National Park of the East, also called Cotubanamá National Park, is a park that is located in the extreme southeast of the Dominican Republic. It is shaped like a trapezoidal peninsula. Its total extension is 310 km², within the park it includes Saona Island.
Within the National Park of the East, three life zones are distinguished, according to the Holdridge classification: Subtropical Humid Forest, Subtropical Dry Forest and Transitional Forest Between the two previous ones, visitors can hike through the part of the mainland, which It will take you, along paths of varying difficulty, to a lot of caves and springs, you can also go bird watching.
Among others, the most representative species are the beach grape and the bayahonda, as well as the mahogany, 112 species of birds have been registered within the limits of the park, half corresponding to the existing species in the country, of that total, 8 species are endemic to the island and 11 species are endemic to the Caribbean area.
On the coast you will find numerous diving and snorkeling sites full of coral reefs and underwater walls full of marine life. On land, the park’s sparkling beaches, particularly those on Isla Saona, are the most important nesting site for turtles in the country.
It is one of the parks full of caves and adventures in the country, and for this reason one of the most visited. It has more than 500 species of flora, 300 types of birds, and includes long stretches of white beaches on the islands of Catalina and Saona, which also have a vibrant marine world.
The National Park of the East also called Cotubanamá is located to the east of the island, between Bayahibe and Boca de Yuma, it is an area of 42,000 hectares protected since 1975 that contains a great terrestrial and marine biodiversity with mangroves (Bay of the Calderas).
More than a hundred species of birds, some of which are endemic to the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, mammals, plants and terrestrial trees (Solenodon and Jutia) and marine (manatees and dolphins).
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