National Park del Este Dominicana. Este National Park in Punta Cana is a protected coastal area of ​​the Dominican Republic. Other reserves of the Dominican Republic

There are almost no architectural and historical monuments, but there are several wonderful national parks and nature reserves. Natural resources occupy only 10% of the territory of the republic, but these places simply amaze with the diversity of flora and fauna.

One of the most popular is considered Del Este National Park, which is in the southeastern part of the country. Its area is about 310 square kilometers. The park is an untouched wilderness, home to more than 112 species of birds, and there are not even paths to the most remote corners. Be very careful while traveling because there are tarantulas and wasps in the park that can turn your trip into a real nightmare. The highlight of "Del Este" - Saona Island, off the southern coast of Haiti. Beaches with snow-white sand, warm aquamarine water, gentle sun, mangroves, and in the depths of the island you can find fishing villages lost in the forests.

Another national Dominican Republic Park – “Los Haitises”, which is on the southern shore of Samana Bay. You will have to travel here by boat, because most of the territory is occupied by mangrove swamps, in which dozens of secret Indian caves are safely hidden. Now it is a good shelter for birds and sea animals.


National parks "Armando Bermudez" and "Jose Ramirez" also attract many tourists. They are located nearby and were opened in the middle of the last century to preserve tropical forests from mass deforestation, as happened in Haiti. Here are the highest mountain peaks in the Caribbean. The parks are located high up, so the weather in this part of the Dominican Republic is quite unpredictable. In summer the temperature reaches about 20 degrees Celsius, and in winter it drops below zero. In addition, it rains here almost all year, so before going for a walk it is better to stock up on a raincoat and reliable shoes.

Fans of deserted beaches will love the largest Jaragua National Park, in the southern part of the Baoruco Peninsula. However, getting here is not so easy; you must obtain permission from the General Directorate of National Parks in Santo Domingo. But the effort is worth it, “Jaragua” is a paradise for lovers of wildlife. All kinds of cacti, palm trees, rare turtles and many beautiful endemic birds - the list goes on and on. Here you can take a walk, sail on a boat, see a lot of unusual, special and even dangerous things. Access to the park is prohibited without a guide.


Dominican carnival

The spirit of a crazy holiday and heady fun is literally in the air in the Dominican Republic. Incendiary music is constantly playing, someone is dancing all the time and everyone is smiling. There is always something celebrated here both on weekdays and on weekends. One of the main celebrations is the famous Dominican carnival. Impressive carnival processions and amazing parades take place in the cities of Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, La Vega and Santiago. A few days before the start of the event, the country's Ministry of Culture announces the holiday program and names the start time.


Dominican carnival is a riot of colors and shades, entertainment, jokes and laughter. The main character of the holiday is the lame devil Devil Cojuelo. Carnival participants also like to turn into gnomes, pigs, Mayan Indians, fairies, voodoo dolls and even members of the Ku Klux Klan. Each region has its own traditions and its own popular characters. The Dominican carnival ends at the Malecon Square in Santo Domingo, where the queen and king of the holiday are chosen, and dance and theater groups perform.


Summer Merengue Festival

You can get acquainted with the real Dominican flavor in Santo Domingo in mid-July, at one of the most vibrant holidays - the Merengue Festival (in October the festival is held in Puerto Plata). Merengue is a traditional dance of the Dominican Republic. also common in the Caribbean. Everyone here can dance it, even some tourists manage to master this art. The festival begins with a festive procession through the central streets of the city, after which festivities and fairs are held on the adjacent streets and alleys, and all kinds of free concerts, shows, exhibitions and competitions are held on the embankment. Mostly the main events take place after an afternoon siesta at Plaza Espana, Avenida Caamano, Plaza Fray Bartolome de las Casas.



Cuisine of the Dominican Republic

The national cuisine is quite exotic, some combinations of products are unusual for Europeans. The main feature is the active use of legumes, bananas and various vegetables in combination with fish and meat. Not a single dish is complete without a large number of spices, which piquantly complement and highlight the taste. One of the most popular seasonings is sofrito (tomato paste, green pepper, chopped garlic, green onions, tomatoes, coriander, vinegar).


Most Dominican restaurants offer asopao, a thick soup made from vegetables, rice and meat, as well as La Bandera stew, made from beans, meat, rice, fried plantains and salad. Another popular dish is pastele en Ohashi - meat with vegetables baked in a banana leaf. The side dish is mainly served with red beans or rice in various combinations; mashed bananas and mangu onions can also be served. Dominicans always have thin casabé bread on their table; its recipe appeared more than five hundred years ago and is passed down from generation to generation. The peculiarity of casbe is that the bread retains its properties and does not spoil for up to eight months, although it contains no preservatives. As a snack in the Dominican Republic, it is customary to serve fried pieces of bananas called tostones.


A delicious dessert worth trying is tropical fruit. Here you can enjoy not only the popular bananas, pineapples, coconuts and mangoes, but also guava, passion fruit, green lime and the like. These exotic fruits are sold in markets and served in restaurants, usually in their natural form or as cocktails, juices or desserts with sauces, ice cream, and whipped cream. A traditional delicacy is a mixture of beans with condensed milk and some other additives called “Habichuelas”. By the way, they even make ice cream from beans. In memory of the Dominican Republic, you can take home a few jars of local jam made from papaya, orange zest, guava, cashews and pineapples with cane sugar. Very tasty and exotic.

National drink Dominican Republic - rum, there are more than fifteen varieties. The most popular: Bermudez, Barceló and Brugal. Rum is predominantly drunk neat with plenty of ice and a slice of green lime or added to cocktails. Exotic lovers can try a traditional Dominican low-alcohol drink called “Pru.”

Parque Nacional del Este is located in the east of the Dominican Republic and covers an area of ​​430 km2. The Del Este National Park includes part of the Caribbean Sea and the mainland, including the famous island of Saona. Boats and speedboats depart from the village of Bayahibe to Saona Island if you decide to go on a sightseeing tour of the island on your own. The mainland part of the park is of great interest for tourists to explore, as it contains a large number of limestone caves, hills and depressions-wells, formed by rain over millions of years in soft limestone rocks. These are entire cave complexes that contain traces of the culture of the indigenous inhabitants. On the walls of many caves, drawings and pictograms made by the hand of the Taino Indians have survived to this day. Since the soil of the park is very porous (limestone), you will not see any rivers, streams, or lakes in the territory. For this reason, deciduous trees grow in large numbers, including wild olives, mahogany and guaiac wood. The park has distinct natural zones: dry subtropical selva and arid forests.

The fauna of the park area, in comparison with the large variety of birds and plants, is unusually poor. Here you can find all kinds of mammals, including the prehensile-tailed hutia (a rodent the size of a cat), the slittooth (a small animal with a narrow face that secretes poisonous saliva).

The coastline of the park is heterogeneous: the sheer cliffs hanging menacingly on the eastern side of the peninsula turn into the mangroves of Calderas Bay in the south. The western side of the park delights tourists and divers with its quiet beaches, coral reefs and clear waters of the Caribbean Sea.

The park's waters are rich in populations of manati and dolphins. Manatee, very similar to manatees, have thick skin covered with bristly hair and extremely developed lungs. They do not live at great depths, they are found even in large rivers and lakes, and penetrate there through river mouths. The main food of manati is freshwater and marine plants. Fishermen often hunt for manatya, as their meat has good taste and valuable fat.

The eastern entrance to the park is at the village of Boca del Yuma: the trail runs along the coast and ends at the mangrove swamps. The park's western entrance and local office are located in the village of Bayahibe.

Del Este- a national park in the Dominican Republic, located in the very southeast of the island of Saona. Here you will find the most unusual species of plants and animals, as well as historical sights. Parque Del Este includes the beautiful island of Saona, which is visible from the southern shore. The park can be traveled on foot or by boat, but is not at all suitable for other means of transport. The park is home to endangered species such as West Indian manatees, sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, as well as rhinoceroses, iguanas and hedgehog rats. In the territory of Del Este there are places of Taino settlements.

For bird lovers, this is a paradise: the vast park area is home to 112 species of birds. Some of them are unique, such as white-headed gulls and lizard cuckoos. Whale migrations can be seen in the surrounding waters in January and February and are also home to manatees, large gray aquatic mammals also called sea cows. The manatee's closest land relative is the elephant.

Del Este National Park is at the extreme point of the southeast of the Dominican Republic. The park is the main natural attraction of the country. The park's territory is quite large - it covers a large peninsula and the island of Saona, adjacent to it. Here, lovers of travel and adventure, as well as true connoisseurs of relaxation in the lap of pristine nature, will get the greatest pleasure.

A small number of limestone terraces, completely covered with subtropical forests, constitute the mainland part of the reserve. Local soils are very porous and easily absorb moisture, since there are practically no lakes or rivers here. Therefore, mainly deciduous trees grow in this part of the park. The fauna in the Dominican Republic is not very diverse, but Parque del Este has all the local species of mammals, including rare, endangered species.

The coast of the park is a rare example of the diversity of landscapes of the Dominican Republic. Mangroves and steep cliffs alternate here. Near the shore, if you are lucky enough, you can find bottlenose dolphins and very rare Caribbean manatees. The western coast of the park is occupied by beaches with crystal clear water and very beautiful coral reefs - a dream for diving enthusiasts.




 

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