Villalba

Villalba is a small mountain municipality in Puerto Rico's south-central interior, known locally as the Ciudad de los Avancinos and the Ciudad de los Lagos. The town made Puerto Rican history in 1929 when the island's first hydroelectric plant was built on the Toa Vaca River, making Villalba the first place on the island with electric power.

The municipality was formally created in 1917 after being a barrio of Ponce and later Juana Díaz, and its name is often linked to the Duke of Alba. Coffee, sugarcane and pigeon peas shaped its early economy, and today Villalba remains the island's pigeon pea, or gandul, capital.

Nature defines much of the visit here. The Toa Vaca and Guayabal reservoirs give the town its lakes nickname, while the higher ground reaches into Toro Negro State Forest, home to the Chorro Doña Juana waterfall, the El Bolo trail and views over the central mountains. The parish church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen anchors the small urban center.

Local life revolves around agriculture, cooperatives and community festivals such as the July patron saint celebration and the Puerto Rico Marathon. The town has limited visitor infrastructure, so most travelers pair it with nearby Ponce, Juana Díaz or Coamo.

Villalba appeals mainly to independent road-trippers, hikers and business visitors exploring Puerto Rico's central mountain region, offering a quiet, green base between the southern coast and the Cordillera Central.