Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A small group of basic shacks sells cut-rate larimar jewelry at the mine, and a few no-
name eateries sell food and drink to the miners.
To get there, look for the turn-off in the small hamlet of El Arroyo, 13km south of
Barahona (3km north of Bahoruco). There's no sign, but there is a European Commission
sign referring to the mine. It's an hour's drive on a rough road (4WD absolutely required).
Ecotour Barahona (
Click here
)
offers a tour here (US$119). Alternatively, take a
guagua
to the turn-off early in the morning; you may be able to hitchhike in with one of the
miners. As in any other part of the world, hitching is never entirely safe however, and we
therefore don't recommend it. Travelers who hitch should understand that they are taking
a small but potentially serious risk.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Parque Nacional Jaragua
The largest protected area in the country,
Parque Nacional Jaragua
(admission RD$100;
8am-5pm)
is 1400 sq km. The park includes vast ranges of thorn forest and subtropical dry
forest and an extensive marine area that spans most of the southern coastline, including
Laguna Oviedo, Bahía de Las Águilas and the islands of Isla Beata and Alto Velo.
Laguna Oviedo
This hypersalinic lake, separated from the ocean by a thin 800m-wide strip of sand, is a
popular birdwatching destination, and home to a small colony of flamingos, which swells
in population during winter. You're also likely to spot ibis, storks and spoonbills, espe-
cially in late spring and early summer. The enormous, one-ton
tinjlare
turtle comes here
from April to August to lay and hatch its eggs, but can usually be seen only very late at
night.
You can take a boat tour from the well-organized
visitors center
( 829-808-8234;
6am-6pm)
. A three-hour tour costs RD$3500 per boat (up to five people), including a
Spanish-speaking guide. There's also the national park entrance fee (RD$100). The tour
includes a brief visit to a small Taíno cave, plus a short walk across the dividing strip to
the ocean and the beach there, a beautiful yellow strand marred by an unbelievable quant-
ity of plastic flotsam and jetsam - broken buckets, empty bleach bottles and the occasion-
