The ''Ruta Panorámica'' (

Scenic Route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoint ...

), officially the ''Ruta Panorámica Luis Muñoz Marín'' (Luis Muñoz Marín Scenic Route), is a network of some 40 secondary roads which traverse the island of

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 ...

from west to east along its ''

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

'' (Central Mountain Range). Most of the route consists of three roads, PR-105,

PR-143 Puerto Rico Highway 143 (PR-143) is a secondary highway that connects the town of Adjuntas to the town of Barranquitas. Route description Heading east from Adjuntas, PR-143 runs through the northern border of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto R ...

, and PR-182.Mapa Informativo de Puerto Rico
Retrieved March 14, 2010. The route starts in Mayagüez and ends in Maunabo. The first major segment of the route runs from Mayagüez to Maricao as Route 105, then from

Adjuntas Adjuntas (, ) is a small mountainside town and municipality in Puerto Rico located central midwestern portion of the island on the Cordillera Central, north of Yauco, Guayanilla, and Peñuelas; southeast of Utuado; east of Lares and Yauco; and ...

to Aibonito as Route 143, and then follows Route 182 toward Maunabo.

Route description

A Ruta Panoramica sign on PR-143 Eastbound near PR-149 in Barrio Anon, Ponce, Puerto Rico (DSC01612)

As the Route is a two-way road, it can be traveled starting at either its western or its eastern termini. To travel the Route in a westerly direction (i.e., from Maunabo to Mayagüez), the course of the road is reversed from what is given here. Starting from Mayagüez and ending in Maunabo, as of August 2010, the course of the Route is as follows: PR-105 Municipality of Mayagüez (Eastbound)
PR-339 Municipality of Mayagüez (Eastbound)
PR-119 Municipality of Mayagüez (Northbound)
PR-106 Municipality of Mayagüez (Eastbound)
PR-106 Municipality of Las Marias (Eastbound)
PR-120 Municipality of Las Marias (Southbound)
PR-120 Municipality of Maricao (Southbound)
PR-120 Municipalities of Maricao and San Germán (Eastbound)
PR-120 Municipalities of Maricao and Sabana Grande (Eastbound)
:''Landmark: Maricao State Forest, site of Monte del Estado'' PR-366 Municipalities of Maricao and Sabana Grande (Eastbound)
PR-365 Municipalities of Maricao and

Yauco Yauco () is a Yauco barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the Yauco barrio-pueblo, downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco ...

(Eastbound)
PR-105 Municipalities of Maricao and Yauco (Eastbound)
PR-128 Municipality of Maricao (Northbound)
PR-128 Municipality of

Lares Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these. Lares ...

(Northbound)
PR-135 Municipality of

(Eastbound)
PR-135 Municipality of

(Eastbound)
:''Landmark: Lago Guayo'' PR-525 Municipality of Adjuntas (Eastbound)
PR-518 Municipality of Adjuntas (Eastbound)
:''Landmark: Lago Garzas'' PR-123 Municipality of Adjuntas (Southbound)

Municipality of Adjuntas (Eastbound)
PR-143 Municipality of Ponce (Eastbound)
:''Landmark:

Toro Negro State Forest Toro Negro State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro'') is one of the 21 forests that make up the public forests system in Puerto Rico. It is also Puerto Rico's highest cloud forest. It is in the Cordillera Central region of the isla ...

'' PR-143 Municipality of Jayuya (Eastbound)
PR-143 Municipality of Ponce (Eastbound)
PR-143 Municipality of Villalba (Eastbound)
:''Landmark: Salto de Doña Juana Waterfall (2 miles)'' :''Landmark: Villalba Overlook'' PR-143 Municipality of

Orocovis Orocovis (from Taino language, Orocobix popularly thought to mean "''remembrance of the first mountain''") is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range, north of Villalba and Coamo; south of Morovis and Cor ...

(Eastbound)
PR-143 Municipality of Coamo (Eastbound)
PR-143 Municipality of

Barranquitas Barranquitas (, ) is a small mountain town and municipality located in the Cordillera Central region of Puerto Rico, south of Corozal and Naranjito; north of Coamo and Aibonito; west of Comerío and Cidra; and east of Orocovis. Barranquita ...

(Eastbound)
PR-723 Municipality of Barranquitas (Southbound)
PR-7718 Municipality of Aibonito (Eastbound)
:''Landmark: Piedra Degetau Overlook'' PR-7722 Municipality of Cayey (Eastbound)

PR-1 Puerto Rico Highway 1 (PR-1) is a highway in Puerto Rico that connects the city of Ponce to San Juan. Leaving Ponce, the road heads east and follows a somewhat parallel route along the southern coast of the island heading towards Salinas. At ...

Municipality of Cayey (Eastbound)
PR-715 Municipality of Cayey (Southbound)
PR-7737 Municipality of Cayey (Eastbound)
PR-741 Municipality of Cayey (Eastbound)
PR-7741 Municipality of Cayey (Eastbound)
PR-742 Municipality of Cayey (Eastbound)
PR-179 Municipality of Cayey (Northbound)
PR-184 Municipality of Cayey (Southbound)
:''Landmark:

Carite State Forest Carite State Forest ( Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Carite'') is a state forest and nature reserve located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range in southeastern Puerto Rico. The forest extends over approximately 6,500 acres and is located in th ...

Guavate Guavate is a barrio in the municipality of Cayey, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 1,870. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became an u ...

'' PR-7740 Municipalities of

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

and

Patillas Patillas (, ) is a beach town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southeastern coast, south of San Lorenzo; west of Yabucoa and Maunabo; and east of Guayama and Arroyo. It is spread over 15 barrios and Patillas Pueblo (the downtown a ...

(Eastbound)

PR-181 Puerto Rico Highway 181 (PR-181), also known as ''Expreso Trujillo Alto'', is a road that connects the towns of San Juan, Puerto Rico (very close to Carolina) in the north/northeast coast of Puerto Rico with Patillas in the southeast, passing th ...

Municipality of San Lorenzo (Southbound)
PR-182 Municipality of Yabucoa (Eastbound)
PR-901 Municipality of Yabucoa (Eastbound)
PR-3 Municipality of Yabucoa (Southbound)
PR-3 Municipality of Maunabo (Southbound)

History

Early in the 1970s, the Autoridad de Carreteras de Puerto Rico (''Puerto Rico Roads Authority'') developed a route along the Cordillera Central. The route was finished in 1974. According to the original plans, the route started at Cerro Las Mesas in Mayagüez, ran along the full length of the central mountains, including along parts of the length of the

Sierra de Cayey Sierra de Cayey is a mountain range in the main island of Puerto Rico. It is located in the southeast section of the island. Its elevations do not exceed 1000 m (3,280 ft.). The Grande de Loíza, which is one of the most important rivers in Puer ...

to end at Cuchilla de Pandura, in Yabucoa. The development of the route included the building of overlooks, rest areas, and recreational facilities at a cost of $4 million. In 1975, it was estimated that the cost of the necessary facilities to complete the Route - but excluding roads already built - amounted to $20 million. National Geographic has called the route "an assemblage of 40-plus roads that cuts through the island's lush Cordillera Central."

Major intersections

Note: kilometer markers represent the distance along the numbered highways rather than the Ruta Panorámica.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruta Panoramica Highways in Puerto Rico

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links