Interesting Places in Dominican
Santo Domingo – Although the capital city of the Dominican Republic is far-away from the biggest tourist centers, it is worth visiting it, because it has a lot to offer tourists interested in history. It is the first capital city of the New World. Buildings in Centro Colonial were erected only a couple of years ago after the discovery of this part of the world in 1492. In the middle of the 50s of the 20th century, the renovations of the historical buildings began. The Old Town of Santo Domingo looks now like an Andalusian town. Alcazar, which is a seat of the Spanish governors, was built in 1511. Nowadays, it is a museum with furniture coming from those times. The central point of the first church of the New World, which is made of stone, is the grave of Christopher Columbus. According to the wish of the discoverer of America, who died in Spanish Valladolid in 1506, his corpse was transported to the cathedral in Santo Domingo. Nevertheless, when the island was seized by Frenchmen 255 years later, his remains were allegedly taken out of this family grave and transported firstly to Havana and then again to Spain. In 1877, the workers renovating the grave discovered sarcophagus with an inscription: “To the memory of famous and highly respected Don Cristobal Colon”. During the celebration of the 500-year anniversary of the discovery of America, the remains of Columbus were lied down in the new tomb Faro de Colon.
Historical National Park of La Isabela – it was the first European settlement on the American continent. A lot of remnants from the period of Spanish colonizers were excavated here.
The Eastern National Park (Parque Nacional del Este) - is located in the southeastern part of the country in the Altagracia province. Places worth visiting are: Jose Maria and El Puenta caves, Las Calderas Bay, nature reserve of coral reefs, manatees, dolphins and turtles. The caves are full of paintings on the rocks.
Jaragua National Park - located in the southwestern part of the country in the Pedernalez province. It is the biggest preserved area in the country which comprises a wide area of waters and two islands: Beata and Alto Velo. Flamingos have their natural lairs here. Rich wildlife may be observed here, e.g. iguanas and 4 species of sea turtles. There have been some archeological discoveries made from the period before the Spanish age in El Guanal and La Poza caves.
La Caleta Underwater Park - located 22 kilometers away from Santo Domingo. A 180-meter deep sea area gives an opportunity to explore the underwater world. Visitors can explore coral reefs and their inhabitants. A Hikory sheep, which sank here 15 years ago, makes diving even more interesting.
Los Haitises – it is a park of the total area of 1,500 km2 known for its great diversity of plants and animals. Beautiful hills with abundant plants and diverse animals, as well as caves full of historical finds, make Los Haitises a very interesting place.
The Anthropological Reserve El Pomier - the most important paintings in the world, drawn on the walls and called Indian Taino, were found here. It is located in the San Cristobal province, 40 kilometers away from Santo Domingo, and consists of 54 caves discovered in 1851. Deep under the earth there are stalactites, stalagmites and more than 6 thousand Indian rock paintings and pictograms. There are 12 caves available for visitors.
Armando Bermudez and José del Carmen Ramirez National Parks - the whole area comprises 1,530 km2, but there is a border of the province in the middle, so that is why the park has two names. There are the highest peaks in the Antilles here, i.e. Pico Duarte (3,175 m), La Pelona (3,087 m), La Rusilla (3,038 m) i Pico Yaque (2,760 m).