The Three Eyes National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Los Tres Ojos) is a 50-yard open-air

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

located in the Mirador del Este park, in the

Santo Domingo Este Santo Domingo Este is a municipality and the provincial capital of the Santo Domingo province in the Dominican Republic. It has one municipal district (''distrito municipal''), San Luis. Santo Domingo Este is across the Ozama River which divide ...

municipality of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. A series of three lakes, or ''ojos'', the site is currently one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country.

History

The site was created centuries ago as a result of tectonic fractures when caves collapsed, forming a bowl-shaped depression which subsequently filled with water. Initially, the cave was used by the indigenous

Taíno The Taíno were a historic indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the pri ...

Indians for religious rituals and fertility rites. The Taíno were the first inhabitants of the Hispaniola island. The three lakes are called "Lago de Azufre" (discovered in 1916), "La Nevera" and "El Lago de las Damas". Some of the lakes also have openings on the outside. A staircase cut into the rock gives access to the first cave. A boat pulls visitors across the second lake to give access to a fourth lake called "Los Zaramagullones," not considered one of the three "eyes" or main lakes since it has an opening to the outside.

Description

The caves are fed by water from an underground river and surrounded by stalactites and

stalagmites A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically co ...

. The composition of the water varies. Early explorers thought that the first pond was made up of sulphurous water because of its blue hue. However, after testing it was discovered that Lago Azufre is actually composed of calcium minerals. The fourth and deepest lagoon is freshwater. It was stocked with fish back in the 1940s. The temperature of the lagoons varies between 20 °C to 29 °C, depending on the site, and their various depths give rise to different colored reflections, blue, green, and sometimes yellow. The depth of the shallowest lagoon, Lago de las Damas, is 8 feet. The deepest, Los Zaramagullones, is 25 feet. The fauna is also very varied and includes

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s and

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

s. Surrounding vegetation is lush and abundant. To visit all four lagoons one needs to be able to climb stairs. All told there are 346 steps connecting the four. The lagoon furthest away, Lago Los Zaramagullones, can only be accessed by a small ferry raft pulled via rope across Lago La Nevera. Getting there is free, but you will have to pay a small fee (about $2 US) to get out. Los Zaramagullones is arguably the most tranquil and beautiful of the four lagoons. Many production companies have filmed footage here for there movies including:

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

Combat Shock ''Combat Shock'' is a 1986 exploitation war drama film written, produced, and directed by Buddy Giovinazzo and starring his brother Rick Giovinazzo in the lead role. The film was distributed by Troma Entertainment. The plot of the film takes ...

Jurassic Park III ''Jurassic Park III'' is a 2001 American science fiction action film, written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor and directed by Joe Johnston. It is the third installment in the ''Jurassic Park'' franchise and the final fi ...

, Oro y Polvo, to mention only a few. The caves are open from 9 am to 5 pm,''Dominican Republic and Haiti''
Paul Clammer, Michael Grosberg, Jens Porup, 2008, p. 87 and are illuminated at night by many colored lights.

References

External links

Los Tres Ojos
travel guide {{coord, 18.480, -69.843, display=title Caves of the Dominican Republic Indigenous topics of the Caribbean Geography of Santo Domingo Province Tourist attractions in Santo Domingo Province Caves of the Caribbean

History

Description

See also

References

External links