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Parque Nacional Armando Bermúdez and Parque Nacional José, Dominican Republic

Pawel Jaworski

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Parque Nacional Armando Bermúdez (766 sq. km) and José del Carmen Ramírez (764 sq. km) occupy almost the whole of the central mountain area. These two parks are also home to the four highest peaks in the Antilles - Pico Duarte (3,175m), La Pelona (3,087m), La Rucilla (3,049m) and Pico Yaque (2,760m) as well as the sources of 12 of the country's most important rivers. With such a résumé it is hardly surprising that these parks play host to a wide range of adventure activities, the climb up Pico Duarte being the most notable.

Fact File

Flora and fauna: With average temperatures between 12 and 21°C and rainfall exceeding 2,500mm in most areas, the vegetation is classified largely as subtropical humid mountain forest or rainforest. The flora changes according to the altitude. In the lower regions, West Indian cedar, mountain wild olive, copey, matchwood, juniper, and wild tamarind are common; higher up, palms, ferns and pines appear. In the highest parts (2,000-3,175m), Creolean pine is abundant.

There is a diverse birdlife in the park, including Hispaniolan parrots, woodpeckers and trogons, palm chats, white-necked crows, green-tailed warblers, Antillean siskins, ruddy quail doves, and mourning doves.

The terrestrial fauna is less rich. The indigenous hutia and the introduced wild boar can be found in the more remote and inaccessible areas.

Access: The main office of the Parque Nacional Armando Bermúdez is in the town of La Ciénaga. This is also where the majority of treks up Pico Duarte commence. The main office of the Parque Nacional José del Carmen Ramírez is in the town of Sabaneta, about 25km from San Juan de la Maguana. You can also access the park from a place called Los Fríos.

Source: http://www.drpure.com/