The Baní Dunes are located on the Las Calderas Peninsula to the east of the Las Calderas Bay, between the towns of Matanzas, Las Calderas and Las Salinas belonging to the Peravia Province, Dominican Republic, also known as the natural monument Las Dunas de the boilers.
The dune field occupies the entire peninsula and extends for about 15 km in a straight line from east to west, its maximum width; in a north-south direction, its maximum is 3 km but it is generally less. The sands of these dunes are fine and well selected, rich in quartz and feldspars, whose nourishment comes from the sediments dragged from the Bahía stream, whose mouth is about 5km; from the Baní River, which flows about 12 km away; and even from the mouth of the Nizao River, about 25 km away.
The sediments of these watercourses are worked by the action of the currents and waves of the Caribbean Sea and the action of the winds in one direction and at more or less constant speeds, is responsible for the selection and accumulation of the sands to form the dunes, a natural phenomenon that began in the Pleistocene.
The maximum height of the dunes reaches 35 meters and it is conservatively estimated that there are 117.4 million cubic meters of fine blue sand in this protected natural area, which presents a great beauty that is unparalleled in any other region of the island. and, perhaps, of the insular Caribbean, comprising in its entirety an ecosystem with very special characteristics whose conservation is of priority importance.
In this area there are some flat areas (“little valleys”) formed by beach sediments that are called “salty” and that, in some cases, are temporarily invaded by seawater, as is the case of El Salado del Muerto. In the dunes, the trail of the snails also stands out, a reserve of prehistoric fossils and of archaeological value and freshwater springs under the sand that disappear in times of drought.
The protected area has the Santanilla trail, with a route of 1.5 kilometers that allows you to enjoy the different environments. In the dunes there are no rivers. There is an area of brackish wetlands at the bottom of the Las Calderas bay and in the Punta Salinas sector.
Every year this interesting place on our island is a meeting point for thousands of visitors from all over the world, to explore in buggies, turning their stay into adventure experiences.
To learn about other beautiful places in the Dominican Republic, follow us at visitadominicana.com