Click here to go to the north.

Click here to go to the east.

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The south of the Dominican Republic is the remotest area and in places it is barren and desert-like, though this means that the sun is more reliable than on the north coast. Not much organized tourism happens in the region (though there are recent developments in Barahona) and so you get a good view of local Dominican life.

Taking the Carretera Sanchez out of Santo Domingo you come to San Cristóbal, most infamous for being the birthplace of Trujillo. During his life he built up in a grandeur that befitted his status as dictator - see the plaza and the ornate church and his mausoleum (he is not buried there, though; his remains were taken to France). Casa las Caobas, his family home, overlooks the town from a hill. It has recently being restored. Also being restored is the Castillo del Cerro, another of Trujillo's palaces, a monstrous over-elaborate affair on another summit. It is too being restored and you can visit for a small fee. Also worth a visit are caves at El Pomier.

Passing through endless canefields you come to the prosperous town of Baní, birthplace of Máximo Gómez, a hero of the Cuban Independence movement, and eventually to Baharona, an industrial but nonetheless sleepy town. The countryside in this area turns to barren hills covered with organ-pipe cactus trained into fences and prickly pear. from here, one road runs south into the V-shaped Baharona peninsula, passing through poor fisher villages like Enriquillo and Oviedo, with excellent beaches, before heading north to the town Pedernales on the Haitian border.
The Jaragua National Park lies in the southwestern tip of the island, 500 square miles of cactus plains, sea and discolored limestone shoreline. You will see pelicans and terns on the coastline. The park is remote. Go by jeep and take plenty to eat and particularly to drink if you are going of the beaten track. Beata Island off the Southern tip of the island has excellent bird life too.
From Barahona a road inland leads towards Jimaní on the Haitian border. The town is close to Lago Enriquillo, a saltwater lake that lies 140 ft below sea level. Isla Cabritos (Goat Island, after a livestock left forage there) is a national park in the center of the lake. The five-mile long island is dry and scrubby but supports a wide variety of wildlife, including alligators and iguanas. Among the birds that life on the island are flamingos, clapper rails and roseate spoonbills. You can usually get permission to go to the lake at the park office in the village of La Descubierta, a hot and desolate town.