Lago Enriquillo Travel Guide

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Lago Enriquillo is located 50 km north-east of Barahona, and is the largest lake of Hispaniola (42 km long and 12 km wide). The lake contains 3 islands: Isla Barbarita, Islita and Isla Cabritos.

It is a saltwater lake and is one of only a few saltwater lakes in the World inhabited by crocodiles. At the park entrance (4km east of La Descubierta) you can order a boat tour and get close to the wildlife (besides crocodiles it is flamingos and other birds).

When you arrive to Lago Enriquillo you'll be met by a lot of rhinoceros iguanas ;-)

This monument is on a small cross-road on the way to the lake. This great Taino gave the name to the whole area and the lake. His real name was Guarocuya and he was educated by the Spanish before he led the greatest Indian rebelllion against the colonizers which lasted about 4 years. That's why he was named Cacique (Taino word for ruler, chieftain).
Sitting on the monument there were several men waiting for a ride or for a job. We gave a ride to an old man who was going to the near-by town hoping to get a job to support his family. This was a very poor area and on the road you could see many men walking with their machetes carrying fruit or sugar-cane for sale or for their own use. The roads were even worse than usual. We saw a pile of rubble and the man said that this used to be a strong stone bridge destroyed by a hurricane...

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On the shores of the lake and the island we saw many birds. it was great to see the beautuful pink flamingoes walking proudly or flying.

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The American crocodile is small and not too agressive. Actually they proved rather shy so the boatman got off the boat and started walking in the shallow waters trying to get the crocodiles moving in our direction. Obviously he wasn't afraid of them, it looked like they were more bothered.

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You can take a boat to this island and you wouldn't regret it. You can see the crocodiles on the shores and more flamingoes and other birds. The island is dry and sandy. The only vegetation is cacti and cactus-like trees and you can see many iguanas going by. There's a small museum where you can learn more about the lake, its flora and fauna. There are scorpios too but if they bite you it can only cause mild fever. The boatman even cought one and showed it to us holding it by its tail. Obviously that guy has no fear of scorpios and crocodiles.

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This small sand-stone cave is on a hill close to the entrance of Lago Enriquillo. You have to stop by the road and go up the steep path. There are no guards, garbage cans or entrance fee so the place is left to the tourists' mercy. In the cave you can see simple engravings of faces more than 400 years old. That gives its name (meaning 'The little faces'). That's the only place like that in the Dominican which makes it even more special, moreover, that's one of the fiew examples of Taino art as the tribe was quickly wiped out by the the 'friendly' colonizers. From the cave you get a panorama of the lake which is so big that it is difficult to see where it ends.

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They are everywhere, both on the shores of the lake and on the island. As you walk iguanas of all sizes dart and hide quickly in the shadows of the trees. You can see 'baby' iguanas as tiny as a lizzard and huge tough ones with rough skin.