Barranquitas

Barranquitas is a small mountain town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the Cordillera Central, the central mountain range of the island. The town, although small, has much to offer to its visitors and it is famous for its history, particularly for being the birthplace of Luis Muñoz Rivera, politician and father of Luis Muñoz Marín, the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico.

Understand
Barranquitas is located in the eastern highlands of the Cordillera Central and one of its most famous landmarks is the San Cristobal Canyon, one of the largest and deepest canyons in the Caribbean shaped by the Aibonito and Usabón rivers. The area used to be inhabited by the Jatibonicu tribe of Tainos, the native peoples of Puerto Rico before the arrival of the Spanish.

Get in

 * San Juan: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport
 * Aguadilla: Rafael Hernández Airport
 * Ponce: Mercedita Airport

By car
The best to get to Barranquitas is by car through routes PR-156, PR-152, PR-771 and PR-162.

Get around
As with most of Puerto Rico, Barranquitas is quite car-centric and driving is the best way to get around.

A word of caution: if driving you are sharing the road with trucks, and locals. The mountain roads have steep descents and ascents, hairpin turns, and steep cliff drops are not always protected by railing. The roads may look like one-lane highways but are made to handle two-lane traffic.

See




Do
There are several private companies and professionals offering hiking tours to the San Cristobal Canyon. Many of these tours often include other outdoor activities such as rappelling, rock-climbing, swimming and diving into the natural pools formed by the numerous waterfalls of the canyon.



Buy
The town is famous for its local arts and crafts. A yearly artisanal fair is held during the summer months at the main town square where artists and vendors come to sell their works of art.

Go next

 * Aibonito
 * Cidra
 * Coamo
 * Comerío
 * Corozal
 * Naranjito
 * Orocovis