In the past, if you wanted to go ziplining here in Puerto Rico you had to go to the Río Abajo Forest, Toro Negro Forest or La Marquesa Forest. But that’s all changed now.

In March 2009, Yunke Zipline Adventure opened for business in the foothills of El Yunque National Forest close to many areas that are on most visitors’ must do list.

For those of you that haven’t been on a zipline before — a zip line canopy tour allows you to sail from tree to tree and platform to platform on a network of pulleys and double horizontal cables that are mounted between 10 and 80 feet above the tropical forest floor. We think it is really a lot of fun!

I can’t tell you how excited I am about the location of this new zip line! The Yunke Zipline Adventure and canopy course is located just up the next road from the El Yunque National Forest. It is set on a beautiful, 28-acre piece of land, high up in the Luquillo mountains. Easy to reach, super fun and when you are done, there is still have time to do other stuff in the nearby area!

Getting Started

We met our guides Jaime and Roqui (pronounced ROW-key) at their meeting place on Road 992 in Luquillo at 9:00am. After everyone for our group showed up, we followed them for a 4-minute drive to the base camp for their operation.

They have a house that they use to store their equipment. That’s where you sign the required waivers, get geared-up, and receive the initial briefing on what you’ll be doing over the next couple hours. There’s also a restroom in the house, which I suggest you use since you won’t see it again for 3 or 4 hours!

As Jaime and Roqui were getting our gear ready, I walked around at the property. It is in a beautiful location, with great views of El Yunque, and it is full of tropical fruit trees and plants.

After a little while, Jaime and Roqui got us all together and told us a little about themselves and the zip line adventure we were about to take. These two local guys (along with a third guy Jorge, who was tending to a sick son that day) have many years of experience doing zip line adventures with other companies on the island. After working for those other companies in different parts of the island, they felt that the north-east could use an adventure course, so they decided to strike out on their own.

Roqui explained the equipment we would be using that day and how safe it really is. During your adventure, you will be wearing a harness (that attaches you to the cable system), helmet and gloves. Between the harnesses, carabiners, double zipline cables, a safety clip when you are on the platforms, and these guys watching out for you each step of the way, you are covered.

Both guys have a great sense of humor, too. They made everyone feel at ease and were great about answering everyone’s questions. When we were all ready, they handed out the gear and helped us into our harnesses. Then off we went. Our group was a family of 3, and me and Ray.

Our Adventure Begins

Zip lines work with gravity — they start at a high point and go downhill — so you know what that means … the first part of the adventure is walking uphill. The walk up to the first platform is 0.8 mile. But as it turns out, Roqui is a biologist, so he made frequent stops and pointed out all sorts of interesting things (more on this later), which gave us a chance to catch our breath.

At the first platform, Roqui re-instructed us about the zip line, our equipment, how we should land on the platforms and the safety practices they would be following. Their zipline course uses double slack cables, which operates a little differently than other zipline courses that use tighter cables. It was nice to know that the maximum weight limit they allow had nothing to do with the maximum weight the lines can hold — Roqui said one cable could hold a small car! They use double lines because it is psychological — people feel more comfortable with 2 lines!

Anyway … about those slack cables. This means they are not tight. So you start off quickly and then slow down as you approach the next platform, without having to use your hand as a brake. All you have to do is get your feet on the next platform, and then take a step or two until you stop (or they stop you). They always had someone on each end of the line — one to hook your harness safely onto the ziplines and one on the other to unhook your harness from the ziplines and clip you onto a safety (so you can’t fall from the high platforms). And it really requires no work from you at all. As you zip through the forest, you are actually sitting in your harness. All you have to do is to convince yourself you are ready for an adventure and step off the platform!

The Zipline Course

Their course has 7 ziplines, with 3 assisted rappels along the way. The last 2 ziplines are longer than the rest, and the last line is REALLY long — at about 850 feet, it’s the longest zipline on the island. And the views from that last zipline and platform are fantastic! You fly out of the forest and get an amazing view of the northern limit of El Yunque National Forest and El Yunque & Este peaks.

The rappels are assisted, which means they hold the rope (using a hand brake) and control the speed of your descent (so you can’t mess up and fall). The platform in the last tree you descend from is pretty high up (about 80 feet), so you have a nice trip down — walking down the tree sideways!

Zip lining is fast and fun and exhilarating! The "dad" in our group was afraid of heights — but he did great. He said he normally wouldn’t do this, but since his son wanted to (for his birthday), he faced his fears and did it. What a nice dad! So, if he can do it, I think, so can you. I like to do something that gets my heart pumping! What an adrenaline rush, stepping off the platform and flying through the air!

The Nature Experience

Both Jaime and Roqui really love their island. Throughout the entire trip, they told us all about Puerto Rico, from how the island was formed, to giving restaurant suggestions! Roqui knows so much about the nature on the island — every time a bird chirped, he would identify it for us. He pointed out the fruit and veggies growing on the farm. He showed us the wild plants that grew along the way and their uses. He could spot all sorts of amazing things — bird nests, lizards, a spider exoskeleton, the jaw bone of an iguana, a small scorpion — and tell us about each one of them.

They also pointed out different trees in the forest and told us about how they were used by the indigenous people and their use today. They even told us about an old-time local game the kids played with seeds from the stinky toe pod. Roqui found a pod, and opened it — yes, it smelled bad! — and showed us the hard seeds inside, which he kept for his nephew, so he could keep the game alive in this next generation on kids.

Just as an aside about this course — these guys are really into preserving the forest. They ran the lines between existing large trees and made the landing platforms by suspending them — they were careful not to harm the trees by using nails and/or screws. Some of the platforms are pretty high up — it could not have been easy to make this course!

I was very impressed with these guys and the work they have done. It was easy to see that they love the land and culture of Puerto Rico, and want to preserve it and educate people about it. And provide a fun and safe adventure for everyone.

And That’s Just Half of Your Day!

Because of its location, one can experience all the fun and excitement of this zipline course and still have lots of time left to visit the rain forest, Balneario Monserrate in Luquillo, the biobay (kayaking in Laguana Grande in Fajardo or swimming in Mosquito Bay in Vieques), or any of the other great activities that are available in the north-east part of Puerto Rico.

Hints, Tips & Other Info

You need to be of moderate physical ability — there is a 0.8 mile walk (much of it uphill) at the beginning of your adventure. Closed-toe shoes are required. We recommend wearing longer shorts (no short-shorts) or light-weight pants. Bring water. Bring a small backpack for 1 person in your group (to hold your bottles of water, camera, etc). They do this trip rain or shine.

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 Yunke 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.

The Details

The cost is $99/person. Groups of 12 or more people will receive a discount. Puerto Rico residents (with photo id, like a driver’s license) are offered a 20% discount on Sundays.

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.

They do this trip twice/day (at 9:00am and 2:00pm) 7 days/week.

Open to participants 10 years old and up. Children between the ages of 10 to 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Participants should weigh between 70 to 230 pounds.

Allow 3 to 4 hours.

Call 787-242-3368 for more information or to make a reservation. They will eventually respond to email, but if you want to do this in the next few days, it’s better to call.

You can visit their web site for more information.

Take Route 3 to the Luquillo area. Then pick up Road 992. The meeting point is at the basketball court at KM 4 on Road 992.

Yunke Zipline Adventure is about a 45 – 60 minute drive from the San Juan area.

You can locate the meeting place on our Interactive Island Map