You may never have heard of Porta Caribe, but you've certainly heard of some its attractions. There's Ponce, a city so elegant it's known as the Pearl of the South. Ponce alone makes Porta Caribe a must-visit destination. After all, no other city on the island boasts the mansion of a rum dynasty, the most impressive collection of European art in the Caribbean, and a a fire station that looks like it once housed Dr. Seuss.
And then there's what's around Ponce: an ancient indigenous ceremonial center; a working 19th century coffee plantation that runs on water power; and, further beyond, miles of sun-splashed beaches facing the Caribbean, a dry forest that's been declared a United Nations Biosphere, and a colonial town that recalls Puerto Rico's aristocratic roots.
With all that, it was a bit difficult to boil my list down to only five reasons to visit Porta Caribe.