Cueva Ventana: A View Like No Other
La Cueva Ventana: Una Vista Espectacular
Posted on Apr 1st, 2010 by Gwenn
• Updated on Apr 19th, 2013
We like to discover and write about little-known places to visit and things to do here in Puerto Rico. Cueva Ventana was one of those places. There was not a lot of information available about it, though once we figured it out, it was very easy to get to. And the view is fantastic!
I do a lot of research when searching for some of the more unusual things to do around the island. Some places are more difficult to find information about than others. I’m usually able to find bits and pieces of information scattered across many different sources. Only once I put the whole puzzle together are we able to actually figure out how to find the place we’re looking for. Update 2012- Now there is a lot of information about this cave available all over the internet and it is much more frequently visited. I wonder if we had anything to do with that!
Finding Cueva Ventana was like that. Back in early 2010, it was one of those secret places that only locals and tour guides know about. And then I told everyone about the local secret. I thought this was a really cool place! Cueva Ventana translates into Window Cave, and one look at the photo explains why they call it that.
Cueva Ventana is located in Arecibo, close to the Arecibo/Utuado border, just off of Route 10. It is amazingly easy to get to once you know how. Actually, there are 2 caves here that one can enter — and they are right next to each other.
We went recently with my brother John and his wife Chris. It was a fun trip.
Trip Preparation
First off, we knew we needed to do some planning. Flashlights or headlamps are a must. Even though both caves are open on both ends, the middle is dark (especially Cueva Ventana). 3/13 Note- they now have flashlight rentals! The hike to the mouths of the caves is about 10-15 minutes, mostly up-hill and partly in full sun — so bottles of water for everyone is a must. The caves are inhabited by bats, so there is a lot of guano dripping inside the cave — so antibacterial wipes are also good to have, to wipe your hands when you are done! Because the caves are in the karst region of the island, the cave floors are wet and slippery from the water leaching through the limestone — so shoes with some good grip are required. Once we had all that stuff, we were ready to go.
The Trip
The path leading to the caves is located on Route 10 at KM 75, right next to a Texaco gas station. To get to the cave, you used to have to park in the Texaco station. But, as of March 2013, there is a free parking lot just for people visiting the cave.
As we continued following the trail, we eventually noticed a large tree on the left whose roots are going down into a cave opening. We entered the cave through this a back entrance to a second cave, and it is more difficult than using the main entrance which is by Ventana entrance. I REALLY suggest by-passing this entrance and following the trail. The trail will curve around and it will end up at the openings to two caves. We went into both.
Cueva Ventana is the cave on the left, with the steps going down into it. This cave has a bunch of very pretty formations — stalagmites and stalactites. It has a number of smaller caves, tunnels and hiding spots. It also has bats! But the goal is the window. We kept going through — and then we saw the light at the end. What a great view! We went out as far as we felt comfortable. One must be careful, it is a long way down and there is nothing to stop you from falling (except your own common sense to stay away from the edge). There is such a magnificent view of the green fields and river below.
The cave on the right is smaller and shorter. There is a large cavern inside, but to get down into it, we had to climb down a pretty slippery path. Be careful. We actually went in the back entrance (by the tree with the roots) which required some scaling down a 8-foot wall, just holding onto some tree roots. Chris thought is was really kinda scary! It was also a neat cave, but Chris was not pleased with the slippery path. One must use their best judgement when visiting these caves.
Since both caves are open on both ends, they were the warmest and windiest caves I have ever been in. And they didn’t smell bad either (considering the number of bats living there)! I found this to be an easy place to go and see caves. Since this place is located up in the mountains, unlike the underground Camuy Rio Caves that close if there is rain (since it floods), I bet this place would stay high and dry. One can visit both this cave and Camuy Rio Caves in the same day if they wanted since they are located in the same general area.
I have to say, the whole place (trails and caves) were really pretty clean. There was some graffiti and even some fake Taino petroglyphs, that are pretty recent, inside the caves. But all in all, very nice. And, please everyone, keep it clean and don’t abuse this beautiful place.
Stuff You Need to Know
I think this adventure requires a moderate fitness level, due to the walk up and the slippery footings in the cave. One must have a decent flashlight or headlamp — the inside of Cueva Ventana is pitch black. The ground was dirt and relatively flat, but getting down into the caves was a bit tricky.
Get there early. We arrived at 9:30am and we were alone for a while, and then the tours started showing up. When we drove back past the Texaco station 4 hours later, it was packed with cars and 2 large tour buses. It seemed to be mostly locals visiting, so if one goes during the week, I bet there will be many less people at almost any time of the day.
But one really good reason to go on a weekend is one can go about 10 minutes down the road and enjoy an afternoon at Lago dos Bocas. This lake offers a boat trip and restaurants, which we did and it turned out to be a great day.
Oh, and if you’re into geocaching — there is one inside Cueva Ventana!
The cave is open from 10am to 6pm on Monday to Friday, and 8:30am to 6pm on Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
Admission to the cave is now $5 per person. Children accompanied by an adult are free. Parking for the cave is free. We have heard from one of our readers that the Texaco station is charging 50¢ to use their restrooms. But soon we hear there will also be free bathrooms by the entrance gate.
From the San Juan area, take Route 22 West to Route 10 South (exit 75B). Take Route 10 to KM75. There is a Texaco gas station on the east side of the road. The trail head is to the right (south) of the Texaco station with signs. Nice and easy to find!
Travel time from Rio Grande on a Sunday morning was about 1½ hours.
Nos gusta descubrir y escribir reseñas acerca de lugares pequeños que vale la pena visitar y de otras cosas que se pueden hacer aquí en Puerto Rico. La Cueva Ventana es uno de estos lugares. No encontramos información disponible de antemano, así que nos dimos a la tarea de visitarla ya que era de fácil acceso y con una vista espectacular.
Como de costumbre, siempre termino haciendo una serie de averiguaciones. Algunos lugares son más difíciles de encontrar que otros. Por lo general encuentro pedacitos de información aquí y allá. Una vez formo el rompecabezas con los datos aislados que encuentro es que puedo determinar como llegar hasta ese lugar.
Encontrar la Cueva Ventana se dio de esa forma. Parecía ser uno de esos lugares secretos que solo la gente de la isla y los guías turísticos conocían. Así que creo que es el momento de revelarles este secretito de la gente de aquí. Les anticipo que me encantó este lugar. Con solo mirar la foto te darás cuenta del porque se le llama así.
La Cueva Ventana esta en Arecibo en la frontera con Utuado, en la carretera 10. Es bien fácil llegar allí siguiendo estos datos. Realmente son dos cuevas que uno puede visitar y están localizadas una al lado de la otra.
Recientemente la visitamos junto a mi hermano John y su esposa Chris. Fue un viaje realmente divertido.
PREPARACION PARA EL VIAJE
Primeramente, sabíamos que había que planificar la visita. Es esencial llevar linternas de cualquier tipo. A pesar de que ambas cuevas están abiertas en sus extremos la mitad de las cuevas es oscura, especialmente la Cueva Ventana. El viaje a la boca de la cueva se toma de 10–15 minutos cuesta arriba y frente al sol, así que se debe llevar agua para todo el mundo. Las cuevas están habitadas por murciélagos, así que hay bastante guano cayendo del techo. Le recomiendo llevar toallas antibacteriales para limpiar sus manos una vez el viaje concluya. Ya que las cuevas se encuentran en la región cárstica de la isla, el piso de las cuevas es húmedo y resbaloso debido al agua que permea a través de la piedra caliza así que deben usar zapatos seguros que no resbalen. Una vez que nos equipamos con todo lo antes mencionado ya estábamos preparados para el viaje.
EL VIAJE
El camino que conduce a las cuevas esta localizada en el km 75 de la carretera 10, junto a la estación de gasolina Texaco. Nos aparcamos en un estacionamiento junto a la gasolinera. A la derecha de la estación hay un camino de tierra y piedra que va cuesta arriba (el camino a la derecha). La vereda que conduce a las cuevas tiene una cadena para evitar que los motoristas la usen. Luego de pasar la cadena el camino se dividirá una vez. Nos mantuvimos en el sendero de la izquierda en division del camino. (Traten de mantenerse en el sendero que van camino abajo).
Mientras continuamos caminando por la vereda, notamos un árbol grande a la izquierda cuyas raíces conducen hasta la abertura de una cueva. Entramos por esta entrada posterior pero se nos hizo más dificultoso que si hubiésemos entrado por la entrada principal de la cueva. Realmente les sugiero que no usen esta entrada y continúen la vereda hasta llegar a la curva que es el final de la misma y la entrada de ambas cuevas. Visitamos ambas cuevas.
Cueva Ventana es la de la izquierda con los escalones de concreto que conducen a su interior. Dicha cueva tiene una serie de formaciones hermosas– estalagmitas y estalactitas. Tiene una serie de cuevas pequeñas, túneles y escondites. ¡También tiene murciélagos! Pero el objetivo es llegar a la ventana. Continuamos hasta ver la luz al final. ¡Que hermosa vista! Caminamos hacia el exterior de la ventana con cuidado y hasta donde nos sintiéramos seguros. Uno debe ser cuidadoso pues al final hay un risco y no hay nada que puedas sujetarte en caso de una caída. Debes usar tu sentido común y mantenerte alejado del precipicio al final de la ventana. Abajo la vista de la campiña verde y el rio, es espectacular.
La cueva de la derecha es mas pequeña y baja. Hay una caverna grande dentro, pero para poder bajar a ella tuvimos que bajar por un camino resbaloso. Mucho cuidado. Nosotros nos metimos a ella por la entrada posterior (el arbol con las raices) lo cual requirió el escalar una pared de ocho pies sujetandonos de las raices del arbol, pero a Chris no le gusto mucho el camino resbaloso. Uno debe usar su buen juicio al visitar estas cuevas.
Ya que ambas cuevas están abiertas a ambos extremos, son las cuevas más ventosas y acogedoras que haya visitado. Tampoco hay mal olor dentro (considerando la cantidad de murciélagos que habitan allí). Me gusta el hecho de que visitar estas cuevas es bastante fácil (y es gratis). Ya que estas cuevas están en las montañas, a diferencia de las de Camuy, no se cierran al público ya que no se inundan. Y hablando de las Cavernas del Rio Camuy; uno puede visitar ambas atracciones el mismo día, ya que están localizadas en la misma área.
Tengo que añadir que todo el lugar (veredas y cuevas) están bastante limpias. Aunque hay uno que otro grafiti e imitación de petroglifos añadidos recientemente dentro de la cueva, el lugar está en buenas condiciones. Me sorprendió que nadie cobrara por la admisión ya que parece ser bastante popular. Alguien mantiene las veredas en buenas condiciones y supongo que el terreno debe pertenecer a alguien. Así que quisiera dar las gracias al dueño – (Asumo que el caminar en su propiedad no le importa, pero realmente no se). Por favor, a todo el mundo, manténganla limpia y no dañen este lindo lugar.
COSAS QUE DEBEN SABER
Me parece que esta aventura requiere de un nivel moderado de agilidad corporal por la caminata y por el terreno resbaladizo. Se debe llevar una buena linterna o lámpara ya que el interior de la cueva es completamente oscuro. El suelo es de lodo y relativamente plano, pero el llegar hasta el interior puede ser un poquito tramposo o intrincado.
Llegue allí temprano. Nosotros llegamos a las 9:30 am y estuvimos solos por un rato y luego comenzaron a llegar los tours. Cuando pasamos la estación de Texaco cuatro horas después estaba lleno de carros y dos autobuses de excursiones. Parece ser una atracción de turismo local mayormente; supongo que durante la semana debe haber menos personas a cualquier hora del día.
Una buena razón para ir durante el fin de semana es el hecho de que uno puede continuar guiando cerca de 10 minutos más y llegar al Lago Dos Bocas. Este lago ofrece un paseo en barco y restaurantes, lo cual hicimos y resultó ser un gran día.
¡Ah y si a usted le gusta el "geocaching" – (buscador de tesoros –Cache con GPS) Hay uno dentro de la Cueva Ventana!
$5 entrar en la Cueva Ventana, estación libre de costa. Uno de nuestros lectores nos indica que la de gasolina Texaco a la izquierda del camino de la entrada, esta cobrando 50¢ por usar los servicios sanitarios. 3/13- Pronto banos libre de costo.
La cueva esta abierto de 10am – 6pm en Lunes-Viernes, y 8:30am – 6pm En Sabado, Domingo y ferias.
Desde San Juan, tome la autopista 22 hacia el oeste (salida 75B). Tome luego la carretera 10 hasta el kilometro 75. Hay una gasolinera Texaco al este de la carretera. El sendero principal hacia la cueva esta a la derecha (sur) de la estación de servicio Texaco. ¡Muy fácil de llegar!
El viaje desde Rio Grande el domingo en la mañana tomo cerca de 1&frad12; horas.
Use this map to locate places mentioned in this article. You can click on a placemark to view the GPS coordinates for that place.
Utilice el siguiente mapa para localizar los lugares mencionados en este artículo. Puede hacer clic en cualquiera de las marcas de posición para ver las coordenadas GPS de ese lugar.
This a great, fairly easy excursion if you are in the area!
I just got back from my first trip to the island and your website provided an incredible resource for many off-the-beaten path adventures, Gozalandia Falls, Juan Diego Falls, hidden Rincon beaches. I can’t thank you enough for the wealth of reliable information. Your practical and down-to-earth accounts of your excursions were invaluable!
Your entry for the Window Cave was not on the site before we made our trip. However, we stayed at a B&B, TJ’s Ranch (highly recommended!), which was a few min from Lagos Dos Bocas in the mountains. They suggested to check out the Lake, as well as provided details on the hike to the Window Cave. The view from the cave was spectacular and made for a close day-trip from the B&B we stayed at.
Comment by Ozzie on April 12th, 2010 at 12:28 pmI HAD A GREAT EXPERIENCE ON SATURDAY WITH A FRIEND. THIS WEBSITE WAS A GREAT SOURCE OF INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE TRIP AND BE PREPARE FOR IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCE I’VE EVER HAD. IM LOOKING FOWARD TO VISIT MORE THIS WEBSITE TO PLAN FUTURE TRIPS IN THE ISLAND. THANK YOU.
Comment by nadia on February 7th, 2011 at 1:19 amI found your site when looking for directions to this very cave. Thanks, you provide an invaluble service to everyone who loves to go off the beaten path in PR. I took my sister and her son to Cueva Ventana when they were visiting and they loved it. My nephew even saw a snake! It made his day. Your directions are outstanding and I recommend this site to everyone with questions on what to do in PR.
Comment by Jen on March 5th, 2011 at 2:34 pmI, too, am very appreciative of the material contained within this website. I visited Cueva Ventana last week and had a blast. We arrived around 9:30 AM on a Saturday and saw many groups getting ready to hike up to the caves. We were able to outpace them and reach the cave with sufficient time to enjoy the vistas all by ourselves. After we finished exploring both caves, we set out to find the road that can be seen in the field below the cave. After a little searching, we were able to locate the caves up on the hills above route 123. There are two ways to reach 123 from Cueva Ventana. If you head south from the caves on route 10, you will need to drive a few miles through the entrance to the Bosque Estatal De Rio Abajo. There will be a sign on your left for a scenic viewpoint. Make a left turn onto route 621 and stay straight until you see a sign for 123. Turn left onto 123, following signs for PR – 123 (always left) until you reach a bridge over the Rio Grande de Arecibo. If you look up and to your left (westward) you will see people in a small opening in the rock face. This is Cueva Ventana from the other side! The other way to reach the view point is easier and requires you to drive north on route 10 from the caves until you reach a right turn around km 79. Stay right and you will find yourself on route 123. Head south on 123 until you get to the second bridge over the river. If you look up and to the right from the second bridge you will see the cave opening above.
Comment by Jason on March 31st, 2011 at 5:48 pmThanks for the kind words … and for the additional info!
Comment by Ray on March 31st, 2011 at 5:51 pmI’m absolutely looking forward to visit this cave during my next trip to Puerto Rico. I would not have known about it if it weren’t for this great website. It’s hard to put into words how appreciative I am of the information on this site. Great, GREAT job.
Comment by Josh on April 12th, 2011 at 3:55 pmThis to me is the definition of an off-the-beaten-path excursion. Fun, unique, interesting, cool, and awe-inspiring are some words to describe it. Add to that a little excercise and sweat, the fact that it’s free, and a possibly a little mud, and you’ve got yourself the perfect activity to fill up a morning or afternoon. Definitely don’t forget to bring your camera, cause it’s a great photo opportunity.
I put the map into my head before we headed out, and it didn’t serve me well. I thought once we headed up the trail we would run into a series of Y’s, and you went right, right, left. I don’t know what I did wrong, but suddenly we were headed back down, and had to backtrack and try something different. It made for some extra hiking, but we ended up finding it, nonetheless. Definitely well worth the effort. We got to enjoy it alone with a young couple from Germany.
Like the above article mentions, definitely respect the paths and caves, and definitely keep it clean. That applies to anywhere you visit in Puerto Rico. Heck we actually picked up two potato chip bags we saw early on in the trail, and disposed of them properly.
Comment by Josh on August 16th, 2011 at 8:49 amThe Texaco Station now charges for parking ($2) and for the restroom (50c).
Comment by DavidMGuest on December 5th, 2011 at 3:41 pmI visited this cave with my husband and my mom. We loved it! The trail is really not that bad and the view at the end is worth the walk. Your website was amazingly helpfull. We would have never found this place or know which trail to follow had it not been for the detailed information provided here. Thanks, you guys are doing a great job!
Comment by Carola on January 17th, 2012 at 8:18 pmThanks a lot for the information
All my questions are answered now 
Comment by Glorimar on January 28th, 2012 at 10:58 pmThank you very much for this detail post especially with the direction on how to get to the actual caves themselves. We drove and got there at around 10am. When we started to go down to the large cave, we could hear that there was a school group inside the cave. I have to say that if they were not already there, I am not sure if we would have been brave enough to walk into the pitch-black cave in order to see the other side. However, the view was breath-taking. It made our day!
When we were there in February 24th, the gas station did not charge us for parking there. It may have to do with whoever is working behind the cash register.
After the cave, we went to Salitre for lunch, and that was fantastic. We had the best baked king red snapper. All around, it was a great day.
Comment by Dung on March 3rd, 2012 at 7:05 pmThanks a lot! Great info!
Comment by Oliver W. on March 11th, 2012 at 10:40 amApproximately how much time will it take to hike both caves?
Thanks for your articles on PR.
Comment by Anonymous on May 7th, 2012 at 9:47 pmI would say allow about 1 hour. The walk up to them is only about 10 mins and the caves are not huge and they are right next to each other.
Comment by Gwenn on May 13th, 2012 at 8:56 amCan a 4 year old do this trip?
Comment by Jo on August 13th, 2012 at 9:09 amI don’t know….the walk up to it is ok, but then the steps down into the cave are steep and slippery (not so much steps as stones and cut outs), the cave is large and dark and slippery and then there are no guard rails to stop an active kid from slipping out over the edge.
Comment by Gwenn on August 13th, 2012 at 10:22 amJust went to the cave a few weeks ago, there are now people there charging $5 to go into the cave.
Comment by Vagabond3 on November 8th, 2012 at 1:32 pmThanks- we will add that to the article. I hope they use the money to help conserve the place and keep it clean.
Comment by Gwenn on November 8th, 2012 at 6:40 pmThey are charging $3.00 plus sales tax. I checked them out and its the legal owners. They got people now cleanning the inside of tge caves and trails.
Comment by Diego on November 10th, 2012 at 6:33 pmWent to the caves today, Dec 20, 2012, and was a great short diversion to our day. Parking was easy, parked on side of PR10 in the grassy area maybe 30-40 ft from the Texaco entrance (to the right (south) if facing the station). Saw several small tour groups of 5-10 people there but no one charged us any $ for anything. On right side of the Texaco walk up the hill and take the wide dirt trail/road to the right (to left is a new looking dirt road that workers were busy installing a new chain link fence along). Maybe 5-7 min up the trail is a fork, take left fork, another 2-3 min will see the entrance on left with the tree roots, go past it and around the curve for another 5 min and you’ll see the easier entrance with steps. Was a fabulous view from the cave mouth overlooking the lush green valley, well worth the total 40 min round trip.
Comment by dcrider on December 20th, 2012 at 9:46 pmNow cave is clean and ladders, steps and trails are being built. Best $3.00 spent ever. All legal also.
Comment by caveman puerto rico on January 10th, 2013 at 10:45 pmClosed? Oh no! Will it be open again by next January? One of the commentors said, they are building some ladders, steps, and trails. That might be why it’s closed. If that’s the case, it will probably re-open. That’s too bad, I didn’t get to see it last time, and I liked it ‘cuz it was wild. Oh well. Hopefully they didn’t modernize it too much, and hopefully they at least kept the rope near the back enterance. I wanted to climb down it.
Comment by Brian on January 26th, 2013 at 7:07 pmIt should be resolved in the next few months I would think. We will keep the post updated with the newest information.
Comment by Gwenn on January 26th, 2013 at 8:58 pmOne of the administrators informed me that they are improving the entrance to the caves,not the insides and it shall reopen in about 2 weeks, also free parking is on the way.
Comment by caveman on January 29th, 2013 at 3:36 pmWas ready to go tomorrow. Any news if its still closed?
Comment by Eduatdo on January 30th, 2013 at 12:06 amYes, please do. I wonder what sort of legal issues they are having. Hopefully they will be resolved. I thought it reopned already. Keep us updated. I hope it reopens soon.
Comment by Brian on January 30th, 2013 at 10:14 pmWe can hope!
Comment by Gwenn on February 1st, 2013 at 9:18 amstill closed as of 2/1/13
Comment by Gwenn on February 1st, 2013 at 9:19 amplanning a visit for late feb / early mar. hope it opens!
Comment by Shawn on February 9th, 2013 at 5:49 pmjust re opened. new wood trails and benches along to rest. $5 bucks ok. soon free parking
Comment by caveman on February 18th, 2013 at 7:10 amfree parking now!!!!
Comment by caveman on March 23rd, 2013 at 6:33 am