Isla Mona

Introducing Isla Mona

There is no rarer wilderness adventure in the Caribbean than a trip to Isla Mona, Puerto Rico’s ‘Jurassic Park, ’ 50 miles to the west of the main island in the Pasaje de la Mona. And although few Puerto Ricans or travelers actually ever visit Mona, this nearly circular island of 14, 000 acres looms large in many people’s imagination.

A nature reserve since 1919 and uninhabited for more than 50 years, Mona is so full of history, dramatic geological formations and wildlife that it can overwhelm your senses and pique your curiosity in ways you cannot even imagine. Keep in mind, though, that concerns about safety on the island caused the Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA; Department of Natural Resources & Environment) to close the island to visitors for months, so make sure Mona is open to visitors before you plan your trip.

You suddenly begin taking the ‘long view’ of our planet’s history when you see the violet cliffs of the tabletop island rising like a fata morgana (mirage) above the deep blue waves, or a collection of giant iguanas scrambling onto a trail to sniff your scent. Puerto Rican traffic jams seem like only the tiniest wrinkles in time when a pod of humpback whales near Mona begin breaching in front of you, a nurse shark surprises you beneath some antler coral, or you scramble through one of the island’s limestone caves toward a point of light until you come to a hole that opens in the side of a cliff 100ft above the sea.

Then there are fish-eating bats, wild goats and pigs, Taíno petroglyphs on cave walls and the stories – stories of enslaved Indians, sunken galleons holding treasures of gold, skeletons of 18th-century pirates uncovered on Playa Pájaros, buried buccaneer loot and a government-sponsored search for the same that ended abruptly when a member of the search party committed suicide.

All this serves as ample food for thought when you are sitting around your campfire in the starlit night – and a reminder that a trip to Mona cannot be undertaken on a whim. While the DRNA provides toilets and saltwater showers at Playa Sardinera, Mona is a backcountry camping experience and boat trips here can take more than five hours in rough seas.

The rangers and police detachment (in their small station at Playa Sardinera) can provide basic first aid and have radio contact with the main island, but beyond this you are on your own in a beautiful – but hostile – environment.

Last updated: Oct 20, 2009