Discover El Yunque History in the Río Espíritu Santo
Why is it that we never make the time to see the stuff that is closest to our own homes?
We travel all over the island exploring and seeking out all sorts of cool things, yet we had never managed to stop to see the pre-Columbian petroglyphs that we drive right past multiple times every week.
Seriously … the area we have lived in for years is called Cara de Indio (literally translates to Face of the Indian) due to a bunch of petroglyphs in the river that our road crosses over. Yet we had never stopped to see them. But every time we cross the bridge we say “You know what we should do …”.
We finally we made a point to just stop at the bridge and check out these pieces of local history. They were easy to find, and there was a nice pool just below below them for enjoying a cool day in the river.
The El Yunque area has multiple sites that have pre-Columbian petroglyphs. Some of them are on private property and/or are hard to get to. But “our” petroglyphs are located just off the road, in the river. They can be quick stop while in the rain forest area.
Our Visit
We knew these etchings were there, but we weren’t sure exactly where they were. But, as it turns out, they are very close to the road, just a few steps downstream from the bridge that crosses the Río Espíritu Santo.
Once in the river, there is a large rock in the middle, just to the north of the bridge. It is the rock the people are on in the picture above. The petroglyphs are on the north and west side of this rock. There are supposedly 14 or 16 of them, though we were able to locate about 8 or 9.
Some of them are really cool, while others are not very impressive. A number of them are difficult to find. But it is fun to try to find them — kinda like a life-size Highlights™ Hidden Pictures™ puzzle.
Some of them we have never seen elsewhere on the island. Check out the 2 little “babies” inside the large bundled baby’s face. And there were some butterflies.
If you make the stop at our lovely river, stay for a while and enjoy the nice natural pool right below the rock with the petroglyphs. You can swim and enjoy the little water cascades. Of course, be careful of the weather and river conditions.
Details
From Route 3 in Río Grande, turn onto Road 186 (just east of the intersection with Route 66 — El Verde BBQ Restaurant is on the corner). Continue on Road 186 for about 1 mile, then turn left onto Road 966. Just about ¼ mile up the road you will cross a bridge — this is it!
While you could park on the west side of the road (on the right) by the bridge, this would require you to trudge down river (through some deep spots) to get under the bridge to the rock. If you can enter on the left side, there may be a hole in the fence to allow for river access. Depending on how often the grass is cut, this way is easier than across the road (no river trudging). Be respectful of people’s property near by, but access to the river by the bridge ( at least the first 6 ft next to the road/bridge) should be pubic domain.
The best viewing of these are from the area below this rock (in the water), which is a nice swimming pool. So a swimsuit suit, water shoes, and waterproof camera are required!
And when you’re finished, stop into El Verde BBQ for lunch. We highly recommend it!
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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!
