Puerto Rico - The places of your holidays on a sailing yacht and catamaran

Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States situated in the Caribbean Sea in the Greater Antilles. Its capital city is San Juan.

Puerto Rico is an archipelago, made up of a main island giving the country its name and a series of smaller islands. The main island is mostly mountainous with long coasts. Cordillera Central is the chief mountain range and hosts the highest peak, Cerro de Punta (1338 m). Another important peak is El Yunque (1080 m), situated in the National Caribbean Forest. Furthermore, Puerto Rico contains 17 artificial lakes and over 50 rivers.

The climate is tropical with heavy rainfalls all throughout the year and sporadic hurricanes. Puertorican flora features many endemic species and scarce biodiversity. Thanks to frequent rain, vegetation grows lush and spontaneous, with several species of epiphyte, palm, fern and, in the more arid areas of the south, even cactus. Ceiba and Flor de Maga are the national plants and are widespread all around the country.

Fauna features many spieces of insects, amphibians, reptiles and birds, with high endemism rates. The only endemic mammals are bats, while all the others were introduced by man. Marine mammals include dolphin, manatee and whale. The most famous animal in Puerto Rico is coquì, a little arboreal frog. Most of Puertorican fauna is made up of invertebrates, mainly insects.

The economy in Puerto Rico was once traditionally based on agriculture, particularly on sugar plantations. Starting from the Forties, thanks to a massive investment in industry from foreign enterpreneurs, the country has experinced significant development. Tourism is extremely important for the economy of the island, tourists mainly coming from the United States, a third aboard cruise ships. The constructions of hotels and other accomodations is growing.

Main attractions of the country are the long white Caribbean beaches of the coasts, especially in the islands of Vieques and Culebra, the capital city San Juan with its Spanish colonial forts and the ancient old town, Arecibo astronomical observatory, Rio Camuy caves, the picturesque cities of San Germàn and Ponce, the archaelogical sites of Caguana and Tibes and, finally, unmissable El Yunque Caribbean National Forest.