The Dominican Republic's far southwest frontier — Caribbean desert, flamingos, Haitian border, and the least-visited national park in the Caribbean
Pedernales is a remote town of 25,000 on the Dominican Republic's far southwestern tip, at the Haitian border on the Barahona Peninsula — one of the most geologically and ecologically unique parts of the Caribbean. The surrounding Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve (the largest protected area in the Caribbean) encompasses Lake Enriquillo (a hypersaline lake 40m below sea level with the largest population of American crocodiles in the hemisphere), the dry coastal forests of Jaragua National Park, and flamingo colonies at Laguna Oviedo. The Dominican Republic government recently deve…
The Barahona Peninsula was one of the last strongholds of the Taino people after the Spanish conquest — the Enriquillo rebellion (1519–1533), led by the Taino cacique Enriquillo from the Bahoruco mountains, was the longest and most successful indigenous resistance to Spanish colonisation in the Caribbean, ending with a peace treaty that granted the Tainos autonomous territory. Lake Enriquillo is named for this leader. The western peninsula remained sparsely settled throughout the colonial period due to its arid climate and isolation; the Haitian border at Pedernales was formally defined only…