Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Every hotel, restaurant and shop advertises Saona trips with little variation in quality and
price (US$65 to US$80).
Isla Catalinita
This tiny uninhabited island on the eastern edge of the park is a common stop on snorkel-
ing and diving tours. Arriving on the island's western (leeward) side, it's about a half-hour
hike to the other side, where a lookout affords dramatic views of the powerful open-ocean
waves crashing on the shore. There is a coral reef in about 2m of water that makes for
great snorkeling, and a good dive site called Shark Point, where sharks are in fact often
seen.
NATURE RESERVE
Cueva del Puente
Parque Nacional del Este also has more than 400 caves, many of which contain Taíno pic-
tographs (cave paintings) and petroglyphs (rock carvings). Archaeologists have found sev-
eral structures and artifacts in and around the caves, including what appears to be the re-
mains of a large Taíno city (perhaps the largest) and the site of a notorious massacre of in-
digenous people by Spanish soldiers.
Only one of the caves that contain Taíno pictographs, Cueva del Puente , can be easily vis-
ited. It is partially collapsed, but has a modest number of Taíno pictures, mostly depicting
animals and human-like figures that may represent people or deities. The cave also has
some impressive stalagmites and stalactites.
To visit Cueva del Puente, you must drive to the national park entrance at Guaraguao,
5km past Dominicus Americanus (turn right 350m down a dirt road after the Cadaques
Caribe Resort). There you will pay the RD$100 entrance fee and the guard will guide you
to the cave - it's a little over 3km, about a 40-minute walk; you'll need a flashlight and
good shoes. South of here is Cueva Penon Gordo , a smaller cave but with more pictographs.
CAVE
La Punta de Bayahibe
This short, pleasant walk (10 minutes) follows a path beginning just past the Bamboo
Beach Bar. It passes by the attractive Iglesia de Bayahibe, a small green, wooden struc-
ture, and signs in both English and Spanish outline interesting facts about the town's his-
tory and flora and fauna.
NATURE WALK
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