A piece of paradise
Nearly four million visitors a year are following in the footsteps of Christopher Columbus and discovering the Dominican Republic’s beautiful beaches and mountains.
Christopher Columbus landed in the Dominican Republic in 1492 – the island’s first tourist, as the local like to say. He wrote in his journal of “a beautiful island paradise with high forested mountains and large river valleys”.
It is also touted as the weddings capital of the Caribbean, due to the vast number of visitors flying in to tie the knot on its beaches, and it’s the golf capital of the region too on account of the number of courses – a total of 32.
The latest to open is a Jack Nicklaus-designed course at Cap Cana, in the south-east, and there is another being built, under the guidance of Nick Faldo, at a new Westin resort north of Punta Cana, also in the south-east. The Westin is due to open in October 2007.
There are also big developments around Samana, in the north-east, which is the place to spot whales in the early part of the year, has great beaches and is fast becoming a must-be place for house-hunting celebrities.
The Dominican Republic is in the Greater Antilles, sandwiched between Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east. But don’t expect to whizz around in a day, capturing the history and culture, before collapsing on one of the white-sand beaches. The island of Hispaniola, which Dominican Republic shares with Haiti, is the second-largest in the Caribbean, taking up about two thirds of the land mass compared to Haiti’s one-third. You need at least a week to see everything, two weeks to do it all justice.
The main tourist areas are in the south-east, around La Romana and Punta Cana, and in the north, around Puerto Plata, popular for their resort hotels and white-sand beaches – there are an estimated 1,000 miles of beaches in the Dominican Republic.
But this island has so much more. The capital, Santo Domingo, is the oldest city in the New World and bursting with history and culture. Up in the mountains, known as the Caribbean Alps as they are the highest in the region, rising to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 metres), there is white-water rafting, mountain biking and hiking, and throughout the island there are nature reserves and a lively nightlife to enjoy.
The Dominicans don’t need an excuse to let their hair down, but just to make sure they get their fair share of fun, the calendar is circled with good-time days. Santo Domingo has two carnivals, and being a predominantly Catholic country, there are pre-Lent carnivals in Santiago, Cabral, La Vega and Monte Cristi where floats, dancing, costumes and live music abound. And not being ones for stopping while the party’s in full swing, the Dominicans also have two merengue festivals and a Latin music festival, which is held once a year.
Sightseeing
East from Puerto Plata is Caberete, the windsurfing and kitesurfing capital of Dominican Republic. It’s amazing to watch the experts, but there are plenty of windsurfing schools if you want to give it a go.
The big attraction in the south and east are the beaches and golf courses, but the Cueva de las Maravillas (Cave of Marvels) is also worth a visit. Believed to have been used as a burial ground by the Tainos Indians, the first inhabitants of the Dominican Republic, they were discovered in 1926 and opened in 2003. A well-marked path takes you through the caves, past stalagmite and stalactite formations, and cave drawings left by the Indians.
The town of Jarabacoa, in the Central Mountains, 500 metres above sea level, is the place to come to sample the island’s most exciting activities. You can go white-water rafting down the Yaque del Norte, canyoning through the Jimenoa River to the falls, or quad biking – on four-wheel motorbikes – through the woods and countryside around Jarabacoa. You can also trek to Duarte Peak, although you do need to be pretty fit and have a few days’ spare as treks take either three, four or five days, with nights spent in tents.
