Cueva Ventana ( eng, italic=yes, Window Cave) is a large cave situated atop a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cliff in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, overlooking the

Río Grande de Arecibo The Río Grande de Arecibo (Arecibo River) is a river of Puerto Rico. The headwaters lie in the mountains to the south of Adjuntas. From there it flows north until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean near Arecibo. The tributaries lie along the side of t ...

valley. It is visible from the

PR-123 Puerto Rico Highway 123 (PR-123) is a secondary highway that connects the city Arecibo to the city of Ponce. It runs through the towns of Utuado and Adjuntas, before reaching Ponce. A parallel road is being built, PR-10, that is expected to tak ...

but is accessible from a trail that begins adjacent to a

Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

gas station located along

PR-10 Puerto Rico Highway 10 (PR-10) is a major highway in Puerto Rico. The primary state road connects the city of Ponce in the south coast to Arecibo in the north; it is also the shortest route between the two cities. Construction on the modern PR- ...

on kilometer 75. The cave and surrounding land are privately owned.

Tourism

The cave is a popular tourist attraction for Puerto Ricans as well as tourists visiting from outside Puerto Rico. An initial admittance fee for Saturday and Sunday visits was established by the owner of a nearby gas station, due to the location's popularity. The number of visitors is at its largest on both Saturdays and Sundays from early morning to an hour before nightfall. In January 2013, a daily admission fee was established, and later raised the following month. A boardwalk project was constructed from the gas station, leading up to around 200 feet into the trail, as well as a small parking lot atop a plateau behind the gas station. After a rise in popularity and visits, different admission fees were established for certain days of the week, providing necessary safety equipment for the 45-minute guided tour. The number of visitors is greatest on both Saturdays and Sundays from early morning to an hour before nightfall. Nightly tours are also offered on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Cueva Ventana in Puerto Rico

In popular culture

Between February and March 2009,

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

filmed '' Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie'' in Puerto Rico with scenes shot inside the cave as well as a land that sits in the

valley in front of the limestone cliff where the cave sits. In 2011, the cave was used as one of the settings for the 2012 British TV miniseries ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

''. In the summer of 2012, filming of the 2013 film '' Runner, Runner'' took place inside the cave.

Vandalism issues

In November 2012, the Arecibo Municipal Government planned to talk to the owner of the gas station to buy the adjacent land to be transferred to the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and protect it from vandalism.

References

External links

Cueva VentanaAventura Cueva Ventana
{{Caves in Puerto Rico Arecibo, Puerto Rico Caves of Puerto Rico Limestone caves