BeachCorps is partial to the beach, but there is life beyond the beach. One of the most wonderful aspects of the Dominican Republic is its enormous variety of climates and topography. After all, the Dominican Republic has Pico Duarte, the tallest peak (over 10,000 feet) in the Caribbean (here we see Interact kids BeachCorps is supporting along with the Punta Cana Group as they rise to the top of Pico Duarte).
We recently ran into a nice couple from the DC area, Janice and Joe, who told us of their adventures driving into the mountains around Santiago, Jarabacoa and Constanza. They are world travelers. We were impressed with their willingness to brave lonely, foggy mountain roads, but that’s one of the beautiful things about the Dominican Republic: it’s pretty safe to go many beautiful places off the beaten path. They were particularly surprised and pleased by their stay in Moncarlo & Mon of mine Hotel & Restaurant in Constanza, where the rooms and the service were on a par with any boutique hotel in the USA, and the views are beautiful. Rancho La Aurora in Jarabacoa is another stunner (Access DR Photo below).
Jarabacoa and Constanza are the center of eco-tourism in the Dominican Republic. Bring a jacket if you go because it can get cold at night! It’s a lush area with many outdoor activities, including rafting, horseback riding and hiking. It also has a marvelous and inexpensive golf course in the mountains! The Jarabacoa Golf Club is carved out of the Cordillera Central Mountain Range with beautiful vistas on every one of the nine holes. It’s a short course favoring accuracy at 2911 yards with two par 3, five par 4, and two par 5 holes on 43 acres.
If you have made it all the way to the central mountains of the Dominican Republic, you should continue wandering off the beaten path to the North Coast. One of the pleasant drives we’ve ever had is through the town of Moca, over the top of the mountains, and down into the coast around Puerto Plata. The view on both sides of the mountain are strikingly different and awe-inspiring. On one side looking over the great Cibao Valley, and on the other side the gorgeous and sunny view down to the ocean.
We won’t even begin to try to touch on all the great activities that there are in the mountain area of the Dominican Republic. Suffice it to say, however, that if you think you know the Dominican Republic and you’ve only been to Punta Cana, you are missing a whole other world!
We leave you with one of the classic gag photos of the Dominican Republic. In Pisa you hold your hand out to hold up the Leaning Tower, and in Puerto Plata just north of the Cibao Valley you take the gag photo of one of you dangling from the famous cable car ride that gives you the stunning view next to the cross at the top. Thanks Janice and Joe for sharing this photo with us!
#DominicanRepublic #PuertoPlata #Jarabacoa #Constanza #OfftheBeatenPath
