El Portal Rain Forest Center

We are P.R.tours this is the start of our rainforest tour it’s interpret we explain about the flora and fauna as well as the history of El Yunque National Forest.

This place is actually a part of El Yunque National forest. This place is by far one of the most amazing places in Puerto Rico. The views were amazing and best part is you’re surrounded by nature. The Coqui the PR national frog can be heard everywhere. In fact the place is almost covered with them. Theres very few mosquitoes surprisingly. The gift is nice but why you spend too much time here. Go hiking on the trails and swimming in the rivers and jump off of La Mina Falls. You live once so why stand by and watch others have fun

GREAT!
Super fun to drive up and through the rain forest. Its super easy. We arrived from route 3 to 191 and you just proceed straight up to the top. Once in the rain forest there is a visitor center on the right. For a nominal fee, you can enter and get a bunch of information on the rain forest. There is a gift shop and a café.
Once you pass the visitors center it is a straight shot up (well the road winds, but you just proceed straight up). There are pull offs to hike or check out a waterfall, etc. There is a place where you can stop and eat and purchase souvenirs.
There are two pull-off’s to get to the main waterfall (where everyone seems to go) you can swim in the pool under the waterfall. Its my understanding that the 2^nd one is an easier climb. The climb is a bit slippery.
Also, stop at the Yokahu Tower, climb the tower and check out the view.
At the top there is a place to park and you can hike to the top.
I would recommend checking it out. If you have a car, I wouldn’t suggest taking a tour. You can totally navigate it on your own.

an experience i will never forget. Even though i got only got to spend a few hours, and large portions of the park are closed due to washed out roads from a recent major storm, it was still a beautiful experience.

This place was beautiful and a nice place to start before heading to the El Yunque Rainforest. They offer a video to watch, but I wasn’t able to catch it since we had limited time on our tour. There’s lots of boards to read of educational material. and The rain forest center is a nice preview before the actual rainforest exploration.
Do beware of the many spider webs/​spiders that are around in the area. If you want a bite to eat, there’s a place to grab sandwiches and other small bites on the second floor. Do make sure to allow for enough time, since the café here does take awhile to get your food out.

Definitely stop here on your way into El Yunque. El Portal provides educational exhibits about the rainforest, information about where to hike and what to see, a nice gift shop, and a short video. It also sells crafts and artwork made by local artists.
The employees here were incredibly helpful. The guy sitting at the front desk not only gave us the map for the rainforest, but also explained what places to stop, how long each hike would take, where to park… etc. The educational exhibits were nice, but are more geared towards children. There are a number of more meaty books on El Yunque in the gift shop if you are so inclined.
Don’t miss watching the 15 minute video narrated by Benecio del Toro during your visit here. It is a great introduction to El Yunque, its flora and fauna and history. It was my favorite part of El Portal which is saying a lot given I am huge fan of gift shops.

The visitor center for El Yunque rain forest is a very nice stop to get all your needed information before you go on hikes and enjoy the rain forest. The center itself is outdoors, informative, and has a really nice short movie.