Go Underground at the Rio Camuy Caves Park
Posted on Dec 2nd, 2007 by Gwenn • Updated on Nov 22nd, 2011
Personally, I am not really "into" caves. Coming from the north-east of the US, I have seen my share of cold, dark caves. But there is something about the Rio Camuy Caves that is different (I guess because they are not dark and cold!), and I actually enjoyed this trip.
On a recent trip to the Rio Camuy Caves Park (or, in Spanish, Parque de las Cavernas del Rio Camuy), we arrived early (about 9:30am) and had no trouble getting in. They give you numbered tickets as you enter the parking area. They then call out these numbers to get you onto your tour in a first-come, first-served basis. After you park, head into the visitors’ center to purchase your actual tour tickets. After you buy your tickets, sit tight or visit the gift shop while you wait for your number to be called. Once you’re called, you will be shown a short movie explaining the caves and park, and the rules of the cave system (don’t touch anything!).
After watching the movie, you board a trolley and they whisk you away through this pretty park to the cave entrance. The park is nice and lush, and many of the trees are marked with their names. When you get to the caves, your guide takes you into the cave system. Basically, the roof of a cave fell in, exposing this cave. There is a huge opening on both sides, so you shouldn’t get claustrophobic.
Our guide, Marcano, was very interesting and he had some jokes that were pretty amusing, so we were all entertained as we learned about the caves. Clara Cave is the name of the cave you walk into first and it is huge and beautiful. After about a 15 minute walk through this cave, it opens into another area where you can see the Camuy River running below you and there is a huge overhang above you. They also have the "fountain of youth" – a natural spring you can drink from (we had to try that!). The tour guide answered everyone’s questions very well – he really seemed to know what he was talking about – he had been doing it for many years and still seemed to enjoy it.
We then turned around and went through the cave again, but on the other side, so it looked totally different. Our guide, after telling us the how and why the formations develop, also gave us the less educational version – pointing out more of the amusing looking formations- "the gorilla sitting at a table", a "Christmas tree" etc. It was fun.
We also passed the section where you can hear the river racing below you, and where you can hear (and smell) the bats. They say there is a colony of half a million bats that live in the cave. Luckily, they sleep during the day, so you won’t run into any of them!
As you walk along the concrete path, watch out for all the stalactites hanging down (someone in our group hit their head!). The walkway is wet, and in some parts slippery, so wear sneakers or shoes with good traction, and use the handrails as suggested.
Once out of the caves, you get back onto the tram again and they take you to a huge sink hole where you can see the river again. Then they take you back to the main entrance and your tour is done.
The only bathrooms are located at the main entrance (behind the ticket booth). The tour takes about 1.5 hours, so plan accordingly. The caves are cool, you may want to bring a jacket. You can take all the pictures you want, and the guides point out the best ways and places to get good shots.
The caves are located in a 268 acre park. This is a very popular site with tourists and locals alike. The park only allows a certain number of visitors in a day. So it is best to get there before 10:30am. They don’t take reservations. Also, they close the caves if it is raining, because the river can cause flash floods.
The park has a wooded area with picnic pavilions, a play area for the kids, walking trails, a little restaurant, and a souvenir shop. The movie we saw was in Spanish, with English subtitles. The tours are separated – being offered in either English or Spanish.
In the movie, they say if you have asthma, other medical conditions or are pregnant, don’t go into the cave, or see their health department before going in. I assume it is mainly for insurance purposes as the walking part is easy, just slippery. But the air in the cave is thick with moisture, and a guy with asthma in our group had to use his inhaler.
After being closed for over a year, the Department of Natural Resources re-opened Clara Cave (Cueva Clara) January, 2009. Though we have not been back ourselves, we have heard that they now make all visitors wear hard hats while in the cave system.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children ages 4 to 12, and Seniors get a discount. All prices include an audio guide for your touring pleasure. Parking is $3 to $4 depending on your vehicle.
Open only Wednesday through Sunday from 8:00am until about 5:00pm, or when they reach park capacity (or when it is raining). The last tour is at 3:30pm. The park is closed most major holidays (including New Years Day, Three Kings Day, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, Christmas).
Allow 1.5 hours for the movie and the tour. If the park is crowded, you’ll spend more time because they put you on tours in the order you arrived at the park.
Call 787-898-3100 for more information. It is best to call before going to make sure park is open (they will close if it is too rainy).
Camping is allowed in the summer (June 15-Aug 15) for $5 per person. Call ahead for info.
From the San Juan area, take Route 22 west to Arecibo – exit 77b. Then Route 129 south to Km 20. There are signs to guide you once you get off of Route 22.
Use this map to locate places mentioned in this article. You can click on a placemark to view the GPS coordinates for that place.
I am so sorry to hear about the accident. I was planning to visit the park in March. This would have been my first trip there, but I am too scared to go now.
Comment by Sonia on January 23rd, 2008 at 2:41 pmThat was the first accident at the Caves in 20-some years. Cave systems are natural environments, and as such cannot be completely controlled. The reason the caves are closed to the public right now is so that they can figure out what went wrong and how to prevent a similar accident in the future.
Comment by Ray on January 23rd, 2008 at 4:37 pmMy wife and I travelled from Dorado to the cave area in the last week of January. We were told of the accident and that the park was closed when we arrived at the park guardhouse/entrance. Tragic event. My question is, why didn’t they simply post notices of the closure on the highway roadsigns along the way? We travelled 90 minutes for nothing. At least we were able to divert to Rincon to watch the surfers and have lunch, so it wasn’t a total waste of a beach day.
Comment by Ray (also) on February 8th, 2008 at 10:19 amSorry that you found out too late that the caves were closed. I can’t really answer your question, except to comment that if you were going to Disney, and a ride was closed due to an accident, you wouldn’t see signs posted along the highway to the park notifying you of the closure there either.
Comment by Ray on February 11th, 2008 at 5:16 pmI just called the number the number in anticipation of making a reservation or getting information, and was told that the caves are still closed. (March 18, 2008) I am so disappointed.
Comment by Fred on March 18th, 2008 at 1:52 pmAny information of the opening of Clara Cave? Is it still closed?
Comment by Eugene on August 21st, 2008 at 4:02 pmIt’s still closed. There has been no re-opening date announced. We’ll update this article once the cave re-opens.
Comment by Ray on August 21st, 2008 at 8:05 pmWe went to see the cave on May 26, 2010. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the cave because it was full. Guard at the gate told us that you have to be here early to get in and told us to come back at 3 pm. But when I called at 3 pm the cave was closed due to rain. We drove from Fajardo so on the way back we stopped at the prime outlets in Barcelonetta.
Comment by Sayuj on May 31st, 2010 at 10:21 pmPlease keep in mind cave will close if it rains. It was a bad experience for us.
The weather was bad, and all my adventures kept getting cancelled.
Comment by Amber on November 8th, 2010 at 12:23 amSo we went to the Cave and it was so awsome…
The drive there was scary due to the roads that the GPS told us to go, but on the way there the view was awsome and we got to see some water falls.
We went to the caves in July 2011. We had a great experience! We drove in from Dorado, a 2 hour drive! I called the morning before at around 8:00 am when they open. They suggested to be there early. We arrived on a Thursday at around 9:30 (it is hard to get 4 teenagers out of bed early
We were the 4th car into the park. We had no line purchasing the tickets, but we did notice a big tour bus arrive just behind us. We waited about 15 minutes to ride down to the caves. The tour was great! Afterwards, we waited about 15 minutes for the tram to come and pick us up. We had a fabulous experience. Disney, eat your heart out!
Comment by Maria on July 30th, 2011 at 10:33 amMy family and I have been to a few caves and this one was quite unique! It felt so open and warm. We drank from the fountain of youth and I hope it works! haha The tour guide was awesome with a great personality. The funniest thing happened while we were there. Our tour guide takes us to the opening of the caves where the bats hang out. As he’s telling us about the bats and how they sleep during the day about 5 flew out and flew around causing a little commotion. A few people were petrified but we thought it was funny and added to the experience.
We got there about 9 and only had to wait for 30 min. I didn’t think that was too bad. We drove from Ponce to get there. Thank goodness for GPS’s because my print out from Google Maps and the roads we were on didn’t match up. The ride was a little scary with the roads being so small and windy but it was nice to see the mountains and the cute houses along the way.
Comment by Michele on November 15th, 2011 at 2:49 pmWe just visited the caves this last Friday (January 20th, 2011). I was extremely disappointed. The cave itself was pretty cool, but the tour guide we had was obviously sick and tired of being a tour guide there. He obvisouly did it just for the paycheck. He had been there 25 years. He ran through motions and we were short changed on a lot of the above items. We didn’t see a movie and we weren’t taken to any sink hole.
We were in and out of the cave in about 30 minutes. With the Tram ride we were back to our car within an hour of when the tour began.
The only positive on the day was that it was extremely uncrowded. Our group had only 4 people in it including me and my wife. Maybe that is why the tour guide simply didn’t care. Not that he wasn’t nice. He was willing to take our picture, etc…..but to spend $33 for the two of us to park and walk through the cave, not to mention the 3 hours and $12 in tolls (round trip) it cost to get there from San Juan and I wouldn’t do it again.
If you like caves, it might be cool to visit, but don’t go with super high expectations, I’ve been to far more impressive and interesting caves.
Comment by Steve on January 24th, 2012 at 6:16 pm