Bahia de las Aguilas
Bahía de las Águilas
Interesting facts
- La Cueva, the fishing village where boats to the bay set out, is named after the caves around it, which local fishermen lived in until 2007.
- Jaragua National Park, which takes in the bay, forms with Sierra de Bahoruco and Lago Enriquillo the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo reserve, Hispaniola's first UNESCO biosphere reserve.
- Jaragua is the only protected area on the Paleoisla del Sur, the southern landmass that was once separate from the rest of Hispaniola.
- Besides the bay, the park includes the islands of Beata and Alto Velo and the salt lake of Oviedo, known for its American flamingos.
- The park is an Important Bird Area, home to endemic species such as the Hispaniolan parrot, the Antillean piculet and the tiny vervain hummingbird.
- Sooty terns and white-crowned pigeons are among the most abundant birds around the bay, whose dry scrub includes canelilla, a relative of allspice.
- The Dominican Academy of Sciences, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and the embassies of Spain and France all urged the government to keep the area protected.
- Jaragua National Park appears on the Dominican Republic's tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage status.
Why it is worth it
Bahía de las Águilas, the Bay of Eagles, is some eight kilometres of pale sand curving along the far south-western corner of the Dominican Republic, close to the southern end of the border with Haiti. There is no town, hotel or road along the shore: only the beach, a backdrop of low, sun-baked scrub, and water of such clarity that the bay is often counted among the most transparent in the Caribbean. Offshore lie coral reefs and broad meadows of sea grass that colour the shallows in bands of turquoise and green.
The bay belongs to Jaragua National Park, created by decree in 1983 and named after the Taíno chiefdom of Xaragua that once ruled this part of Hispaniola. Covering some 1,374 square kilometres, of which about 905 are sea, it is the largest protected area in the Caribbean, and it forms part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve. On land the park protects Hispaniolan dry forest, the habitat of two endangered endemic mammals, the Hispaniolan solenodon and the hutia, and of Ricord's and rhinoceros iguanas; the saline Lago de Oviedo and the island of Beata also lie within its limits. In the waters of the bay hawksbill, leatherback and green turtles, queen conch, spiny lobster and Antillean manatees have all been recorded.
The beach owes its untouched state partly to a long legal battle. In 1997 began a dispute over attempts to acquire the land through corrupt dealings, which ended with the courts declaring Bahía de las Águilas public land; the government has since stated that no construction will be allowed in the protected zones. The usual approach is from La Cueva, a small village on Cabo Rojo, the "Red Cape", where local villagers take visitors along the coast by motorboat; the beach can also be reached on foot or by four-wheel-drive track.
Getting there
Bahía de las Águilas lies in Pedernales Province, about 25 km from the town of Pedernales and some 323 km west of Santo Domingo; Santa Cruz de Barahona is about 69 km away in a straight line. The nearest airport is María Montez International Airport (BRX) at Barahona, about 70 km away. Boats to the beach leave from La Cueva on Cabo Rojo.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Bahía de las Águilas, is an 8 km-long (5 mi) beach along the southwestern coast of the Dominican Republic in the province of Pedernales near the southernmost part of the land border with Haiti. The bay is part of the Jaragua National Park, and it is considered one of the most crystalline beaches in the world, according to some travel opinion writers. The bay is a protected area as is the surrounding park; hence there is an abundance of sea life a few steps off the beach within its waters.
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