Cueva Arenales

Useful Information

Location:	Calle Los Ortega, Morovis, Vega Baja 00687. From San Juan Route 22 west, exit 35, Route 160 South to KM 10.8, turn right Calle Andre Sierra Torres to the end. (18.362830, -66.389212)
Open:	no restrictions. [2023]
Fee:	free. [2023]
Classification:	Gorge
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	NaturHabitat Ecotours Inc., Tel: +1-787-362-0441. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2014	canyoning tour opened to the public.

Description

Cueva Arenales (Sand Cave) is said to be one of the most popular caves on Puerto Rico. Actually it is not a cave, it's a canyoning trip through Charco Azul (Blue Pool), which is despite the name neither blue nor a pool. The river gorge is a really popular canyoning trip, and includes swimming in the river, actually getting wet is unavoidable. It is also called Charco los Murielogos de las Cuevas Arenales (Pool of the Bats at Sand Caves). The canyon narrows massively forming a slot canyon, and at some points there is almost a cave ceiling, making it a cave or at least a shelter. The site is reached on a dead-end, single-lane, and quite steep road which the water company uses to reach their pumping station and dam.

The site is open to the public, and you are free to go there and drown. We, like always, suggest taking a tour with an operator, we heard NaturHabitat Eco Tours offers tours which are worth the money and are much recommended. You will need waterproof equipment, helmet, headlamp, gum boots or neoprene shoes, bathing suit, and probably a towel and dry clothes for afterwards. Also, a plastic bag for the wet gear. The tour is quite similar to a cave tour, but it's nevertheless a canyoning tour, and we do not list them. We made an exception, because this gorge is actually a roofless cave, the roof of the former river cave eroded away and now it is roofless. There are numerous speleothems like flowstones and stalactites at the walls.

This site became famous by social media, since 2014 pictures are published on instagram and other sites, soon there was tv coverage, and soon the place became crowded. The road is not sufficient for so many people, neither is the gorge. There is not enough parking space, and thieves discovered that visitors leave their car unattended for hours. The last problem is best solved by investing $3 for supervised parking. The others by arriving quite early in the morning.