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Tucked away in the lush northwest corner of Puerto Rico, about 50 miles west of San Juan, is one of the island's best kept secrets; the Rio Camuy Caves. The cave system, which gets its name from the 13-mile-long Camuy River, forms the third-largest cave system in the Western Hemisphere. The process that created the caves started almost 160 million years ago when a great limestone plateau was thrust up from the Caribbean Sea to form the western half of the island. Over time rainwater and wind eroded the surface of the plateau forming large sinkholes and rounded hummocks called magotes, characteristic of what we now call 'karst' landscape. The process of erosion continues today, helped along by the dense vegetation that blankets the region. Some of this vegetation produces carbon dioxide which, when absorbed by rainwater, forms a mild carbonic acid which further dissolves the porous limestone.

Over the centuries, the caves have been home to indigenous peoples and millions of bats, but because of the their remote location and rugged terrain, the cave system remained mostly undiscovered until the late 1940s. In fact it was not until an overcast morning in October 1958 that any modern day explorers decided to descend into the system of caves. The first expedition included National Geographic cave writers, Russell and Jeanne Gurnee along with Bob and Dorothy Rebille, and a Puerto Rican doctor, José Limeres, all avid spelunkers.

Their short foray into the system convinced them that the caves should be preserved and they managed to convince the Puerto Rican government to purchase 300 acres surrounding the main cave entrance. Later, with the help of the Speleological Society of Puerto Rico, the group managed to explore and map almost 4 miles of this extensive subterranean system and was instrumental in the parks creation in 1986. During one of their forays the Gurnee's discovered a new, blind species of fish, which was named Alaweckelia gurneei in their honor.

Today, over 10 miles of caverns, 220 caves and 17 entrances to the Camuy cave system have been mapped between the surrounding towns of Hatillo, Camuy and Lares. As well two other systems have been discovered: the Sistema del Río Encantada, a 10-mile system that runs between the towns of Ciales, Florida and Manatí, and the Río Tanamá system. This, however, is only a fraction of the entire system which many experts believe still holds another 800 caves. The 300-acre Camuy site contains 16 large caverns including Clara de Empalme Cave, a massive 180-foot-high cavern decorated with huge stalagmites and stalactites.

The Río Camuy Caves Park is located 11 miles southwest of Arecibo on Hwy 129 and due to the ecological sensitivity of the area only a specific number of visitors are allowed into the park each day. Visitor numbers are regulated by limiting the seats on the trolleys and the number of daily tours. Before entering the cave system, visitors are shown a short audio/video presentation documenting how the caverns were formed and the park rules. Following the presentation visitors board waiting open-air trolleys for the descent into the caverns.

The trolleys snake down a concrete roadway through a steep-sided chasm with walls crowded in graceful ferns, tall mahogany trees and limestone formations, then into a 180-foot deep sinkhole before reaching the entrance of the Clara de Empalme Cave. Near the entrance, visitors leave the trolleys and descend on foot to the first cave where they are taken on a 45-minute guided tour through the immense cave network consisting of two large caverns. The informative tours are conducted in Spanish and English.

The first cave you enter is, Cueva Clara de Empalme, a huge dry chamber with large stalactites and stalagmites which grow at an average rate of about one inch every 300 years. Large boulders littering the cave floor are actually pieces of the cave ceiling that have broken away over the years. At the south end of the main chamber is another large opening leading to the Sumidero Empalme--a 400-ft-deep sinkhole open to the sky. On the right side of the path near the entrance to the Sumidero Empalme is a small pool filled with tiny shrimp. From this point the cavern network continues another 9 miles, but most of it is off limits to visitors. The return trip takes visitors through another small cave where visitors can hear and see the Rio Camuy--the world's third longest underground river--flowing 150 feet below.

Then it's back on the trolleys for a short ride to the Tres Pueblos Sinkhole (named because it lies at the convergence point of three municipality boundaries (pueblos); the towns of Camuy, Hatillo, and Lares). The hole is gigantic. At almost 660 feet across and 360 feet deep, it is large enough to hold the entire El Morro Fortress. Viewing platforms, around the rim, allow visitors a good look at the Camuy River some 360 feet below. Beyond the second viewing platform is a series of steps that descend into another sinkhole to the entrance of Cueva Espiral (Spiral Cave). After exploring Cueva Espiral visitors are shuttled back to the visitors center.

Three other smaller caves in the area, La Cueva de la Luz (Cave of Light) and La Cueva de Pagan Pagan (Pagan Pagan's Cave), and La Cueva de Camuy (not to be mistaken for the main one) are all privately owned and can be explored on your own after paying a small entrance fee. Two of them are along hwy 486 and the other is very near the main park. Just ask for directions at the main park gate.

For the more adventurous and those in good physical health, Tropix Wellness Tours and Aventuras Tierra Adentro are two outfitters offering real backcountry spelunking. One especially adventurous trip called, the 'Angeles,' starts out with a 4x4 ride into the karst interior around Lares followed by a zipline ride down into a dense forest. The zipline ride consists of putting on a harness and sliding down a wire cable. At the end of the zipline, wanna-be spelunkers are outfitted with special harnesses and headgear and rappel 200 feet down into a sinkhole. A short swim across an underground pool at the base of the sinkhole, is followed by a slide down a mudslide to the waiting waters of the Río Camuy River. After an hour or so of body rafting through dark underground channels and caves you exit into another sinkhole where you climb back out into the light. Similar, but longer and more strenuous trips are available on the Río Tanamá. Groups are small (6-8 people) and the trips attract people of all ages who are in good physical health.

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