BARAHONA.

This province in the southernmost peninsula of the country is incredibly rich in natural resources. It boasts scenic highways, several parks and rainforest preserves (including the new Cachote site that is just now being developed for ecotourism), the vast inland lagoon called Rincón (or Cabral), with a wide array of endemic and migratory waterfowl, as well as magnificent beaches that are quickly becoming a magnet for scuba divers from around the world. It also has both thermal springs and crystalline-cold mountain swimming holes at Pata and San Rafael, vast mountain coffee plantations, mines of salt and plaster, and the world’s only larimar mine—larimar is a creamy blue turquoise-like semi-precious stone that is unique to the Dominican Republic.

This was a region where slaves fled to from French Saint Domingue, and communities like Naranjo still maintain a rich Afro-Caribbean culture that is manifested in colorful “altars” and magico-religious rites, and dynamic carnival costumes and celebrations. There is also a mysterious Magnetic Pole that appears to defy the laws of physics.

Barahona is a coastal province that begins in Punta Martín García forming the Neiba Bay, where the Yaque del Sur River ends. The provincial capital is Barahona, a large city over the cove with great urban and commercial development that is also the region's harbor. It begins to have important tourist offers, hotels and recently, an international airport.

The Barahona coast offers everything from abrupt cliffs to romantic beaches with narrow, sweet water streams, such as Los Patos, which is also a cave filled with pictographs.

Rincón Lagoon (also known as Cabral), located in the Neiba Valley, constitutes the second largest inland body of water and is the largest sweet water body of water in the country. Punta Prieta is located right outside the bay and next to the town of Juan Esteban, with the Saladilla and San Rafael Beaches.

Paraíso is the head municipality located at the mouth of the Nazito River, an area where the waters run towards the seas forming ponds and baths of template waters surrounded by wet and thick vegetation.

Enriquillo is the last coastal town in the province.

Geographic Location

The Barahona municipality has the following borders: Vicente Noble to the northeast, Paraíso to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the east and Cabral-Polo to the west

. History

Located in the southern part of the country, the city of Santa Cruz de Barahona was founded in 1802. It began as a fishing town on the Yaque del Sur river, the Rincon Lagoon and the Caribbean Sea. The area where it currently stands was originally a source of wood, including oak and mahogany.