PARQUE NACIONAL LOS HAITISES

Taking its name from the Taino word Haiti (mountainous area) due to its particular topography, Los Haitises Park is a maze of hills and huge limestone spires approaching 500 meters high. The protected area stretches over 208 km² from the south/southwest of Samaná Bay to San Lorenzo Bay. The formation of this singular natural area, once under water, dates back to about 40 million years ago (Miocene) and has emerged gradually due to various tectonic movements. Thanks to the high humidity and the frequent rainfall, the park has developed a subtropical vegetation: between mangroves and fjords, tree ferns and bamboo mingle wildly with lichens and orchids.

The interior is criss-crossed by a network of narrow, shallow inlets where no boat can venture. A multitude of plump islets covered with lush green vegetation dot the calm waters bordering the park. These karst domes and towers are the result of the erosion of millions of years old limestone formations, creating an area with an original relief, a real Ha Long Bay version of the Caribbean.

Numerous caves and caverns communicate with each other, forming an extraordinary underground network that is still unexplored and little known. Specialists have counted more than a thousand caves, some of which have petroglyphs on their walls dating back to the pre-Columbian period. You can visit the Angel cave, the San Gabriel cave, as large as a cathedral, the Linea and Arena caves, which contain works of art made by the Taino Indians, who did not live in caves, but used them as hideouts and depots during fishing or hunting campaigns.

Among the islands of the park, it is on the Bird Island that you can have the chance to see pelicans, parrots, water roosters and frigates, among others, passing between a mahogany and a cedar tree. Almost deserted, the park is virgin of any agricultural or forestry exploitation. Only the coastal fringe is open to tourists, the interior quickly becoming impenetrable.

Visits are mainly by water (from Sabana de la Mar, Samaná or Sánchez), but also by land from Sabana de la Mar, at the cost of several hours or even days of trekking. More info at the park office in Sabana de la Mar (Parque Central - ✆ +1 809 556 7333).