| Porta Cordillera | |
| Settlement Type: | Tourism Region |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | Unincorporated territory |
| Established Date: | 2012 |
| Other Name: | Central Region |
| Timezone1: | AST |
| Population Total: | 410343 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 765.54 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 536.018 |
| Nickname: | Doorway to the Cordillera |
| Founder: | Puerto Rico Tourism Company |
| Subdivision Name1: | Puerto Rico |
Porta Cordillera (Spanish for "dorway to the mountain range"), or simply Central Region (Región Central),[1] 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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4] Adjuntas and Jayuya were part of the Porta Caribe region since the creation of that zone but was moved to the Porta Cordillera region.[5] [6] 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.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10] Although not an officially recognized route, it features prominently in tourism campaigns,[11] many of which describe it as the best pork in the island.[12] This route also provides access to the Carite State Forest.
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.[13]
