8/24 The ziplines are being renovated, so they may be only running caving tours. But those are super fun too- Check them out!

Ray and I enjoy adventure tours — those with ziplines, rappelling, hiking, and other fun things. We also enjoy going to special, off the beaten path places.

Batey Zipline Adventure, in beautiful Utuado, offers you all that and something extra — caves (both in water and on land) for your touring pleasure. And, believe me, this tour was a pleasure. It is a little tricky to get to, but it is well worth the trip.

Some Background

The owners have been running Batey Adventures for more than 20 years now. Located on 30 acres in the middle of the beautiful karst country. They have put up the zipline course around their farm and over the Tanama River.

We found the guides to be experts in safety procedures, and have many years working with cables and ropes. They also want guests to learn about why the area is so special — it was an important religious area for the pre-Columbian Taino indians.

Our Zipline Tour — The Classic

The Classic Ziplining Tour has everything thing that I enjoy doing in one of my favorite areas of the island, and in only half a day. We had done some hiking in Tanama River area with another company, so we knew how amazing this area is.

Batey has their office right on rt 111, at Km 48.6 (right across from the Caguana Indian Museum- you can’t miss it!). From there, they will drive you to the place where the tour starts. You are greeted by your guides for the day. Our guides were Paul and Jorge. Both were so friendly and personable — we liked them right away.

At the meeting spot, there is an office (with bathrooms) where we signed the usual insurance paperwork. After taking care of business and getting some gear (helmet & headlamp), we hopped into a 4-wheel drive truck, and went down a bumpy road to the Tanama River, where the adventure started.

We started on a short walk during which our guides told us about the Taino culture, what a batey is, and why cemis were important to the Tainos. After we crossed a suspension bridge that Jorge built across the Tanama River, we arrived at Cueva Portillo. The Tanama River runs through this cave, so we hopped in boats/kayaks and entered the 2000-foot long cave. It was amazingly beautiful, and filled with neat formations and some bats.

After paddling through Cueva Portillo, Jorge suggested that we add a "extra" cave to our tour. Getting there required a bit of an uphill hike, but it was so worth it. Along the way, Jorge and Paul were telling us all about the plants, landscape, and the history of the land we passed.

When we arrived at the cave (called Cerro Hueco), we had to enter through a small gap in the rock. Inside, the cave has a couple different chambers where we found lots of stalagmites, stalactites, columns, and (of course) some more bats. It was really beautiful.

After exiting from the cave, we took a short hike to Jorge’s house where we picked up our gear for the ziplines.

At this point, Jorge gave us the instructions that we would need in order to safely enjoy the ziplines. He explained the mechanics of ziplining, along with the safety aspects of the double-cable system, the trolleys, carabiners, harnesses, and safety lines we would be using.

Even if you don’t have any prior experience with ziplines, the guides will explain stuff thoroughly to make sure everyone was comfortable with what you are going to be doing on the ziplines.

It is then just a short walk to the first of the ziplines. There were four ziplines that go around his farm, which is a mixture of trees and fields. Between the two guides, there was always someone at each end of the zipline, one to clip you onto the line, and the other to unclip you from the line.

This tour consisted of seven different ziplines. The shortest was 120 feet long, and the longest was 550 feet. The heights of the ziplines varied from 20 feet (above the ground) to 70 feet (above the river).

After the fourth zipline, we arrived at the top of the rappelling station.The guides explain the use of the descender (to control our rate of descent), how to do a rappel, and the safety lines and braking system that we would be hooked to during the descent.

The rappel is down the face of a vertical rock wall, with an overhang. The total height of the rappel is about 70 feet. For about the first 35 feet of the rappel, your feet are in constant contact with the vertical rock face. The second half, once you get past the edge of the overhang, is more of a controlled descent in which you can go slow or fast, depending on how quickly you feed the rope through the descender.

This rappel was quite exciting for just about everyone. It was really fun and everyone did great, despite some understandable apprehension about "going over the edge".

After the rappel, there were more ziplines, this time above the Tanama River (which, due to the sudden downpour of rain, was extremely swollen and fast-moving).

Finally, we hopped back into the 4-wheel drive truck for a ride back up the hill to the office where we started the tour.Everyone really enjoyed the day.

Random Notes

• Note- the actual activities in a given tour may change due to weather conditions and other factors. For example, if rains too much the Tanama River may be too swollen or fast-moving to access safely. Rain showers usually start by mid day/ afternoon, that is why the tours start early morning. Depending on how wet our "rainy season" has been, the river may be totally off-limits, so trips may be cancelled etc. Just be flexible for your own safety.
• They do offer other tours, including hiking/cave only tours.
• For those people who may be nervous about the rappelling, it’s good to know that you can opt-out of the rappel up until the very last minute. You can look over the edge of the rappelling station, and if you feel that you just can’t do it, there is a path that leads down to the bottom.
• The guides are completely Spanish/English bilingual.
• There is some hiking required, depending on what activities (caves, etc.) are part of your tour. The paths are dirt (they can get slippery/muddy), and the paths are steep in some places. The hiking wasn’t difficult for those in decent shape. They gave us rest stops along the way as needed.
• Since this is a half-day tour, some other things to do in the general area (for the rest of the day) include Caguana Ceremonial Park, Lago Dos Bocas, Cueva Ventana, and Heladeria Lares.

Normally, when we review an activity that is not free to the public, we pay the admission price out of our own pockets. However, we just want you to know that the guys at Batey Zipline Adventure were kind enough to offer us this trip for free. While we don’t feel that this free ride influenced our review one way or the other, we felt that we should tell you, just as a matter of fact.

Details

Check their web page to check current prices and book tours. They also offer a couple other different tours, without the zipline- just hiking, rivers fun, and caves, both in the river and above. Check their web page for info.

If you're happy, let them know it — Don't forget to tip your your bartender, tour guide or trip operator if you enjoyed yourself. Gratuities are appreciated and typically aren't included in the price they charge you.

Tours are offered 7 days/week. Reservations are required. Tour is about 5 hrs.

There is a minimum of 4 people required to run a tour, and a maximum of 15 people per tour. If you don’t have enough people in your group, they will combine you with another group. They can also create a customized tour for your group.

There are minimum age limits and Weight limits for the tours.

Wear closed-toe shoes (with good traction) and comfortable clothes. We always recommend "long shorts" or long pants for ziplining, to protect your thighs from the harness. There’s a very good chance that your shoes and clothes will get wet, so choose accordingly. Have a change of clothes, dry shoes, and a towel in the car in case you get wet or go swimming in the river.

Bring a minimum of ½ liter water per person. Snacks are a good idea, too.

Allow 4 – 4½ hours for the Classic Tour

You can call 787-484-3860 for more information.

Visit the Batey Adventures web site for more information and to make reservations.

Driving directions from the San Juan area: Take Route 22 West to exit 75B for Route 10 (Arecibo exit). Take Route 10 south into Utuado. After about 20 minutes on Route 10, look for an intersection with Road 111 (there is a traffic light). You’ll also see a sign for the Caguana Ceremonial Park. Turn right onto Road 111, and follow for about 20 minutes (it’s a winding road). They have an 2 story building at Km 48.6. (Across from the Caguana Ceremonial Park).

Allow 1 hour 45 minutes to make the drive from the San Juan area. They can arrange transportation (for an extra fee) for groups of 8 or more people.

Click on a placename below to view the location on Google Maps ...

• Batey Zipline Adventure, meeting spot
• Batey Zipline Adventure, turn here
• Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Park

PuertoRicoDayTrips.com assumes no responsibility regarding your safety when participating in the activities described in this article. Please use common sense! If your mother or that little voice in your head tells you that you are about to do something stupid … then don't do it! Read more about Safety →