The Dominican Republic has the most extensive cave system in the Caribbean. Not only are these caves fun to explore, many of them contain over 1000 year old artwork.
The Dominican Republic has preserved many of these natural and manmade wonders in national parks. Intrepid visitors can explore on their own or take one of the many cave tours offered throughout the country
Este
If you are staying in or around Santo Domingo, the easiest way to go caving in the Dominican Republic is to visit the sprawling city park, Mirador del Este, literally “EasternLookoutPark,” in English. The park is riddled with caves, most of which are really limestone sinkholes, created eons ago. The most famous of these, and one of the most accessible is “Los Tres Ojos” (the three eyes). This large cave, filled with stalactites and stalagmites is reached by taking a long staircase carved into the side of the cave. Three lagoons of varying depths grace the caverns here and sometimes, daredevil divers will plunge in the deepest one to the amazement of the crowd. Well-maintained walkways make exploring easy. The park is open daily and admission is around one US dollar.
El Pomier
Some archeologists say that the caves of El Pomier, just outside of Santo Domingo near San Cristobal, are to the West Indies what the pyramids of Giza are to Egypt. Some 54 caves dot the landscape here and contain thousands of pictographs (pictures or symbols representing words) and hundreds of petroglyphs (drawings or etchings on rock). Most of the drawings tell a story and feature humans, animals, and strange monsters, perhaps gods. Though they haven’t all been dated, the pictographs and petroglyphs here are thought to be the work of Taina Indians who lived here over 1000 years ago. Now protected by the Dominican government, these caves are thought to be a holy ground to the Tainas, where the ceremonies and rituals of life took place. Part of the adventure at El Pomier is getting to the drawings. Like an Indiana Jones adventure, you’ll find yourself climbing by flashlight, squeezing through narrow passages, or even descending sheer cliffs by rope, if you dare.
La Samana
The Samana Peninsula offers visitors a myriad of caves to explore. Located in the northeastern portion of the country, La Samana is a beautiful and non-touristy area known for its sleepy fishing villages, long expanses of sand, and its world-class whale-watching. Los Haitises National Park, on the southern portion of the peninsula, is the second most visited park on the island. Almost impenetrable, the park is covered with tropical rain forest and is home to over 112 bird species and nearly 100 plant species. Three caves in the park contain pre-Columbian drawings. The most stunning of these is the San Gabriel cave because of the stalactites and stalagmites there. The caves here are said to have once been the hideout of some of the most notorious pirates of the Caribbean, such as Jack Banister and John Rackham.
The Linea cave, also in LosHaitisesPark, houses the remains of an old, abandoned railway, built over fifty years ago to transport sugar cane to the port. Entrance to the park is RD $50, or around US $2.50. Elaborate, underwater caves off shore offer divers and snorkelers intriguing places to explore and are home to a wide variety of fish species.
Tours
Although you can explore the many caves in the Dominican Republic on your own, taking a tour allows you to learn about what you are seeing and also gives you access to caves you might not find on your own. Caving tours vary as to skill and interest level. Active tours combine repelling, hiking, and horseback riding to remote caves with sightseeing. Other tours concentrate on the history and culture of the Taina tribes and include an archeologist on the tour. Watersports lovers can take an underwater caving tour and snorkel, swim, or scuba amidst underground caves. Interested in helping to preserve the caves and cave art of the Dominican Republic? Several companies offer organized archeological study tours where you stay in D.R. for several weeks and actually assist in the restoration work.
The Dominican Republic offers visitors history in a beautiful, lush, sub-tropical setting. Make sure to explore some of the fascinating caves here. They’re not commercial. They’re just rugged, interesting, and fun.
