Sights in Manatí & Around
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Bosque Estatal de Cambalache
Cambalache covers an area of just 1000 acres, making it smaller than a lot of Puerto Rican resort hotels. The entrance to this compact but little-visited forest reserve lies west of Barceloneta, in front of - wait for it - a Job Corps facility. Despite this rather inauspicious introduction, the forest is ecologically varied and characterized by distinctive karstic formations; countless mogotes pop straight up from the landscape to heights of 160ft.
Its many caves provide homes for fruit bats, which often swarm like bees into the evening sky. The forest has a picnic area, eight miles of hiking trails, two designated trails for mountain bikes (though they're often washed…
reviewed
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Lagoon
This lagoon - Lagoon Tortuguero, is the only natural lake in Puerto Rico, making its protection extra precious. It is also one of the most ecologically diverse spots on the island, listing 717 species of plant and 23 different types of fish. Hiking around this pretty spot yields ocean views, and you can also fish and kayak in the lake – though you’ll have to bring your own equipment. Ask the rangers on duty about the trails, though they’re pretty obvious. Some locals use them for jogging. One of the lake’s stranger problems is its caiman infestation. In the 1990s there was an odd craze to buy striped South American caimans. Locals bought them in their droves, only to…
reviewed
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Bosque Estatal de Vega
This is a small forest of approximately 1000 acres set among the mogotes south of the Hwy 22 expressway, just to the northwest of the town of Vega Alta. You enter off Hwy 676, where you'll see the forest office. There are picnic shelters and a few modest hiking trails (signage isn't great), but the forest isn't very developed.
Its principal function is to preserve some of the aquifer that lies beneath the sinkholes and to provide a green buffer against the outer suburbs of San Juan, which are pressing rather alarmingly on its borders. The hours here are seasonal; if you will require a ranger it's best to call ahead.
reviewed