Roughly 30 miles
southeast of San Juan,
the only tropical rainforest
in the United States’
A tropical wonderland stretching across 29,000 acres in Puerto Rico’s northeast corner, El Yunque National Forest may have gotten its name from the Taino word “yuke,” an indigenous reference meaning “white earth” that’s thought to refer to the clouds that cluster around the forest’s mountainous peak (other island lore maintains the forest’s name comes from Yúcahu, the Taino deity of fertility). For visitors who venture into its verdant reaches, the forest is full of surprises. Listen for the sounds of the coqui, Puerto Rico’s endemic frog that livens the evening hours with its unique song, and scan the forest canopy (break out your binoculars, too!) to see myriad bird species that thrive here, including Puerto Rican parrots and large hummingbirds called green mangoes, with their signature curved bills.
national forest system
tempts visitors to explore
a Puerto Rico apart.
continue...
A Sacred & Diverse World
BY TERRY WARD
15
Powered by FlippingBook