Cotubanamá National Park (Parque Nacional del Este)

National park in Bayahibe, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic

Inside

• Saona Island

• Open year-round
• Typical duration: 8h

Access & fees

• if your visit method is through terrestrial trails & caves (fee: US$10)
• if your visit. method is through marine outings and saona island

Things to do

• archaeological site visit (site: Manantial de la Aleta spring)
• birdwatching (notable: Hispaniolan parrot, ashy-faced owl, Antillean piculet)
• cave exploration (notable caves: Jose Maria, Ramoncito, Berna)
• freshwater cave pools (caves: Cueva de Chicho, El Toro, Brujo · complex: Padre Nuestro)
• island visit (island: Saona Island) — popular tourist destination
• snorkeling and diving (location: coral reefs, steep walls)
• swimming in subterranean lagoons (location: Sendero Padre Nuestro)
• taino rock art viewing (types: pictographs, petroglyphs, paintings, carvings)
• wildlife observation (species: rhinoceros iguana, hutia, solenodon)

Features

• bird species count (count: 300+)
• buffer zone (area: 12,000 ha)
• cave system (count: hundreds of caves and sinkholes)
• coral reef ecosystem — thriving coastal reefs
• ecosystem types (types: beaches, cliffs, forest, mangroves, caves)
• endemic plant species (count: 50+ · total recorded: 539+)
• indigenous cemeteries (count: over 8)
• isla catalinita included (area: 22 ha · distance: 3.5 km north of Saona)
• limestone/coral subsoil (coverage: 80% of park)
• mangrove vegetation — aerial root barrier along coast
• park established (year: 1975 · decree: No. 1311)
• renamed (year: 2014 · former name: Parque Nacional del Este)
• saona island included (area: 110 km2 · access: across Catuano Strait)
• solenodon antiquity — oldest native species, millions of years
• taino ceremonial plazas (count: more than 20)
• total park size (area: 791.9 km2)
• total protected area (area: 41,894 ha)

Nearby

• manantial de la aleta (distance: 20 km from Padre Nuestro Complex)

Good to know

• access sections (sections: La Romana-Bayahibe and Boca de Yuma)
• provinces spanned (provinces: La Altagracia, La Romana)

Catalog identifier: AVIA-Y2QS-5HVSF

Photos