Jungle Eco Tour from Punta Cana and Bayahibe

Discover the Parque Nacional Cotubanama

During this excursion you will experience the jungle of the National Park Cotubanama, the gorgeous River Chavon and its direct surroundings. This national park is well-known for the excursions to Saona and Catalina Island. But the land part of the park is virtually un-explored.

Nature, Culture & History

This is not a disguised shopping trip like many "Safaris", but this is a real jungle tour guided by expert guides and park rangers. During this excursion you will experience the various parts of the Park: the dense dry jungle, the fauna and flora and the special story of the people who lived in the area, before the park was inaugurated. We will visit a magnificent cave in the National Park and we will follow the trail of the Taino Indians to the River Chavon where we will discover the origin of the Taino words "Canoa", "Yuca" and many others. A relaxed day for the active explorer.

Itinerary of this Jungle Excursion

Explore the Land of Mystery and Imagination

On this expert guided excursion you will explore the Parque Nacional Cotubanama. We meet at our visitors center on the beach of Bayahibe. The excursion starts with a short briefing to explain the proceedings of the day. We then go to our first stop: the Padre Nuestro Ecological and Archaeological Jungle Trail. Padre Nuestro is located within the area of Parque Nacional Cotubanama just outside Bayahibe.

An easy hike through Taino history..

The trail has different pathways, ranging in difficulty along its 1.9 km / 1.2 miles. Sturdy shoes are recommended. The trail takes you through the dry tropical jungle, a landscape of limestone, butterflies and birds, as well as impressive underground fresh water caverns. We will tell you about the history of the Park and you can explore the remains of the Taino settlements, the first inhabitants of the Dominican Republic. You also get to experience the magnificent native flora and fauna, which is unique to the East Coast of Hispaniola.

Cueva El Chicho: Stalagmites... Stalactites.... bats and ancient rock art

At the end of the trail we visit the freshwater springs secluded inside the caves. We will decent into the cave Cueva El Chicho. This large cave has at the bottom a stunning underground fresh water lake. Used as a water supply since pre-Hispanic times, a significant collection of large ceramic artifacts remain of the era. A total of 26 petroglyphs can be seen at the entrance of the cave.

Excitement: swimming in the cave's fresh, crystal clear water..

Those who want can go down to the bottom of the cave and swim in the cold, fresh water lake are invited to do so. You can enjoy the spectacle, when we illuminate the crystals sunk in the sandstone cave walls. This is the land of Mystery and Imagination.

Relax on the River Cruise through the gorge of the Rio Chavon.

After a short drive we will reach the River Chavon. We will board the traditional boat and cruise up stream through the gorge of this beautiful river.

The film sets for blockbuster movies, you will see why...

The tropical jungle can be seen on the banks. The block busters Apocalypse Now and Rambo 3 were filmed here. We will reach our riverside farm.

How one little Taino crop saved the world from starvation.

Here we will give more information about the Taino lifestyle. Some of the words we use, such as barbacoa ("barbecue"), hamaca ("hammock"), kanoa ("canoe"), tabaco ("tobacco"), yuca, batata ("sweet potato") and Juracan ("hurricane"), origin from the Taino language. You can taste the yuca during lunch time.

Traditional lunch prepared the Taino way.

This is followed by a traditional Dominican "barbacoa", with pork chops, chicken wings, traditional Dominican rice, 'batata', platanos and various salads. Do not miss the delicious yuca crockets!

If you just want to relax: the jacuzzi with the best view in the world

After lunch you can relax in our jacuzzi high above the river! You can test one of the 'hamaca' (hammocks) too.

Discover the secrets of how to 'live off the land'

If you want you can participate in our fruit trail. We show you a lot of local fruits and explain how the people live of the land here. We continue to the sightseeing point, crossing our 'hanging bridge' on the walk.

Feel a real explorer by navigating the river with a canoe

You can participate in our canoe adventure to explore the Rio Chavon. See the river from the perspective of the anciient locals. Notice the hanging lians and fallen trees. We might see the fresh water turtles here.

Let the playful adventurer in you have some fun

See how high you can swing before plunging into the fresh river water! If you are more comfortable watching from the safety of the river bank or boat this sure makes for entertaining jungle laughs!

Village life: buy your souvenirs for local prices

We are heading back to Bayahibe now. We'll show you what the present influence of the National Park is on the village. Thousands of tourists flock to Bayahibe on a daily basis to board the boats to the islands. The local economy depends for 100% on the stream of tourists. You also have the chance to buy rum, coffee, cigars etc. for normal prices in the local colmado compared to the tourism prices in your hotel gift shop. Around 05:00pm we will return to our visitors center overlooking the bay of Bayahibe for the transfer back to the hotels.

Jungle Eco Tour Prices
  • Adult 12 yr and up USD 99
  • Child 2-11 yr USD 55
  • Infant 0-1 yr Free*
  • *In case your infant needs a place to sit on the boat and on the bus please book the infant as a child. All infants are seated on the lap of their parent.

  • Punta Cana transfer USD 25 pp
  • Uvero Alto transfer USD 40 pp
  • Juan Dolio transfer USD 25 pp
  • Dominicus transfer incl.
  • Bayahibe transfer incl.

Incl. all drinks, snacks, lunch, park fees, snorkel equipment, guiding, sugar free coke on request

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Up-To-Date Availability

Note: please submit your request even when the date is full or not present; we often open a new excursion!