Los Haitises National Park is a national park located on the remote northeast coast of the
Dominican Republic. It is a protected virgin forest with little road access. The number of tourists allowed is limited, but since 2000 it has been a relatively popular destination for
ecotourism.
Haitis (singular) means highland or mountain range in the
Taíno language, although the elevation of the park's hills ranges from 30–40 m (98–130 ft). There is a multitude of caverns created by water erosion. Native Americans adorned these caverns with
pictographs and
petroglyphs. The culture or cultures which created these artworks remain unidentified, some of them possibly predating the Taínos.
The park was created by Law 409 enacted June 3, 1976. It was preceded by a Reserva Forestal (Forest Reserve) called Zona Vedada de Los Haitises (Los Haitises Prohibited Zone), created by Law 244. In 1996, it area was expanded from 208 to 826 km
2 (80 to 319 sq mi) by Decree 233. Its boundary, which has been redrawn on multiple occasions, is presently uncertain. The bulk of the park is located in the municipality of
Sabana de la Mar, province of
Hato Mayor, while the remainder lies in the provinces of
Monte Plata and
Samaná. Sabana de la Mar is the site of a visitors' center.
Despite advanced
deforestation, the precipitation is still considerable, ranging from 1,900–2,000 mm (75–79 in) annually. The park is near the top rank in both annual total rainfall and annual number of rainy days among sites in the Dominican Republic.
Geology
The area was formed during the
Miocene epoch of the
Neogene period.
Geomorphologically, it is a
platform karst[3] with dense clusters of conical hills of nearly uniform height (200–300 m/660–980 ft) in between which there are many
sinkholes. The maximum dimensions of this platform karst block are 82 km (51 mi) east to west (from Sabana de la Mar to
Cevicos) by 26 km (16 mi) north to south (from the
Samaná Bay to
Bayaguana). The hills of the interior have the same origin as the islets of the Samaná Bay. There is a multitude of caverns.
Hydrographically, Los Haitises spans portions of two basins: in its western half, the lower basin of the
Yuna River; and in its eastern half, a zone spanning
Miches and
Sabana de la Mar. The Yuna drains through two mouths: its own and that of the
Barracote River. In addition to these two rivers, the park is traversed by the
Payabo River, the
Los Cocos River, the Naranjo River, and numerous natural channels
[4] including the Cabirma, Estero, and Prieto.
Flora
Los Haitises has two
Holdridge life zones:
humid subtropical forest (Bh-S) and
very humid subtropical forest (Bmh-S). Broadleaf species in the park include "musk wood"
[5][6] (
Guarea guidonia, locally
cabirma santa), cigar-box cedar (
Cedrela odorata), ceiba (
Ceiba pentandra), West Indian mahogany (
Swietenia mahagoni, Spanish
caoba), cupey
[7] (
Clusia rosea), and grandleaf seagrape (
Coccoloba pubescens). There are many species of
orchids. Los Haitises contains the greatest abundance of Caribbean
mangrove, in which species like red mangrove (
Rhizophora mangle) and white mangrove (
Laguncularia racemosa) predominate.
Fauna
La
fauna of Los Haitises is of great variety, and due to the park's diversity of physical geographic zones, it boasts the greatest representativity of fauna among the protected natural areas in the country. Two
endemic mammal species, the
Hispaniolan Hutia (
Plagiodontia aedium) and the
Hispaniolan Solenodon (
Solenodon paradoxus), are threatened with extinction.
Being a coastal and marine park, it contains an unparalleled variety of
birds, including most of the species endemic to the country. These include the
brown pelican or
alcatraz (
Pelecanus occidentalis),
magnificent frigatbird (
Fregata magnificens),
Hispaniolan amazon (
Amazona ventralis),
barn owl (
Tyto alba), and
Stygian owl (
Asio stygius). Some of the bird species found in Los Haitises are not found elsewhere within the Dominican Republic.
Landscapes
Los Haitises National Park contains spectacular landscapes like the San Lorenzo Bay, the islets (keys), and the mangroves. The Cayo de los Pájaros ("bird key"), which is conspicuous for the virtually continuous presence of frigatebirds and pelicans circling low overhead, sits between the Boca del Infierno ("Mouth of Hell") and El Naranjo Arriba. Cupey is the dominant tree species and birds fill its horizontal branches. The wild banyantree (
Ficus citrifolia,
[8] also known as shortleaf fig) and tropical almond (
Terminalia catappa) are the other park trees.
Most visitors arrive by sea embarking from
Sabana de la Mar (east end),
Sánchez (north end), or
Samaná (across
Samaná Bay from Sabana de la Mar); however, it is possible to arrive by land from the south using four wheel drive vehicles. A private highway is being constructed through the mountains and a new airport has been built in the city of Samaná to provide better access. The main economic activities in
Monte Plata Province are cattle ranching and sugarcane farming. Tourists will find a large number of roads for sugarcane transport.
