Are you looking for a more unique outdoor experience in Puerto Rico? How about not just hiking but also a river adventure? We booked with Tanamá River Adventures for a morning of hiking and riding innertubes down a river through a cave, in Utuado, Puerto Rico.
We started by meeting at their main headquarters, where we gathered our equipment for the day. We were suited up with helmets, life jackets, and headlamps for the dark cave. I suggest wearing water shoes and a swimsuit under hiking clothes for this event. From there, our guide took us in a van through some winding roads, deep into the mountains. Finally, we arrived at a small parking area with a few rural homes. Here we began our hike.
It was a very mild and easy hike. Our guide told us about the local plants, which ones to avoid and which ones were safe. He even picked us each an orange from a wild orange tree growing along the trail. Our hike took us to the edge of the river. Here is where we grabbed our innertubes. At this launching point, we could see the mouth of the cave a little ways down the river. On both sides of there river, there was jungle and cliff faces.
We hopped in the tubes and linked our feet onto the tube behind us, forming a chain. Our guide went first, and began to lead us down the river through the cave. We turned on our headlamps as we got deeper into the cave. We could see beautiful cave formations, as well as a few critters on the rock walls around us. It was an exciting and simple pass through the cave. The guide takes care of leading your chain of tubes directly through. Once on the other side, you have some free time.
We began to explore some of the pools of water, calm enough for swimming. We took some photos and enjoyed the jungle around us. Our guide even pointed out a freshwater spring that had water so fresh you could drink from it (and one of our friends did)! Finally, we started our trek back. We hopped into our tubes again and paddled back through the cave. The water is very calm with only a mild current, easy to paddle through. Once we got to the other side, we had the option for some cliff jumping!
Only one of our group was brave enough to make the jump off of the cliffs on the sides of the river. There was a large rock face, about 15 feet high or so. The guide led him up to the top where he jumped off into the river below. You have to be careful to jump past the rocky part of the river, and into the deeper section, but overall, our friend really enjoyed it!
At the end of our trip, we made the hike back to the parking area, and returned to the headquarters. The shop has showers where you can get clean and change into dry clothes. We had an amazing journey and definitely recommend this to anyone seeking some adventure on their trip! We finished that day off with a hearty meal, which you can read about in my last post.
Check out Tanamá River Adventures to book your trip. It really is the experience of a lifetime!