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 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, before ...

, and

PR-182 Puerto Rico Highway 182 (PR-182) is a primary road located entirely within the municipality of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. The road has its northern terminus at its intersection with Puerto Rico Highway 181 in the northwestern end of the town, near S ...

.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 Maricao () is a town and the second-least populous municipality of Puerto Rico; it is located at the western edge of the Cordillera Central. It is a small town set around a small square in hilly terrain, north of San Germán, Sabana Grande and ...

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; a ...

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

(Southbound)
PR-120 Municipalities of Maricao and San Germán (Eastbound)
PR-120 Municipalities of Maricao and Sabana Grande (Eastbound)
:''Landmark:

Maricao State Forest Maricao State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Maricao'') is a state forest located in the eastern Cordillera Central mountains of Puerto Rico. It is commonly known as ''Monte del Estado'' due to the fact that it was one of the first 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 town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana G ...

(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 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 ...

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 is ...

'' PR-143 Municipality of

Jayuya Jayuya (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the mountainous center region of the island, north of Ponce; east of Utuado; and west of Ciales. Jayuya is spread over 10 barrios and Jayuya Pueblo (the downtown and administra ...

(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 (Eastbound)
PR-143 Municipality of

Coamo Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. Coamo ...

(Eastbound)
PR-143 Municipality of Barranquitas (Eastbound)
PR-723 Municipality of Barranquitas (Southbound)
PR-7718 Municipality of Aibonito (Eastbound)
:''Landmark: Piedra Degetau Overlook'' PR-7722 Municipality of

Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sal ...

(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 S ...

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 the mu ...

, Guavate'' PR-7740 Municipalities of San Lorenzo and Patillas (Eastbound)
PR-181 Municipality of San Lorenzo (Southbound)

Municipality of

Yabucoa Yabucoa () is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern region, north of Maunabo; south of San Lorenzo, Las Piedras and Humacao; and east of Patillas. Yabucoa is spread over 9 barrios and Yabucoa Pueblo (the downtown area ...

(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

. The development of the route included the building of

overlook A scenic viewpoint – also called an observation point, viewpoint, viewing point, vista point, lookout, scenic overlook,These terms are more commonly used in North America. etc. – is an elevated location where people can view scenery (often ...

s, rest areas, and recreational facilities at a cost of $4

million One million (1,000,000), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the au ...

. 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 ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

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