Rio Camuy Caves, Puerto Rico

I also did a travelogue about this, which goes into more detailed if you are interested. I did the Angeles Cave tour in the Camuy Caves Park. I used the tour guides Aventuras Tierra Adentro (means Adventures inside the earth). They speak fluent English, which is important for this type of dangerous activity. We were gliding down a zipline, rappelled 200 feet down a mountain into the cave's sinkhole. Then spent about 4 hours climbing up and down rocks, jumping into pools of water, swimming in cave water, walking in mud up to my knees. All of this right alongside spiders, scorpions, crabs, and bats. I would classify myself as a wimp and not strong and I made it though. I had a lot of fun, but I would never do this again. I was always last in line and I think I was holding the group up. The guide was very helpful and always watching after me, he had to hold my hand for part of the time. I wore regular aerobics tennis shoes which was a mistake. You really have to have shoes with good tread, because I was slipping around all over the place.

We were bummed out to find that the caves are closed indefinitely (as of July 2008). A tourist was fatally injured by falling rocks in a waiting area for the caves, so they have closed the system for improvements. You can still tour the "Three Towns sink hole" via tram and walking tour for $12 per person. Our guide was super funny and very knowledgeable about the area. It turned out to be a a very fun tour. It's a good idea to hit this tour in the same day trip as the Arecibo Observatory - they are very close in distance.

Located in the central west region of Puerto Rico Camuy has one of the most spectacular natural jewels of all Puerto Rico.

The Rio Camuy Caves is the third largest subterranean river in the world. Visitors are taken by trolley that desends to the sinkhole while a guide describes the sights. Once you've gone throught the ramps and stairs, another trolley will take you back to the platform overlooking the 400 foot deep Tres Pueblos Sinkhole.

After, pay a visit to the Spiral Sinkhole and Cave. Walk the 205 steps down into the sinkhole. The cave is off limits to all but experienced spelunkers. This sinkhole is believed to have once been an enormous cavern and is an impressive sight.

The Camuy River disappears into the Blue Hole near Lares and goes into a huge area of underground caves. Rio Camuy Cave park is a beautiful developed part of it that you can visit. The cave is truly awesome. It's so big and has huge stalagtites. You are given a number when you go in and have to wait for your number to be called. There is a snack bar down in the cave where you can eat while you wait. The actual tour of the cave was in both Spanish and English but the tram driver only spoke Spanish.
Open Wed. thru Sun 8am-4pm. Last tour is at 3:50pm or when the park reaches its daily capacity of 1,500 visitors.

BEFORE TRAVELING TO RIO CAMUY MAKE SURE YOU CALL FIRST. WE TRAVELED AN HOUR AND A HALF FROM RINCON ON A TUESDAY ONLY TO FIND OUT THEY ARE ONLY OPEN WED-SUN. SO WE WENT BACK ON WEDNESDAY TO FIND OUT THEY WERE CLOSED BECAUSE OF TOO MUCH RAIN. WE DECICED TO LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE.

Camuy Caverns are a big chain of underground caves and riverways. The park features a shuttle tram that takes visitors to the mouth of the cave, a gift shop, and special tours for seasoned cave explorers. J.D., his stepdaddy Manolo, and I got up with the chickens on the morning of Saturday, 12 January 1991 and drove the hour and a half to the caves. They were even more impressive to me than the Luray Caverns were on a trip 16 years earlier. The tropical vegetation around the caverns impressed me more than the stalactite organ at Luray.

Camuy caves- the third largest in the world!
These caves are very unique, they are within a rain forest. Some places within the caves are exposed to sunlight, and you can see the trees, as well as water trickling down the walls (you can drink it!) There are many animals living inside these caves, such as blind fish, crabs, etc.