Porta Cordillera (Spanish for "dorway to the mountain range"), or simply Central Region (Región Central), is a land-locked tourism region located in the central mountainous area of Puerto Rico. Porta Cordillera was officially launched in July 2012 by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. It consists of 16 municipalities: Aguas Buenas, Cidra, Cayey, Comerío, Aibonito, Naranjito, Barranquitas, Corozal, Orocovis, Morovis, Ciales, Jayuya, Florida, Utuado, Adjuntas and Lares.

The name Porta Cordillera translates to "Doorway to the Cordillera", where "cordillera" refers to Puerto Rico's Cordillera Central, the main central mountain range of the island. Despite the name, some of its constituent municipalities are located in the Northern Puerto Rico karst country, with municipalities such as Ciales and Utuado spanning both topographic regions and others such as Florida located entirely outside of the Cordillera Central. This tourism region is known for its stunning nature reserves, forests, coffee plantations, lakes, rivers and caves, as well as its protected karst areas. The region is also home to the highest town in Puerto Rico, the highest point in Puerto Rico (shared with Porta Caribe to the south) and to one of the largest and deepest canyons in the Caribbean. The Ruta Panorámica scenic route notably cuts through the heart of this region.

History
The creation of the tourist region was the result of Puerto Rico Law 54 of 4 August 2009, authored by Rafael ‘June’ Rivera, Representative for District 28, which comprises 4 of the 16 municipalities of the tourism region: Barranquitas, Corozal, Naranjito and Comerío.  Adjuntas and Jayuya were part of the Porta Caribe region since the creation of that zone but was moved to the Porta Cordillera region. By the time the region was created in July 2012, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company already endorsed 136 rooms in lodgings located in Adjuntas, Cidra, Jayuya and Utuado.

Before the establishment of this tourism region, the central mountains of Puerto Rico had attracted numerous of visitors since the establishments of paradores, such as Villa Sotomayor in Adjuntas. The establishment of the Ruta Panorámica scenic route in the 1970s further popularized the region as a tourist destination by providing easier access to the mountain towns and scenic vistas of the Cordillera Central.

Attractions

Ecotourism 

 Bosque del Pueblo
 Camuy River Caves Park (partial)
 El Rabanal Conservation Easement
 Foreman Conservation Easement
 Aguas Buenas Cave and Caverns System Nature Reserve
 Cialitos River Nature Reserve
 Las Cabachuelas Caves Nature Reserve
 Planadas-Yeyesa Nature Reserve
 Hacienda Pellejas Protected Natural Area
 La Robleda Protected Natural Area
 Las Bocas Canyon Protected Natural Area
 San Cristóbal Canyon Protected Natural Area
 Sana Muerto River Protected Natural Area
 Toro Negro River Protected Natural Area
 Carite State Forest (partial)
 Guilarte State Forest (partial)
 Los Tres Picachos State Forest
 Monte Choca State Forest
 Río Abajo State Forest (partial)
 Toro Negro State Forest (partial)

Events 

 Aibonito Festival of Flowers

Heritage tourism

Agriturism 

 Hacienda Carvajal
 Hacienda Los Torres
 Hacienda Negrón
 Hacienda San Pedro
 Hacienda Tres Angeles

Archaeological sites 

 Bateyes de Viví
 Caguana Ceremonial Indigenous Heritage Park
 Callejones Site
 Cueva La Espiral
 Cueva La Mora
 La Piedra Escrita

Culinary tourism 

 Heladería de Lares
 Lechón in Guavate
 Longaniza in Orocovis

Cultural and historical landmarks 

 Asomante Trench
 Carretera Central
 Castillo El Cortijo
 Jesús Izcoa Moure Bridge (partial)
 La Piedra de Degetau
 Lares and sites associated with the Grito de Lares
 Manatí Bridge at Mata de Plátano
 Mavilla Bridge
 Muñoz Rivera Family Mausoleum

Museums 

 Casa Pueblo
 Coffee Museum Ciales
 El Cemí Museum
 Federico Degetau House Museum
 Juan Antonio Corretjer House Museum
 Luis Muñoz Rivera Birthplace Museum
 Nemesio Canales House Museum

Religious Tourism 

 Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción of Cayey
 Church of San José of Aibonito
 Church San Miguel Arcángel of Utuado

Swimming 

 Cañón Blanco in Utuado
 Charco Ataúd and Charco Mangó in Adjuntas

Theme parks and recreation areas 

 Caonillas Lake
 Damián and Doña Juana Recreation Areas
 Dos Bocas Lake (partial)
 Historical Center of Cibuco
 Toro Verde Nature Adventure Park

Tourist routes 
The Luis Muñoz Marín Panoramic Route (Ruta Panorámica Luis Muñoz Marín), or simply known as Ruta Panorámica, is a scenic route and heritage trail that crosses Porta Cordillera from east to west. The route, consisting of a network of at least 40 secondary roads, traverses the entirety of Puerto Rico from east (Maunabo) to west (Mayagüez) and provides access to a number of tourist attractions located throughout Porta Cordillera such as Toro Negro State Forest.

The Pork Highway (Ruta del Lechón) is an unofficial culinary-themed route consisting of a stretch of Puerto Rico Highway 184 that traverses the Guavate barrio of Cayey. The route is so called for its numerous restaurants and bars serving lechón asado, a pork dish consisting of crispy yet tender suckling pig served with sides such as rice and beans that is considered the national dish of Puerto Rico. Although not an officially recognized route, it features prominently in tourism campaigns, many of which describe it as the best pork in the island. This route also provides access to the Carite State Forest.

Transportation 
Porta Cordillera is a very mountainous and rugged region and therefore it has no passenger airports. The closest passenger airport is the Mercedita International Airport (PSE) located in Ponce. The region is however well-connected by road as major routes such as PR-52, which connects San Juan to Ponce and provides access to Ruta Panorámica from Cayey.

See also

Porta Caribe
Porta del Sol

References

External links

Tourism in Puerto Rico
Tourism regions