Los Tres Ojos National Park, Underground cave system in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Los Tres Ojos is a karst cave network in eastern Santo Domingo containing three underground lakes linked by stone passages and mineral deposits. Natural light enters through several roof openings into damp chambers where formations grow along the shorelines and walls.

A tectonic collapse centuries ago created the cave system that indigenous groups later used for spiritual gatherings. An engineer rediscovered the site in 1916 after it had been hidden under thick vegetation for many years.

The name Los Tres Ojos refers to the three main lakes, or "eyes," inside the cave; a fourth lake, Los Zaramagullones, lies in the open and is not counted among them. The Taíno used the cavern for religious rituals and fertility rites before Spanish colonization. The lakes carry popular names: Lago de Azufre for the whitish minerals once mistaken for sulfur, La Nevera for its cold, sunless water, and Lago de las Damas because it was reserved for women and children.

Visitors descend via stairways and narrow paths between the three main chambers, with a crossing on a rope-pulled raft leading to a fourth basin. Sturdy footwear helps on the damp steps and uneven passages.

Each of the three main bodies of water shows a different color ranging from blue to green due to varying mineral content. Water temperature in the basins fluctuates between 68 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit (20 and 29 degrees Celsius), which visitors can feel near the shorelines.