El Yunque National Forest

El Yunque National Forest or simply El Yunque (formerly called Caribbean National Forest) is a national park located in Puerto Rico and is the only tropical rainforest in the national forest system of the United States. Its name is an adaptation of the Taíno word "Yu-Ke" to Spanish, meaning "Tierra Blanca". It is one of the rainiest known places in the world. It is also a tourist place, which is very visited, admired and protected by the citizens of the island. El Yunque is a semi-tropical rain forest with fresh temperatures, located in the Sierra de Luquillo east of Puerto Rico. It comprises 113.32 km². Although it is not the highest point in the Puerto Rican archipelago, it can be seen at a long distance, municipalities as distant as Vieques, Culebra, San Lorenzo, Caguas, Barranquitas, Cayey, Aibonito, among others, can observe this national heritage. The Visitor Center, El Portal, is located at the entrance of the forest, on Highway #191, at Km. 4.3. It has educational exhibitions and a theater, in addition, you will find Forest Service personnel who will provide information and guide you on your tour through the forest.

El Yunque is the name of a mountain and a national forest of the United States, formerly Caribbean National Forest, located on the island of Puerto Rico. It is home to many of the endemic species of wildlife in Puerto Rico.

The Forest was founded by King Alfonso XII of Spain in 1876, just 4 years after the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, the first national park in the United States of America.

El Yunque National Forest is the only tropical rain forest in the United States. El Yunque's area is 28,000 hectares, an abundance of biodiversity is very interesting to explore.

Forest rain El Yunque is located in the mountains Loquillo or precisely located at the corner of east sea Puerto Rico, about an hour drive from San Juan. This forest is home to more than 240 species of trees (23 of which are unique to El Yunque), 50 species of birds (including the rare and threatened Puerto Rico Parrot), and more than 1200 insect species, the El Yunque rainforest is recognized by UNESCO as a Biosphere official backup in the year1976. Because of the amazing forests, the wealth of fresh water and the various types that sustain, El Yunque's rainforest was chosen as one of only 28 finalists in the seven international New Wonders of Nature.

The El Yunque rainforest is certainly quite encouraging with a 24- mile recreation of pedestrian paths, via paved roads to various mountain peaks, while observing the La Coca Falls waterfall, which is amazing with a height of 85 feet, this high waterfall flowing on the rock- giant stone. La Coca is one of the many fresh waterfalls, ponds and rivers that can be found throughout the El Yunque rainforest, which can receive 100 billion gallons of rainwater per year.

Flora and fauna

The vegetation of El Yunque is very varied. It houses about 240 species of trees, which are actually 4 different types of forests, each determined by its altitude. The highest peak in the forest, El Toro, reaches 1,076 m elevation. The forest peaks are covered with dwarf forests. In addition, El Yunque has a great variety of plants that are unique in their type, with more than 20 types of orchids, as well as different kinds of Psilocybe guilartensis fungi.

Description

Named after a Taino deity, Yuquiyú meaning "cloud forest", it is actually a tropical rainforest with an area of 113 km2, located in a mountainous area culminating at 1,078 m (with peak El Yunque). It became a national park in the United States in 1903, and as such represents a unique reserve of some 240 tree species, 23 of which are completely endemic, and about fifty endemic orchid species. It is also home to 130 unique and often endangered animal species, such as the Puerto Rican parrot and boa, and a dozen species of lizards and frogs, including the symbol of the island, an arboreal frog and noisy Eleutherodactylus coqui locally called coquí.

It is one of the most humid forests in the world with annual monsoon rainfall typically reaching 6 m per year, or 380 million m of water.

El Yunque also has unique petroglyphs from the tribes that inhabited it.

There are many hiking trails of all levels, but to borrow them requires appropriate clothing because the tropical rain is almost permanent.

Hiking

There are currently 39 kilometers (24 miles) of recreational trails and 19 kilometers (12 miles) of administrative roads found in the El Yunque National Forest. These trails are restricted to only foot traffic (hiking). The use of horses, motorcycles or mountain bikes is not allowed on any trail. Many areas of the forest will never be used for trail development. The reasons for this policy include, protection of primary forest and sensitive vegetation, the recovery of endangered species and the protection of natural research areas.

There is also the Yokahu Tower with 480 meters (1,575 feet) and Mount Britton located at a higher height of 937 meters (3,075) feet and both are an observation point. The towers, built of stone in the 1930s, are 69 feet high and from the top you can see a great panorama of the northeast coast of Puerto Rico, the Atlantic Ocean and a portion of the central mountain range where much of the forest is located pluvial. The Monte Britton Tower also offers stunning panoramic views in which on a clear day you can see the islands of Culebra, Vieques, Saint Thomas and Tortola in the Caribbean Sea. El Yunque can be explored on its own or with guided excursions.

El Yunque Portal, Visitor Center to the Rain Forest

Opened in 1996, El Yunque Portal was designed by the Puerto Rican architect Segundo Cardona FAIA of Sierra Cardona Ferrer Arquitectos as a visitor center that offered an introduction to the beauty of the tropical forest. A sidewalk at 60 feet (18 meters) above the ground level allows the pedestrian a view over the treetops. Another sidewalk winds around tree trunks and bases. The exhibits in the center enclose the rain forest's flora and fauna, their importance around the planet, the threats to which they are susceptible and the efforts made to protect them.