Our first stop in El Yunque was the El Portal visitor center. After going in and paying the admission price, I found out you didn't really need to since the most information I got was just a map. There were a lot of exhibits but most people really don't have time to read them and the movie just explained about the endangered parrots, something that you can learn from any PR travel book.
Anyways, we drove a car up the mountain paths where they were very tight turns around the mountain bends. Honk your horn as you go around the bend to inform other cars (that you can't see) that you're coming toward them.
We stopped at various points that provided excellent views of the jungle:
-Yokahu Observation Tower, climb to the top of the tower and see the town of Fajardo and the shores of Luquillo. It's a beautiful, all around view of the mountains.
-La Mina Fall, take the Big Tree trail or the La Mina trail and enjoy a chilling but refreshing swim by the waterfall after your hike. This trail took about fourty minutes (since we spent a long time looking for lizards and salamanders- found 3!!). It wasn't extrenous.
-Mt. Britton Trail, we stopped there but didn't climb to the top though others on the trail said it was a beautiful sight at the top. This trail is a bit more harder than the Big Tree trail.

The essentials:
-bring an umbrella since there are quick showers every now and then
-a swimsuit if you want to swim in the falls
-bug spray, though we didn't get nasty bites, you might find it necessary
-binoculars
-a light snack (we saw a few food stands but not much)

Hope you enjoy El Yunque!!

We choose the southside of El Yunque mainly for the guided hike into the forest with Robin and we had an awesome adventure.

Robin and his assistant met my husband and I and two other guests at Casa Flamboyant around 9 AM to begin our hike. We followed the road to the end and began our 12 mile trek into the forrest. Robin and his assistant shared their knowlege of plants, trees, birds and history of the area pointing out edible berries and herbs such as sage that we could taste along the way. Although we were ascending, most of the walk was easy as we were following the even trail over a no longer used railroad track. For the most part the tracks had been ripped up so the ground is solid footing.

There were a few challenging areas where we had to navigate ourselves down some terrain but with our hiking sticks it was not difficult.

The highlight of the hike is climbing up the a waterfall. By far the most difficult part of the hike but Robin is with you every step of the way guiding your footing away from slippery areas. Once you get the top of the waterfall the views are amazing, we had a clear day and could see all the way over the valley to the ocean. We spent about an hour at the top of the falls where a beautiful swimming hole was our reward.

After a refreshing swim in the cool water we made our way back to Casa Flambouyant for a shower and got ready for our lovely dinner that Matt and Karen (who own Casa Picaflores, down the road) prepared.

Went to sleep tired, full and happy, and ready for another day of adventure in the rainforest.

The next day, Robin's son took us for another guided trip to see the petroglyphs. The petroglyphs are really neat but the scenery around them is amazing. Although this is a short jaunt compared to the hike the day before, getting to the petroglyphs is not easy. You have to cross over rocks in the water that are very slippery and climb over big boulders with not much to grab onto. Once you reach the unbeliveable swimming hole there are are two waterfalls and a natural rock waterslide. If you are feeling really brave there is a place to jump from atop a rock into the deep water.

The time in the rainforest was the absolute highlight of our trip to Puerto Rico.

Remeber where you are in the world and its a must see and do.
north side has a lot more todo butt stay onn the south side for private falls and pools of freswh water to swim in. casa cubuy is the place to stay.. rain forest hidaway great food and drink. I want to go back asap.

I love an adventure...well a controlled adventure and El Yunque was a good venue for such a "controlled" adventure. The trails are paved and clean (at least the one we were on, there are several). They are pretty challenging for the average walker. There are many steep inclines and declines. We took the first trail for La Mina Falls which is probably the one that most people do being that it is the first one you get to off the road. We only went to the falls and back and that look us about 1.5 hours. The trail continues pass the falls (the falls are only halfway up this particular trail) but me and the person I was travelling with aren't all that in shape and felt that we needed to reserve some energy for the walk back to our car. Albeit, it was very beautiful. A lot of great photo opportunities. Although some of our best photo shots were from the road and observation tower.

I thought the trails were going to be a little more rugged and in a way I was disappointed that it wasn't a little more adventursome. But then again I probably wouldn't have survived walking in mud and on slippery rocks. (I am not all that coordinated) I saw people out there that were wearing flip-flops. I wouldn't do that but people were certainly managing. Plus, I didn't get bit or see a single bug. There were more people out than I thought. So it made it seem a bit touristy but you know it is one of Puerto Rico's major attrations.

All in all, I would certainly recommend it to anyone visiting Puerto Rico especially if you are going anywhere on the eastern side of the island.