Guayanilla (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaʝaˈniʎa], locally [waʝaˈniʝa]) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the southern coast of the island, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of Adjuntas, east of Yauco; and west of Peñuelas and about 12 miles (19 km) west of Ponce. Guayanilla is spread over 16 barrios and Guayanilla Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the Yauco Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Yauco (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈʝawko]) 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 Grande and Guánica; and west of Guayanilla. The municipality consists of 20 barrios and Yauco Pueblo (the downtown and administrative center of the municipality). It is both a principal town of the Yauco Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Ponce-Yauco-Coamo Combined Statistical Area.
It was founded by Fernando Pacheco on February 29, 1756, and developed for commodity crops of tobacco, sugar cane, and coffee. Yauco became a center for Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico in the 19th century due to its geographical similarity to their homeland. Corsicans have contributed to many areas of life in Yauco, particularly to its coffee industry. This has played a role in the town's nicknames of El Pueblo del Café (Town of Coffee), and residents of the municipality are often referred to as Los Corsos (The Corsicans).
The Ponce metropolitan area (Spanish: área metropolitana de Ponce), is the second largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in Puerto Rico, comprising the municipalities of Ponce, Juana Díaz, Yauco, Villalba, Peñuelas, Adjuntas, and Guayanilla between the coastal plain and the Cordillera Central mountain subrange in the south central region of the main island. One of 6 metropolitan statistical areas in Puerto Rico, it lies within the Ponce–Coamo combined statistical area (CSA), which is one of 3 primary statistical areas in the main island as defined by the United States Census Bureau. As of 2023, census estimates place the population of the Ponce metropolitan area at 266,237.
Peñuelas (Spanish pronunciation: [peˈɲwelas], locally [peˈɲwelaʔ]) is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the Peñuelas Valley on the southern coast of the island, south of Adjuntas, east of Guayanilla, west of Ponce and north of the Caribbean Sea. Peñuelas is spread over 12 barrios and Peñuelas Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). It is part of the Yauco Metropolitan Statistical Area. Peñuelas is known as "La Capital del Güiro" (The Güiro Capital) and "El Valle de los Flamboyanes" (The Valley of the Royal Poinciana trees). In 2020, Peñuelas had a population of 20,399.
Adjuntas (Spanish pronunciation: [aðˈxuntas]) is a small mountainside town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the central midwestern portion of the island on the Cordillera Central, north of Yauco, Guayanilla, and Peñuelas; southeast of Utuado; east of Lares and Yauco; and northwest of Ponce. Adjuntas is spread over 16 barrios and Adjuntas Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the city). Adjuntas is about two hours by car westward from the capital, San Juan.
Adjuntas is nicknamed "the Switzerland of Puerto Rico" because of its relatively chilly weather. Many Puerto Rican mountain towns have cooler weather than the rest of the island; Adjuntas is no exception: the average yearly weather is 70 °F (21 °C) (High: 83 °F/28 °C; Low: 58 °F/14 °C). Puerto Rico's lowest temperature were recorded in Adjuntas at 38 °F in 2018. Its mild climate attracts a good number of island tourists during the summer months. The town has a small hotel named Monte Rio and a good-sized parador, or country inn, called Villa Sotomayor.