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About Dominicana Republic
Attractions of Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic — is an exotic edge of the
magnificent nature, hundreds of kilometers of white beaches, rich coral reefs,
picturesque landscape, clear rivers, unique culture and friendly people.
Christopher Columbus discovered La Hispaniola (as he named this island) in 1492, considered the most beautiful land of all which man has gone before. And today this is one of the most rapidly developing resort areas in the Caribbean,
receiving hundreds of thousands of tourists annually.
Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo de Guzman) — the oldest
(founded in 1496) and largest city of the Antilles, who grew up on the site of
the destroyed Hurricane Isabel — the first Spanish city on the island. There is a huge number of historical monuments, many of which are some of the first
buildings in Europe in the New World, so Santo Domingo was declared by UNESCO «World Heritage».
The oldest, central part of the capital, was built mainly in the XVI century and is rich in monuments of the colonial era. Of great interest
are the San Diego Fort, the residence of the Spanish Crown in the New World —
Palace Alkasap-de-Colon («Fortress of Columbus», 1510−1514 gg.) With a
luxurious garden, Concepcion Fort, Casa de Bastidas (XVII century.) («Captain's
Palace») and the Casa de Ovando (XVI ) with the only American Gothic portal,
Sundial (1753) at the end of the street Calle de las Damas, the first stone
house in the region — Casa-del -Cordon («House of the Sash», 1503), palaces
Casa del Duarte and Casa Borgelya on the street Isabel la Catolica, the house
Casa del Tapao, the first fortress of the New World — La Fortaleza («Fort of Worship»), a complex of the Casa de la Moneda (Mint yard, XVI c.), the palace
hostal Nicolas Nader, the oldest in the region, the University of Santo Domingo
(1538), Osama fortress (1502−1507). With Torre del Omenahe, Dom Kolymba (the first house built in Canto-Domingo), the first on the continent Hospital St.
Nicholas (1503−1505 gg.), ensemble of the colonial buildings Atarazana, the oldest paved street of the New World — Calle de las Damas, Monumento
«Puerto-del-Conde», etc…
No less interesting is one of the symbols of the city — a huge lighthouse Faro to Colón («Columbus Lighthouse», 1992), located on a hill
in the eastern part of the city, in which there is a mausoleum made of white
marble with the remains of Columbus and a museum dedicated to the history of the monument, as well as the discovery and conquest of the Americas.Also worth
of a visit is the National Pantheon, the mausoleum of Baluarte, or «Altar of the Motherland» (there are buried the founders of the Dominican Republic —
Duarte, Sanchez and Mella) (1714−1745 gg.), A suite of Atarazana (XVI c.),
University of Santiago de la Paz outside Truckee, National Palace (1947
residence of the President), or explore the old quarters of the city, built-up
buildings in the original style, which is even difficult to find a
definition.
In the city there's an enormous number of churches,
which is not surprising — it is intended to carry away the Church Christianity
«wild tribes» of America. The symbol of Santo Domingo is considered the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor (1514−1540 gg -. America's oldest church),
not less interesting San Nicolas Church (. XVI c), old residence in Santo-Domingo — Casa-del-Tostado (nowadays its Dominican family museum
_), the church of Regina-Angelorum (XVI cent.) on the street Padre Bellini, the church and the monastery of the Dominican Order of Santo Domingo (Los Dominicos, 1510), the church and convent of Santa Clara (in 1522 ), the chapel
of St. Andrew`s with the most beautiful altar of the country, the ruins of the
church of Santa Barbara (XVI c.), the chapel of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios
(XVI c.), the ruins of an ensemble of San-Nicolas-de-Bari (1503−1508), the church and convent of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (1530, today there is the
Dominican Academy of history), the church of San Miguel, the church of Nuestra
Señora del Carmen (XVIII c.), chapel Tercer -Orden (XVIII century., now here is
the municipal library), monastery ruins of San-Francisco (1512, the first
monastery of the american continent) and others.
The city has many museums, the most interesting of which are considered the colonial Museum Las Casas Reales in the building of the first in the New World of the Supreme Court (1513−1520 ), Which is dedicated to Columbus' voyage and the Spanish culture of the New World, first-class
Dominican museum located in the former house Hernán Cortés of the French
culture center, with a rich library and an exhibition gallery, Museum del Rescato-Submarine building in Las Atarazanas Reales with a magnificent
collection of weapons, dishes, jewelry and old coins found on the sunken
Spanish galleons, house-museum of one of the founders of the Dominican Republic
(1518−1543 ) — Juan Pablo Duarte Museum of La Caleta with an underwater park,
Museum «The World of amber» ,the royal court museum on street the Las Damas,
the Numismatic Museum in the building of the Casa de la Moneda, Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of History and Geography, Museum of Nature and so on.
The popular National Library in the Park of Culture, National theater, The Art
theater of the culture area, as well as a zoo and an excellent Aquarium on Avenida Spain.
The capital of the Dominican Republic-a surprisingly green
city. Almost every historical building is surrounded by a small park or, in extreme cases, a lawn. Cozy are scattered throughout the city parks, most popular Duarte, Mirador del Sur Mirador del Este and Columbus Park, as well as
the famous National Botanical Garden, which contains a huge number of species
of flora from around the world.
Special attention should Cave y Los Tres Ojos («Three and his eyes»), in which the three natural lakes are located 15 meters deep, each of which has the chemical composition of water, and accordingly — color.
Santo Domingo as many people consider is the shopping center
in the Caribbean not without reason — here are the largest
commercial and shopping centers in the region. The most popular is the famous
Malecon — the 15−kilometer coastal avenue, a popular place for celebrations of local residents and one of the busiest entertainment options area of the
capital.
Famous suburban beaches of Bavaro, Macao, Arena,
Cortecito, Cabeza del Toro and Punta Cana are
the 32 km of pearl- white sand and a whole array of new tourist centers
located right on the coast, but not fewer than 60 meters away from the beach
(according to local laws, disturbing the natural landscape is prohibited). On weekends, many of the public beaches are transformed into lively
playgrounds and picnic areas. Stretched along the entire coast, the resort towns of Boca Chica, Juan Dolio, San Pedro de Macorís, San Cristóbal, La Romana, Punta Palenque, and the famous Casa de
Campo, as well as others are the most modern recreational areas of the
country.
To the east of the capital there are islands
Saona and Catalina, famous for a rich marine
fauna, as well as grottoes Chavon at the mouth of the same river and the
National Park del Este.
The central region of Cibao is quite mountainous (the language of the «Taino» Cibao — «high mountains»), but at the same time and is
considered one of the most fertile areas of the world. In the heart of the
Cibao it is the second largest city in the Dominican Republic —
Santiago, which was for some time even the capital. In this city, which is considered the cradle of music «merengue» is worth visiting
the Cathedral of Santiago (1868−1895 years).
At 50 km. to the south of Santiago is located the beautiful
city of Jarabacoa, which is located in the vicinity of the
most beautiful waterfalls of the country — El Salto de Jimenoa Baiguate and Balneario de la Guazaras. South -West Jarabacoa stands Pico Duarte -the highest
point in the Antilles (3175 m.), counts the most wonderful place for trekking
and mountaineering. It is also a good starting point for the journey to the
Pico Duarte counts the city Constanza, which is one of the
centers of the sugar cane cultivation ,tobacco, coffee and cocoa. It also
has a natural attraction — the waterfall Salto de las Aguas Blancas(20km. from Constanza). And to the north-west of Jarabacoa stretches nature reserve Armando
Bermúdez.
To the north-west of Jarabacoa is located La Vega Real
Valley, the center of which is considered the state La Vega,
It was the summer residence of the Spanish viceroy. Here are interesting the first (and the only one in the country), a passenger railway, the Church of Our
Lady of Las Mercedes (XIX c., A national shrine) at the foot of Santo Cerro,
archaeological excavations of the old city, building the fire station (XVII c.)
And the traditional carnival " Vega «(Feb. 27).
North of Cibao, with the ridges of the Northern Cordillera,
stretches one of the most popular tourist areas of the country — Costa del Ámbar („Ámbar Coast“). The area got its name because of the huge deposits of amber, and also because of the wonderful beaches of the region, stretching from Puerto Plata to Manzanillo Bay.The main town of the region — Puerto
Plata („Silver Port“), founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1496 under
the name of San Felipe de Puerto Plata.Also worth in visiting are the
ruins of the house of Columbus and the church, where he performed the first
messa in America, Fort San Felipe (1540) with a small military museum, the church Can Felipe, the funicular to the top of the mountain La Loma Isabel de Torres Museum, Taino Indians, Museum of Amber, Museum The remaining Jameson,
lighthouse Fortaleza, distillery Brugal, the seaside boulevard Malecon,
building fire station with two towers and a lot of houses in colonial
style.
There are no good beaches in the town, but just 200 m. From the edge begins the beautiful beach the Long Beach, a little further along the coast stretch the beaches of Cofresi Bay, the fashionable resort Costambar,
Luperon (one of the best fishing on the north coast), Bay Ensenada island Cayo Arena, Pico-San-Juan and Cabrita, Playa Dorada beach, Playa Chiquita, Puerto
Chiquito, Los Charamicos and El Batey, as well as the luxurious beaches in laguna Gri-Gri and Cabarete (one of the world's major centers of windsurfing).
On the west coast, near the border with Haiti, is Montecristi town, famous for its magnificent bay with resting
on the bottom of a fleet of Spanish galleons, salt lakes Lago Enriquillo and many old colonial homes. Just beyond the bay enclosing coral reef island group
lies-Siete Hermanos („Seven Brothers“), in which the gray sand beaches from November to February lay eggs large sea turtles.
North-east coast, stretching from the Cabrera to the
peninsula Engaño, cut up by bays and offshore islands abounds. The chains of mountain ranges that cross the country, in the area go to the ocean and break
off in his beautiful ridges. The most interesting area here are the Peninsula
and the Bay of Samana. Here, in addition to the luxurious nature and clean
beaches, doubtless noteworthy Haitises National Park (208 sq. Km.) the caves of San Gabriel, Angel, Arena and Línea, luxurious beaches of the island
of Cayo Levantado, Marine Reserve Banco de la Plata (here, in the period from middle of January to middle of March is collected for breeding humpback
whales), the waterfalls of el Limón and La Fuente del Almirante („Admiral
Falls“), „Crystal lagoon“ Barakat on the river, and the resort town of Las
Terrenas, Las Galeras (the local beaches considered among the best in the
country), Playa Bonita, of el Portillo and the country's most beautiful beach
in Playa Rincon. The famous „Coconut Beach“, which stretches for 40 km. on both
sides of the city of Higuey, it is well known resorts of Punta Cana and Bavaro beach, considered the best in the Dominican Republic.
The southern and south-west coast of the country, is rather
weak until mastered by tourists, is a charming mixture of the quiet towns,
magnificent landscapes, lush greenery and desert coasts. It is interesting city Barahona, Cabral Lagoon and the amazing phenomenon of „magnetic mountains“ (10 km from Cabral.), Freshwater lake Las Marias with remarkably clear water of Lake Enriquillo National Park, „the capital of the Dominican turquoise“ — city Bahoruco, Jaragua Park, Oviedo Lagoon (where large sea turtles breed), Beata
Island and, of course, dozens of kilometers of excellent beaches, many of which
are completely wild and deserted. Many visitors are attracted and national
parks of the country — Armando Bermúdez-Del Este and Los Haitises.
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