Zone IV

Zone IV

The Zone in the southeast region was created by Decree No. 322-91, on August 21, 1991 and encompasses the Barahona, Bahoruco, Independencia and Pedernales provinces, occupying an area of 7,102 square kilometers with a population of 327,636 inhabitants, located in what was the Chiefdom of Jaragua.

The climate varies, generating sharp contrasts throughout the region: cold, wet and arid zones exist there, though the latter is the predominant climate. Its most important agricultural products are plantains, beans, coffee, rice, vegetables and grapes, from the Valle de Neyba.

The mineral resources are: bauxite, in Pedernales; salt and gypsum in Barahona; and larimar, in Bahoruco, among others.

The province with the largest area is Pedernales, with 2,075 square kilometers for a population of 18,054, followed by Independencia, with an area of 2,006 square kilometers and 39,541 inhabitants. The beach Bahía de la Aguilas is important in Pedernales; it is a sea spring of unique beauty for its crystalline waters, which make up part of the Parque Nacional Jaragua.

In the case of Barahona, it occupies an area of 1,739 square kilometers and a population of 164,835 inhabitants. Finally, Bahoruco occupies an area of 1,282 square kilometers with a population of 105,206 people.

Following the route of the western sun, around 200 kilometers from the Dominican capital one arrives to the Barahona province, on the peninsula of the same name, the first point of interest on a journey through the tourist area in the Southeast, blessed with a seaboard of extreme beauty, formed by submerged coasts, ideal for fishing. The beaches that surround this terrain of picturesque landscapes offer the visitor the charm of its colors and forms.

The Magnetic Pole offers a unique attraction: it is a source of admiration for the visitor with its movement contrary to the laws of physics.

Another site of interest is the Laguna de Rincón, a scientific reserve ideal for bird watching. The cold water springs, as well as the thermal and sulfur springs in Canoa, are some of the attractions the visitor will enjoy in this land of dreams.

We follow the route to the west, in the direction of the province of Independencia, to visit the Lago Enriquillo, which is at 45 meters below sea level, and is, with its hyper-salinated water, the largest lake in the Antilles. The Isla Cabritos is found on the lake and has been declared a National Park, whose fauna, including the American crocodile, iguanas, flamencos and other aquatic birds, recall time when dinosaurs roamed.

On the south side of the Lago Enriquillo, one finds the wet tropical forest of the Sierra de Bahoruco and the Laguna de Rincón, which produce a dramatic contrast between the arid terrain that borders the lake and the exuberant vegetation of the forests of the Sierra. Remembering that this land is hard and ancestral, the contrasts follow one after another like a rosary, passing from beaches to mountains, from tropical forests to sulfur springs to arid plains.

In Pedernales, one can delight in the national parks Jaragua and Bahoruco, contemplating their broad biodiversity (the most significant in the country) and abundance of endemic orchids, begonias and desert plants.

The Oviedo lake offers, for the delight of the aficionado, its rich fauna of endemic birds, which make it one of the greatest concentrations in the Antilles. The visitor will be amazed by the most beautiful beach in the Antilles, Bahía de la Aguilas, bathed by the waters of the Caribbean Sea, caressed by the sun’s rays, reflecting the golden splendor off of the mantle of its sands.

Barahona