We loved hiking La Mina Falls trail and swimming in the waterfall in El Yunque! When you visit El Yunque rainforest in Puerto Rico, this is a must-see.
La Mina Falls in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is a must-visit country for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that it has the only tropical rainforest in the entire United States National Forest system.
Hike to El Yunque Rainforest waterfall
El Yunque National Forest delves through the mountains on the eastern end of the island, it’s quite tall and you can drive for a while on the windy mountain roads and find lots of different areas and viewpoints to stop at.
The place is truly tropical, there is an abundance of greenery, wildlife, rivers and waterfalls, and insects. The scenery is amazing, unlike anything you’ll see here in the states. We took a walking tour through El Yunque rain forest on La Mina Falls Trail, it was amazing!
An awesome excursion in Puerto Rico
La Mina Trailhead and Waterfall is one of the many hiking trails on the mountain. You walk down, down, down until you meet a waterfall (Cascada La Mina), take a swim, and hike your way back up the steep trail to the top.
How long is La Mina Falls hike?
Our tour guide told us that La Mina trail is one of the easier trails for an El Yunque waterfall hike. It took about an hour and a half to complete, including swimming in the fresh waterfall for 20-30 minutes. There were so many neat things to see on the trail, take a look at some of our photos.
Photos of our El Yunque waterfall hike
This was the beginning of La Mina trail in El Yunque rainforest. The lush greenery is stunning!
This large, fallen leaf was sitting off to the side of the trail. I was surprised at how big it was, and to see all of the details on it. It was the size of about four of my hands put together, two on top and two on the bottom. Can you imagine what the living ones on the trees above looked like?
Lush green scenery on La Mina trail, Puerto Rico
Some more of the sights as we head down the trail… We found some huge boulders, it looked like a great photo opp! There are also a few cute little pools of water to swim in along the way to the waterfall.
I liked these stairs, they were in the middle of the trail.
This picnic shelter had BBQs in it, apparently, the Puerto Rican locals hike down here often for some family fun. We saw a bunch of people swimming in the small streams on our way down.
Crossing the bridge on La Mina trail in El Yunque…
The beautiful waterfall on La Mina trail
Alas, we made it! La Mina Waterfall!
Plenty of people sit among the rocks, this is the spot! It took us about 30 minutes to get down here. This water is so refreshing and cool, I took a dip and sat right underneath the splashing water. Tons of kids and adults were doing the same!
After a Puerto Rican swim, we hiked back up the mountain. Trust me when I say that it was tiring, if this is the easiest, I don’t even want to know what the other trails are like! Even though our legs were burning once we reached the top, it was worth it. Isn’t that what hiking is all about?
Enjoy a visit to La Mina Falls in El Yunque!
You must travel to Puerto Rico and visit El Yunque Forest and swim in La Mina Waterfall! It is natural and amazingly refreshing, we would definitely go back. There are many more tours here in Puerto Rico, I’ll be looking to try zip lining next time!
More reasons to visit Puerto Rico
- A Historic Walk In Old San Juan Puerto Rico
- 3 Excursions in Puerto Rico To Try On Your Family Vacation
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I just came back and had an AWESOME experience hiking in the rain forest. So awesome I went back the next day for more hiking and scenery!!
I would love it if someone can identify the giant leaf??
That’s way the bestest answer so far!
He was lying to you! LOL That’s not the easiest trail! there is one trail that’s a few miles down the road (If you are driving up, ít’s the first La Mina trail you come across) and it’s a lot easier than the one you took since it’s more leveled. The trail you took, it’s great going down and pure hell going up! lol
Seriously?! Dangit! I was DYING on the way up. DYING. At least I’ll be able to do the other trail with ease!
I had no clue Puerto Rico was that beautiful! I need to go someday!