Los Haitises National Park

Los Haitises National Park Tour

The second tour was arranged by rinconesdemipais.com to Los Haitises National Park. The guide was at the door on time, waiting for us in large comfy minivan. Departure time was very early so the kids just continued to sleep almost all of the way. That gave us time to chat with our guide who was extremely prepared and very educated about DR history, culture and nature. The ride was a bit longer than the previous tour, but definitely on the pleasant side.

Since our kids were sleeping during the ride we had breakfast when we arrived at our destination. A boat was waiting for us to take us on the tour around the Los Haitises National Park.

We start off by passing through the mangrove forest. We’ve never seen a mangrove forest before so this really took our breath. It was magical. All those tree roots were hiding different species of birds. It was very quiet and and the scenery felt like like you are in a fairytale.

We got on an open sea, heading to the first cave. We docked on a very nice beach with everything preserved clean all around. The cave itself was marvelous. Not very big but it looked like a place where you can hide and rest. Sea water comes into the cave making a little beach inside.

The weather in the rain forest was subject to change, so we had a  bit of a sun, a bit of rain, some clouds and that changing the colors of the scenery. Our guide said it rains 360 out of 365 days, which is probably why they call it a “rain” forest.

The boat ride continues to the other cave, encountering a mangrove forest even more beautiful than the first one. Our guide was a very good planner and he managed to avoid all the other visiting groups, making us feel like we are the only people there.

The second cave was a lot bigger and had Taino indian art drawings. Following the drawings we learned about Taino history and some local legends. At the center of the cave, there’s an opening in the ceiling where you can see all of the vegetation from the island, and sun rays peep down on you if you stand in the center. It makes for once in a lifetime photo opportunities which will make all your Facebook friends envious.

At the end of our journey through the National park we arrived at a secluded beach at the end of the park. Again we were the only people there, making the experience more magical. We enjoyed swimming and collecting seashells.

The journey ended with traditional lunch in a village near the Los Haitises park. They had similar dishes with our national cuisine and that made our lunch very special. Being away from home that long gets you your local dishes. On the way back we were so pleasantly tired so we all fell asleep. Los Haitises Park is a must see in DR.

Going back

Our time to go back to Cuba was approaching (we were supposed to stay 5 more days in Havana before our flight back home) and we really didn’t want to leave. We are definitely coming back to DR sometime in the future.