The Dominican south-west is the least visited region and the most distinctive: arid, mountainous, with pebble beaches and transparent water, and not a single hotel chain. Anyone who gets here usually has a specific reason.
Bahía de las Águilas
Bahía de las Águilas is eight kilometres of white sand with no construction of any kind, inside Jaragua National Park on the Pedernales peninsula. It appears regularly in lists of the Caribbean's finest beaches and remains empty precisely because it is protected and hard to reach.
Access is from Las Cuevas: hire a boat from the local fishermen's cooperative — about twenty minutes — or take a dirt track requiring a high-clearance vehicle. There are no services, no shade and no water: bring everything and take it back out.
Barahona and the coast road
The road descending from Barahona towards Enriquillo is one of the finest in the country, with cliffs dropping to the sea and fishing villages along the way. Playa San Rafael and Los Patos combine sea with cold freshwater river pools, which is where local people actually swim.
Inland, the Polo Magnético is a famous optical illusion on the road, and the Sierra de Bahoruco hides high-altitude coffee estates and exceptional bird diversity — the best birdwatching area on the island.
Lake Enriquillo
Lake Enriquillo is the lowest point in the Caribbean, some 46 metres below sea level, and hypersaline — the remnant of an ancient sea channel. It holds a population of American crocodiles and, on Isla Cabritos, rhinoceros and Ricord's iguanas. The lake level has risen dramatically in recent decades, flooding farmland and roads, a phenomenon still under study.
Practical
Barahona is about three hours from Santo Domingo and has an airport with occasional flights. Accommodation is small-scale and locally run, and the food offering is simple. It is a dry, hot region: always carry water and take sun protection seriously.
Planning it
The usual approach is to sleep in Pedernales or at an eco-lodge near the bay and set out early for Las Cuevas. The cooperative boats operate in the morning and collect at an agreed time; fix that clearly and do not rely on phone signal, because there is none at the beach.
Protecting it
Development pressure on this coast is constant and there have been repeated proposals to build hotels on or beside the bay. What keeps it as it is are the national park status and sustained local and environmental opposition. Visitors are asked to take out everything they bring in, and to use the cooperative boats rather than driving over the dunes.