.

The first river pool was colder than I thought it’d be (I gasped, not gonna lie), but after a minute it felt good. Some folks jumped right in from the rope swing — I hesitated, then just went for it. Not graceful at all but who cares? There was this moment underwater where everything went quiet except for the sound of water moving past my ears. Sunlight through the trees made these weird patterns on the rocks below. You know when you just stop thinking about your phone or work or whatever? That happened here.

The hike got trickier after that — more climbing than walking sometimes — but José kept checking on everyone (“todo bien?”). At one point he showed us how to grab onto roots instead of branches (apparently some snap easily). The last pool had this natural slide; I watched a kid go down three times before trying it myself. My shorts will probably never dry out completely after that. Lunch was late and loud at some roadside spot on the way back to San Juan; fried plantains and cold soda never tasted so good.