Kalichi Adventures

I spent a week in Puerto Rico, and in that time I did 4 different tours. Kalichi Adventure Tours was BY FAR my favorite. This tour isn’t for everybody and they will let you know that, but if you are adventurous and in good shape, this tour is the best out there.
The guides are all incredibly nice and knowledgable and their main priority on the tour is your safety. You will be participating in dangerous and scary activities, and you will be scared, however, you will always feel confident that the tour guides are looking out for you and keeping you safe. At the end of the tour, these guys will become your friends.
The tour takes you to explore the rainforest in areas that the other tours don’t take you. While other tours of El Yunque are about an hour and a half, this tour was about 6 hours long, and the entire day trip went well beyond that. They included breakfast and an amazing and endless lunch after the trip.
We got to go cliff jumping, slide down waterfalls, hike the mountainous rainforest, rappel down a cliff, crawl through a cave, and much much more. The tour guides also made sure to take pictures and videos of almost all the activities we took part in, so you don’t even need to bring a camera.
When I first signed up for the trip, I thought it was a little expensive as there are other El Yunque tours cost less money, but it’s a 6 – 10 hour day vs. the 1.5 hours you get with other tours and when I finished the trip, I can 100% say that the experience was PRICELESS! YOU CAN NOT GO WRONG WITH KALICHI. I mean, look at the reviews, they are all 5 stars and 4 stars, with zero ratings of less than 4 stars.
My girlfriend and I have done Spartan Races and are physically fit, but the hiking in the tour was no joke, you are in the real wild part of the rainforest. It is not paved, it rains, it is muddy, it is slippery, it is steep, so make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. If you are looking for a leisurely walk in the rainforest, this tour is not for you, but if you are looking for an adventure, and to push yourself and step outside of your comfort zone, THIS IS FOR YOU! Just know that these guys are great and will make your safety and lives their number 1 priority.

ricardo & his team (jaime, fernando, jose, guillermo) are really one of a kind, amazing, and fun. they keep you safe while, most importantly, making sure that you have FUN. you must read the PDF they send you and pack accordingly. There’s a locker at the house so your things will be safe. You will get wet, you will get dirty, and your pants might rip. My tights ripped from all the rock-​sliding (right where my butt crack is… i know!), but I was wearing nike pro shorts underneath so it was a-​ok (:
you have an option to get ricardo to pick you up from your hotel/​airbnb/​wherever for an extra fee, i believe $ 10, but if you rented a car, the drive is not bad at all. you have to meet at the meeting point near the town hall around 6:00AM on the dot. they were very punctual! (the drive was 35 minutes or so from isla verde) and follow the van to the kalichi house. the view is actually beautifullll. watched the sun rise along the way there. the only con is AFTER the day is done (around 4pm), driving back will be tiring. along the way, we picked up breakfast at the local bakery, which was delicious by the way — homemade.
when you arrive, ricardo gives you a briefing of the weather, what you’ll be doing and what not. he also gives you an option to rent shoes — RENT THE SHOES! they are stable, sturdy, and comfortable. you’ll be in mud and wading through cold water. trust me, just rent them ($ 15).
they take pictures & videos for you so you don’t have to worry about that (they came out awesome, by the way. you receive them a week or so later via drop box). i can’t describe the experience. you can either go without having any expectations but, my friends and i watched «kalichi adventures» via youtube and that is what won us over. the cliff jumping off the 40 feet cliff was probably thusfar the most exhilarating thing i have ever done in my life, considering the fact that i am terrified of heights. even if you are a weak swimmer, the crew watches over you. they don’t force /​pressure you to participate in any of the activities you DONT want to do. they’re down to earth and easy to get along with.
at the end, we meet back at the house. the boys ran back to the house … UP the mountain — pure awesomeness. us girls, were lazy, walked down the forest and met at the bottom with jaime who picked us up in the van. we all showered. got clean, then we ate and drank beer like a family. it was awesome.
p. s. try not to come hung over! lol.
p. p. s. find our names on the wall! (3÷1÷15 LA MANZANA!)
also. they don’t pressure you or even talk to you about tipping. BUT you should… in my opinion. and in cash (: my 3 girlfriends and i gave $ 90 extra all together on top of the original fee if you were wondering how much to give.
overall, the experience was really special and i’ll remember it forever!!! i miss them already.

I booked a private outing with Ricardo and his team in December 2014.
After arriving at the teams base camp I observed how prepared these guys were for the day, from all angles, including safety as well as fun.
The entire tour from the maintenance of the private trails to the coordination of activities was expertly handled. Throughout the day I did things not experienced for decades like jumping off 40ft waterfalls, repelling down rock faces, and body sliding down natural water slides.
I brought my young son along for the adventure and here again these guys shined in a big way, Fernando specifically paid extra special attention to his safety but also making sure he had a great time.
The expertise in safety and the detailed oriented planning put into this adventure allowed me to do what I came to do — have fun, without fearing injury or harm to my young Son. These caliber of activities (some might call them «extreme») would not usually instill such a feeling of calm and safety in me — or most people in general.
This was the best tour of any kind that I’ve ever been on. If you love nature, hiking, andwater do it. It’s the best money you’ll spend on a tour.

If you’re in good shape, love adventure, and are not afraid of challenge and like water then you’ll love Kalichi Adventure — an incredible way to experience El Yunque Rainforest.
From the moment I first contacted Ricardo at Kalichi Adventures I had a very good feeling that we would be in great hands. Every aspect of the tour was professionally handled — from the initial booking/​logistics, trip briefing, and safety equipment review. We pretty much knew what we were getting into based upon our thorough reading of the reviews and looking at Youtube videos posted of some of the extreme river adventures. Had we ever done anything like this before? No. Which is exactly why I thought it would be a great way to spend one of our vacation days in the beautiful El Yunque rainforest.
We always felt safe with Ricardo, Jaime, Omar, and Kristin. They were very thorough with their instructions and making sure that we were following along. We couldn’t have asked for a more thrilling and fun way to spend the day. How can you not love Team Kalichi when you trust them with your lives for the day and they bring you back safely after an incredible day of sliding down the hills in the mud on your behind, sliding down boulders in the river, rappelling down giant boulders in the river, swimming across rapid currents in front of waterfalls, sitting behind waterfalls, and getting spit out of the waterfalls. There was never any pressure and they were very accommodating to our party (my family of 4 plus 2 other guys). Jumping off the 40′ cliff into the river is really no big deal when you have already been saved many times throughout the day by Team Kalichi. You just do it! (and then you only wish you could do it again!)
We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect adventure — great thrills and challenges with the friendliest and most helpful adventure team on Puerto Rico. Go Team Kalichi! We look forward to coming back again some day. (late 50’s but not over the hill)

Loved the Kalichi tour of El Yunque and will recommend to anyone who goes to Puerto Rico! Sure, it’s slightly more expensive than other El Yunque tours, but read on to find out why it’s 100% worth it.
The crew (Ricardo, Jaime, Omar & Kristin among a few others) made the trip unforgettable. They have some really great, friendly people working here. You get to visit an area of El Yunque that is less traveled, if traveled at all, by other companies, and I really got the feeling that I was seeing the «real» rainforest here. We hiked, climbed, bodyrafted down a river, rapelled down a small cliff into some water (scary but so fun!!!), jumped through a waterfall… The activities included in the tour definitely exceeded my expectations. But be advised: You absolutely need to be in decent shape to do this. I barely got by, huffing and puffing.
While getting up as early as 6 isn’t the ideal thing to do during a vacation, it is absolutely WORTH IT and necessary to get the most out of the day. Ricardo picked us up from where we were staying and dropped us off afterwards too, so that part was as painless as possible.
The scenery is absolutely beautiful. The waterfalls especially, but don’t fret: you don’t need to worry about carrying a waterproof camera to capture the moments— just have fun while they snap away and a few days later you’re sent a link to the many, many pictures. So freaking awesome.
The guides have a lot of fun tidbits of information for you. While the activities (and the pace) are challenging, they make sure that you’re comfortable by taking pictures for you, carrying your snacks and water, feeding you before and afterwards, and providing a place to shower. OH YEAH— let’s not forget the celebratory brewskies. There’s something about a cold Medalla beer after you’ve been traipsing around a rainforest for 6 hours that just makes you say aaahhhhhhhh.
I’m excited to come back to PR and especially to do this tour again! Thanks for everything, Ricardo & the gang!

Pros:
Challenging. It’s not the Tough Mudder, but you’ll want to be in decent shape since you’ll be climbing inclines at a fair pace and requires some agility for scaling wet, rocky paths. This is a plus for me since I didn’t want a vanilla tourist experience.
A surprising variety of activities. Hiking through the rainforest, rappelling, cliff dives, swimming under waterfalls. You basically get everything in one tour.
They take good care of you. They provide catered breakfast and carry all your water and snacks on the tour. They also take pictures for you and send them via DropBox a few days after the tour ends.
Well organized. Ricardo and Jaime are very knowledgeable of the wildlife and history of the PR rainforest and speak fluent English. They actively track the height of the rivers and weather patterns before and during the tour. The equipment (helmet, life vest, kneepads and gloves) were all either new or in great shape.
An extremely chill group of people. Ricardo, Jaime, Kristin, Omar were all super friendly and hanging out with them was great. It’s still a fairly small operation so the experience was very personal. After the tour, we took showers and kicked back beers, munched on tostones (fried plantains) and just hung out for awhile.
Cons:
Depending on weather (height of the rivers from rainfall), you might not be able to do the whole tour due to safety concerns. We didn’t go to the forty-​foot cliff dive, for example. But we did have a great time doing most of the activities and Ricardo even offered to take us along another day for half the price.
Waking up super early. Don’t go out the night before since you will need to wake up before 5am. The tour is long (in a good way) and challenging, so you’ll probably want rest. That being said, we did go clubbing the night before and probably slept 2 – 3 hours each and it was still great.
Bottom line:
Highly recommended. This tour was probably the best part of my whole trip in PR. Met some great people, got some great experiences and the pictures to prove it. No regrets.