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Montecristi

Exploring Dominican Republic - Montecristi

Learn about all the activities in Montecristi.
Palacio Consistorial
palacio consistorial de santiago de los caballeros
Monumento a los Héroes de la restauración
Monumento a los héroes de la restauración
La aurora
La aurora
Gran teatro del Cibao
Gran teatro del Cibao
Estadio Cibao
Estadio Cibao
Centro Cultural León Jimenes
centro leon
Casa de Arte
Casa de arte Santiago
Arena del Cibao
Gran Arena del Cibao
Isla Saona
Isla saona
Cueva del chicho
cueva del chicho
Cueva de las Maravillas
Cueva de las maravillas
Catalinita
Isla Catalinita
Casa Ponce de León
Casa ponce de leon
Bayahibe rose garden
Bayahibe
Bayahíbe
Bayahibe
Atlantic Princess Shipwreck
Bayahibe
Salto de Jimenoa
Salto de jimenoa
Salto de Baiguate
Salto de Baiguate
Pico duarte
Pico duarte
La confluencia
La confluencia
José del Carmen ramírez National Park
jose del carmen ramirez national park
jarabacoa golf club
jarabacoa golf club

Overview

The jewel of the northwest, the border province of Montecristi presents a wild and striking landscape ripe for off-the-beaten-track adventures. Rice plantations, banana fields, goats and giant cacti stand sentry roadside, leading towards salt ponds and onto limestone cliffs hugging a wave-rich Atlantic Ocean. Around this part desert and part Mediterranean-like scenery, thick mangrove tunnels give way to fresh lagoons, while offshore cayes teem with migratory birds, and offer secluded white sand beaches.

Unpretentious, the town of San Fernando de Montecristi–founded by Nicolás de Ovando in 1501 and named after King Ferdinand of Spain–reveals a rich and inspiring legacy. It’s where Cuban José Martí and Dominican General Máximo Gómez planned for Cuba’s independence from Spain–you can view key documents on display at the Museo Máximo Gómez. Juan Isidro Jiménez, President of the Dominican Republic from 1899 to 1911, hailed from Montecristi, while immigrants flocked from Europe, the United States, and South America during this period to help export the region’s wood and agricultural products. The town was transformed into a major trading port. Few also know that Montecristi is where the Dominican Republic’s first aqueduct, railroad, and telephones were installed.

Sunsets grace the town’s small but beautiful boardwalk and beach, with multiple surrounding hotels and restaurants serving the area’s traditional spicy goat specialty. From your seafront table and from any point in town are unmistakable views of El Morro–the iconic mesa looming over Montecristi like its very own “Table Mountain,” at the foot of which sits a spectacular blond beach. Those who venture off the sand onto the Atlantic Ocean can kitesurf to their heart’s content, or go underwater to explore the coral barrier reef running parallel to El Morro and stretching all the way to Punta Rucia. It’s the largest and healthiest reef in the DR. In the distance, across the bay of Montecristi, the best snorkeling and diving adventures in the country lie off Cayo Siete Hermanos, a series of seven cayes doubling as a primary nesting site of brown boobies and migratory birds.

Last but not least, you’ll want to look out for shipwrecks–Montecristi’s waters are known as the “ship graveyard of the Caribbean,” with over 450 sunken galleons dating back to Columbus’s days, many of which await discovery and study from marine archeologists.

With a wild terrain that leads to inevitable outdoor surprises, Montecristi is where you can live out your own Pirates of the Caribbean adventure.

The main gateway to Montecristi is the Cibao International Airport (STI) in Santiago, followed by the Gregorio Luperón International Airport (POP), in Puerto Plata.