El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico
El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico, is the only tropical forest in the US National Forest System.
Encompassing over 28,000 acres in northeastern Puerto Rico, El Yunque National Forest, known locally as Bosque Nacionale El Yunque, is known for its biodiversity. A recreational corridor offers access points into the rainforest.
A popular day trip from the capital city, San Juan, El Yunque is high on the wish list for most first-time visitors to Puerto Rico.
Cascading waterfalls with pretty pools and natural rock slides. Hiking trails through dense tropical jungle. Lush vegetation in every shade of green you can imagine. A plethora of exotic flowers and birds.
You’ll find all these and more when you visit El Yunque National Forest!
PR-191, the main artery that runs through El Yunque, makes for a fascinating drive, and there are many attractions along the way where you can stop for a more immersive experience if you choose.
El Yunque is known for its gorgeous waterfalls, some of which are relatively easy to access. La Coca Falls can be viewed from the road, and La Mina Falls and the Juan Diego Falls can be accessed through hikes.
Love aerial views? You’ll find not one but two tall towers in El Yunque National Forest!
Yokahu Observation Tower is a drive-to attraction, and less than 100 steps take you to the viewing area at the top for panoramic views. At a much higher elevation is Mt. Britton Tower, which is reached via an uphill hike. The payoff is worth the climb!
Top Puerto Rico Experiences
| Puerto Rico Location | Best Tours (Reserve now, these sell out fast!) |
|---|---|
| San Juan | Snorkel with Turtles, El Yunque, local food, night glow kayak, city walk, ATV, jet snorkel, beginner scuba, zipline, nature adventure, zipline+rappel, horse riding |
| Fajardo | Culebra island+snorkel, Icacos island+snorkel, bio bay kayak, Vieques island+ snorkel |
Most people visit El Yunque on a day trip from Fajardo or San Juan. The national forest is open all year long, so you can fit a trip to El Yunque in your Puerto Rico itinerary no matter when you visit the island.
While you can drive to El Yunque National Forest if you prefer to visit independently, note that parking can be challenging.
Pick from one of many El Yunque guided tours to save the hassle of timing your entry or finding parking spots in popular areas of the park.
And if you want to make a full day of it, on your way back from El Yunque National Forest, you can
— stop off to enjoy the beautiful crescent-shaped Luquillo Beach,
— sample local eats at the famous Luquillo kiosks,
— enjoy ziplining over the rainforest,
— or go horseriding at Carabali Rainforest Adventure Park.
Looking for the best El Yunque tours? Consider:
— popular waterfall slide + rainforest hike with stop at Luquillo Beach 🌳 🏝️
— drive through El Yunque with stops at La Coca Falls and Yokahu Tower 🌴
— El Yunque + bio bay combined tour 🚐 🛶
Complete 2026 Guide to El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico
El Yunque National Forest is a must-visit in Puerto Rico if you enjoy nature and the outdoors.
The many streams and waterfalls, network of hiking trails, and diversity of flora and fauna make El Yunque an irresistible Puerto Rico attraction for adventure enthusiasts. Casual visitors will love the scenic drive through the rainforest.
This El Yunque website is your one-stop site for all the information you need to plan your visit to the national forest.
Located in the northeast corner of the main island of Puerto Rico, El Yunque is easy to visit from San Juan, whether you want to spend the day or just a few hours. See the location of the forest visually on a map of El Yunque National Forest.
At this time,no reservations are needed to visit El Yunque, and there is no entrance fee to the forest, so there’s no need to purchase El Yunque tickets. There is, however, an entrance fee to enter the visitor center, El Portal de El Yunque that you can buy online at Recreation.gov.
Entry to El Yunque is currently on a first come, first served basis, and once parking at the main recreational areas is full, you can’t enter the forest in your car until spots become available.
El Yunque National Forest is open everyday other than Christmas, although special closures of all or part of the forest are possible for maintenance, due to weather, or other circumstances.
Top-Rated El Yunque Tours
Things to Do in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico
Drive through the rainforest
The scenic drive through the rainforest at El Yunque is an experience all visitors can enjoy.
PR-191, called Forest Highway 191 in the national forest, provides vehicular access through the forest, with access to trailheads and water features like pools and waterfalls.
Plus, the lush vegetation of the rainforest is beautiful, with many different kinds of plants, trees, and flowers. You may hear birdsong or the calls of the coqui frogs and come across some of the wildlife if you are lucky.
You can drive PR-191 through El Yunque National Forest year round, although you should check for special closures related to weather or the need for maintenance.
Chase waterfalls!
As a tropical rainforest, El Yunque is known for its many waterfalls.
Within the national forest, the three most popular waterfalls are La Mina Falls, La Coca Falls, and the Juan Diego Falls.
La Coca Falls, Cascada la Coca, is right by the side of PR-191 and requires no hiking at all. Simply park, and admire the beautiful waterfall from the viewing area!
La Coca Falls drops 85 feet over a cliff face and is framed by lush vegetation, making it a prime photo spot in the forest. You can’t swim at this waterfall.
La Mina Falls, known locally as Cascada la Mina, has a 35-foot drop over a series of boulders, into a gorgeous plunge pool where you can choose to swim. La Mina Falls is accessed via a somewhat challenging trail, a 1.4 mile round trip.
Unfortunately, La Mina Falls is currently closed for repairs following damage by Hurricane Maria.
Juan Diego Falls is a series of cascades accessed via a short hike. The hike to the lower falls, a 15-foot waterfall, is relatively easy.
You can swim in the plunge pool at both the lower, and the upper Juan Diego Falls. The upper falls are taller, but the hike to reach its base is more challenging.
Outside the borders of the national forest, but quite close to it, there are more waterfalls and water play areas to visit. Some even feature natural rock slides and a waterslide and rainforest hike tour is the perfect way to visit!
Go on a rainforest hike!
Hiking is the perfect way to experience the rainforest with several senses: look at the different types of flora, hear birdsong and the calls of the coqui frogs, and feel the moistness and the drippy ambience.
El Yunque National Forest offers walks and hikes for all levels, from easy to challenging and short or long.
The short walk to the lower Juan Diego Falls, the walk to Bano de Oro, and the Caimitillo Trail are short and easy. The nature trail at El Portal de El Yunque is another easy and fun walk.
For a moderate walk, try the trail to Mount Britton Tower: it takes you through the cloud forest to a cool lookout tower at the top of the mountain. You can make the hike challenging by tacking on the Mount Britton Spur and the hike to the top of El Yunque Peak or Los Picachos.
The hike to La Mina Falls is another moderate to challenging hike for more active visitors to El Yunque.
At the bottom of the mountain, the Angelito Trail is an easy, family-friendly trail to the Mameyes River, where you can choose to take a dip in the water.
Take in the views!
While you will get views of the dense rainforest as you drive through El Yunque, there are also several elevated points that offer panoramic views over the forest canopies and surrounding landscape.
Caveat? You need a bright, haze-free day for the best views! Often the high points are socked in by mist and clouds, which can obstruct views.
The Yokahu Tower, which is a drive-up tower along the El Yunque rainforest drive, is a relatively easy to access viewing area if you can climb the steps up to the top.
From the viewing area, you can see over the canopies of the different types of forests at El Yunque all the way up to the ocean in the distance.
The Mount Britton Tower is another lookout tower for expansive views, but it requires a moderate uphill hike to access.
Even higher up are the viewpoints at Los Picachos and the El Yunque Peak, the highest point in the park. These viewpoints can be reached via the El Yunque Peak Trail.
From these viewpoints at El Yunque, you can see the surrounding hills and valleys, the tops of the forests, and, on clear days, all the way to the ocean and even across to the Virgin Islands.
And there is a squat castle-like structure at the top of the El Yunque Peak, where you can climb the few steps to stand at the viewing area and look out over possibly the most spectacular view from El Yunque National Forest on a clear day.
Look for animals and birds at El Yunque!
El Yunque has the greatest biodiversity of all the forests in the US National Forest System, and the forest is home to many small animals, birds, and marine life.
Bring your binoculars or zoom lens and try to spot the many bird species that you can see at El Yunque. There are about 50 species that call El Yunque home year round, with another roughly 45 or so species visiting on a migratory basis.
Birds you are quite likely to spot include the Puerto Rican emerald (a hummingbird), the Puerto Rican tody, the Puerto Rican woodpecker, and the Puerto Rican bullfinch. Some of these birds are brightly colored and easy to spot.
If you are very lucky, you may see an endangered Puerto Rican parrot. El Yunque is one of the places they are released into the wild as part of the recovery efforts.
You may hear coqui frogs, which are endemic to Puerto Rico, and see lizards and insects, or even a small Indian mongoose (introduced to the island).
Never touch wildlife and maintain a safe distance from any wildlife you see. Observe any creatures you see through binoculars or zoom lens instead.
Stop by the El Portal Visitor Center
The El Portal Visitor Center to El Yunque is located along PR-191, the main access road through the forest.
Although it is not mandatory to stop here (the national forest is free to enter), the center is staffed and rangers can offer information about closures and suggest trails or answer questions.
There are educational exhibits to browse, and for visitors not looking to hike in the forest, an easy nature trail that features some of the flora of the region.
Enjoy a natural waterslide
There are two popular waterslides at El Yunque. While neither is within the boundaries of El Yunque National Park, they are near enough that they have a dense rainforest setting.
Las Paylas, or Las Pailas, is hugely popular with locals and features two water slides, a smaller slower slide and a larger faster one.
Worn smooth by the Rio Pitahaya, the rock formations create the natural waterslides over which the water flows.
The area also features pools for swimming, clif jumping spots, and opportunities for other water play.
Las Tinajas Falls, also near El Yunque National Forest, features two waterslides, cliff jumping spots, and a rope swing.
While you can visit independently, first-timers may wish to opt for a guided tour, for a safe and enjoyable experience.
What to Wear to El Yunque
You’ll want to wear light, quick-drying clothing to stay comfortable in the usually hot and humid weather.
Either opt for shorts and top (and be zealous with big spray or wipes) or choose lightweight long pants and long-sleeved tops.
If you plan to swim or indulge in water play, wear your swimsuit under your clothes.
Plan to hike? Sturdy closed-toed hiking shoes or strapped sandals with good grip are essential. Trails can be muddy and slick, and you need excellent grip on slick slopes.
Wear clothes, shoes, and socks that you won’t mind getting wet and muddy.
A sun hat is helpful during the day.
What to Bring to El Yunque
Here are some things to pop into a waterproof backpack or daypack that will leave your hands free:
— Bug spray or wipes. You’ll be in dense tropical rainforest and bug bites are a distinct possibility, especially early and late in the day and heavily vegetated sections.
— Spare set of clothes and socks if you plan to hike or enjoy water play.
— Lightweight towel if you plan to swim or take a dip in a natural pool or stream.
— Lightweight poncho or rain jacket. It rains often, it’s a rainforest! For hiking to higher elevations, a lightweight waterproof windproof jacket may be useful.
— Sun protection. The sun is usually fierce, so you’ll want to use sunscreen and lip balm with SPF, and wear sunshades to protect your eyes.
— Snacks if you plan a longer hike and want to stay fueled.
— Adequate drinking water.
— Fully charged smartphone or camera with waterproof case.
— Water shoes can be useful to wear into pools and streams.
— Binoculars if you enjoy spotting birds. There are several dozen species that you may see in El Yunque.
— Compact first-aid kit for possible cuts and scrapes if you plan to hike or enjoy water play.
Top-Rated El Yunque Tours