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 of the place refers to three natural openings in the cave roof that once seemed like eyes watching from below. Visitors today walk along stone paths where Taíno people once held ceremonies before Spanish colonization.
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.
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