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Overview
Tropical forest streching inland from the coast with a mangrove habitat.
Birds
Notable Species
Some of the birds that I observed there were: Magnificent Frigatebird, Brown Booby, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, White-cheeked Pintail, Lesser Yellowlegs, Belted Kingfisher. Broad-billed Tody, Hispaniolan Palm Crow, White-crowned Pigeon, Yellow-faced Grassquit etc.
Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
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Other Wildlife
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Site Information
There are several sections to this park:
Headquarter
Situated in the former fishing village of Bayahibe, this is where you are expected to purchase access tickets in advance before entering PN del Este. However, for example at Guaraguao, it might very well be possible to purchase access when entering. Bayahibe is also where the boat tours to Saona Island depart.
Padre Nuestro Trail
This trail is found on the north side of Bayahibe, on the west side of the park
Guaraguao ranger station
Also known as Caseta del Parque Guaraguao, this is the entry point to the south of Playa Dominicus beach (south of Bayahibe), on the west side of the park. From the Y fork mentioned under access, continue towards Playa Dominicus. Continua along all the hotels, until just after the last one, entering through a gate. Just after the gate the road (which now is a trail) continues to the right until it reaches within 100 ft of the sea, where one is supposed to park. The trail continues past a picnic area to the ranger station, where it becames a walking trail. This goes paralel with the coast for some hundreds of meters/yards, before turning inland. It continues slightly up for the next long section, eventually ending where the entry to a cave will be visible. That cave is rumored to sometimes hold an Ashy-faced Owl. Along the entire stretch of 3 km/1.9 miles goes through dry forest and is easily accessible, but does not accommodate wheelchairs.
Boca de Yuma
This little town on the east side of the park is located on cliffs without easy beach access and therefore without much tourist development, but it has an access point to the large scale park del Este.
Saona Island
This island is most well known for its beaches which are visited by lots of tourists, but the island is part of the national park. The Magnificent Frigatebird colony is located on the mainland (at Las Calderas) but most easily accessed from one of the boats ferrying tourists to this island -- inquire in the headquarter when making arrangements.
History and Use
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Areas of Interest
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Access and Facilities
Starting point here is the exit to Bayahibe from the new (about 2012) Autopista del Coral (payment highway). Following the signs towards Bayahibe it will be a few km before there is a Y intersection with the straight-away leading to Playa Dominicus and the right fork leading to Bayahibe village. The national park offices should be visible on the right with a short road leading to it; look for a large parking lot that much of the day will have many tour buses. This is the official place to purchase tickets to enter the park, to arrange access to Isla Saona and along the way to the Magnificent Frigatebird colony, etc.
Autopista del Coral goes from the Punta Cana Airport to just outside of La Romana. If coming from Santo Domingo follow main highway #3 past La Romana until meeting the autopista.
Both Bayahibe and Playa Dominicus have plenty of hotels and restaurants. More can be found in the Punta Cana area.
Contact Details
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External Links
Content and images originally posted by WillieWagtail
