Los Haitises National Park

Los Haitises National Park is a protected coastal karst and mangrove area on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic, within Samaná Bay and adjacent lowlands. The park preserves steep limestone hills, extensive mangroves and numerous small offshore islets.

Key attractions include mangrove channels, raised karst mogotes that rise abruptly from the coast, and caves that contain pre-Columbian pictographs and archaeological sites. Birdlife, marine nursery habitats and endemic plants make the park important for conservation and nature tourism.

The park was designated in the 1970s to protect its unique combination of coastal and karst ecosystems and to conserve archaeological sites. Management focuses on balancing conservation with regulated eco-tourism and local livelihoods.

Geographically the park lies in Samaná Province on the northeast Dominican coast, reached by boat from Samaná and surrounding towns; it fronts the Caribbean Sea and includes several small offshore cayos.

• Protection: Established as a national park in the 1970s, the area protects a combination of mangrove, humid forest and karst landscapes along the northeast Dominican coast.
• Access: Boat access via Samaná Bay is the usual way to enter; guided boat trips explore mangrove channels, caves and offshore islets.

What to See#

• Mangrove zones: Extensive mangrove forests and tidal channels that fringe the park and provide nursery habitat for fish and birdlife.
• Karst hills and caves: Karst limestone mogotes and steep hills rising from the coastline, many with caves that contain archaeological remains and pictographs.
• Offshore cayos: A cluster of small offshore islets and cayos within Samaná Bay that are protected and often visited on boat tours.

Los Haitises National Park is most easily visited by boat from the Samaná Bay area. Day tours and park boats depart from the town of Santa Bárbara de Samaná and from nearby ports (such as Sánchez and Sabana de la Mar); visitors normally travel to Samaná by car or bus from other parts of the Dominican Republic and then take a short boat trip into the park from the bay.

• Take the earliest boat from Samaná or Sabana de la Mar for calm waters, better wildlife viewing in the mangroves and to avoid the large mid-morning excursion boats.
• Enter the park by licensed boat and guide-Los Haitises' channels and coves are protected and guides know which caves have Taino pictographs and how to navigate the mangrove canals without disturbing birdlife.
• Choose small-group eco-tours rather than large commercial launches if you want quieter access to caves and bird colonies; many visitors miss the quieter inner estuaries where wildlife is concentrated.