Jaragua National Park, Marine-terrestrial protected area in Pedernales Province, Dominican Republic.

Jaragua National Park is a protected area in the southwestern corner that combines coastal waters, beaches, and inland forests within a single landscape. The terrain includes flat coastal zones with mangroves, dry forests, and scattered caves containing archaeological remnants.

The park was established in 1983 to protect the landscape and its resources. Rock art within caves shows that pre-Hispanic peoples lived and worked in this region for centuries before European arrival.

The park's name comes from the Taíno chiefdom of Xaragua, which held the southwest at the time of Columbus's arrival. In the caves of El Guanal, La Poza and Mongó, pictographs, petroglyphs and artefacts left by those communities can still be seen.

The best time to visit is during the dry season when roads are more passable. You'll need a high-clearance vehicle or arrange boat access, and bring water and sun protection since shade is limited.

Jaragua is the only protected area lying on the Paleoisla del Sur geoformation, one of two land masses that formed the foundation of Hispaniola between 20,000 and 30,000 BC. It has also been designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International, with 130 bird species recorded, 10 of them endemic.