Puerto Plata, The Bride of the Atlantic
Puerto Plata “The Bride of the Atlantic”, is a coastal province of the Dominican Republic and its capital is called San Felipe de Puerto Plata, with beautiful Victorian architectural style. It was founded on June 4, 1867, as the Maritime District. The constitution of 1908 makes it a Province. Area: 1,856.90 km / 2, Population: 312,706 inhabitants. Puerto Plata is one of the main tourist centers of the Dominican Republic, with tourism being its main economic activity. The whole province is full of tourist places, beautiful beaches, golf courses, resorts and resorts located directly on the beaches, has an international airport and tourist ports. Puerto Plata is located on the Atlantic coast, in the North of the Dominican Republic. In this beautiful tourist town you will find the only funicular cable car in the Caribbean, Ocean World, Cayo Arena, Ensenada Beach, The 27 pools of Damajagua, Playa Dorada, Zip Lining of Yasica, Monkey Jungle, Encuentro Beach, Ocean Village and Fortaleza de San Felipe, the tourist port Amber Cove which is one of the most modern ports in the whole Caribbean. There are few places on the planet that produce amber and Puerto Plata has the most important resin mine in the world.
Puerto Plata has some of the best beaches in Dominican Republic such as Playa Sosua, Playa Dorada, Maimon, Cafemba, Playa Grande (Luperon), Cabarete, Cofresi, Long Beach, Longbichito. In some, such as in Playa Dorada, Cofresi, Long Beach or Cabarete, various types of sports such as jet skiing, surfing, windsurfing, kite or sailing are practiced. Other beaches are along the boardwalk, or in Boca Nueva, Copello Beach, Bergantin or La Mariposa.
Between the city of Puerto Plata and the airport is the tourist complex Playa Dorada, is an exclusive hotel zone. It has several beaches, hotels, restaurants, banks and discos. The population of Puerto Plata is cheerful, pleasant and are very hospitable and excellent for music, especially merengue and bachata. If you do not know how to dance these rhythms, go to Puerto Plata and if you do not learn it there, at least have fun. To the south of the city we see an imposing mountain Loma Isabel de Torres. At the top, where the clouds love to perch, there is a statue of Christ the Redeemer similar to the Christ of Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, there is a beautiful forest of ferns that look like palms, is reached by cableway, single funicular In the Caribbean. We recommend walking along the boardwalk of Puerto Plata, Playa Dorada, Carabete, Cofresi or Sosua. Visit the Museum of Amber where they have interesting exhibitions of these precious petrified resins. For those who love nature, a horseback ride to the mountain. Do not worry, you will not get to the top but if you will be able to observe endless plants and birds, some endemic to the island.
In Puerto Plata can be practiced hiking, cycling, adventure tourism or visit the reserves and natural parks such as Isabel de Torres Mountain, Cabarete Lagoon or Los Canos de Estero Hondo. Or deepen its history through its Victorian architecture, the colonial Fortress of San Felipe or the Jewish settlement of Sosua near the year 1940.
The Isabela in Puerto Plata, first settlement of the Old World in America
In 1493 La Isabela was founded by Christopher Columbus, being the first European settlement in America. Puerto Plata was founded by Nicolas de Ovando in the early days of Hispanic colonization around 1502. It was one of the cities devastated in 1606 and was not repopulated until after 1736. The advent of republican times favored The development of the city, which eventually became the main port of El Cibao, especially to export tobacco from the region.
Victorian Style of Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata’s many attractions include the unique architecture of its historical center, which, among other heritage treasures, displays a series of picturesque houses with sloping ceilings, pastel colors, large balconies and rich carved wooden details, which have become a Attraction for the tourists and in reason of pride for the Puerto Plata people. The city of Puerto Plata is characterized by its architecture in which predominates a style called Victorian. Beginning in 1857, the Victorian style that originated in England began in Puerto Plata, named after Queen Victoria. This spread to almost everyone and was considered the most modern at the time. From that moment, Puerto Plata clearly defined its architectural style, evolving to what we have today as a heritage of Puerto Plata. The emergence and development of this style of construction, gives rise to the buildings of the Victorian houses of the 70’s of the nineteenth century. Creating a unique style in the city, which is known today as Victorian architecture of Puerto Plata.
Temperature in Puerto Plata
The temperature in Puerto Plata is pleasant all year round. If you plan to stay in one of the hotels in the resorts you only need the bathing suit for the whole year. It may be well to take something casual in case you want to go to the disco or the city. Sandals or tennis shoes, a pair of pants and a shirt or shirt will suffice. Of course, if you want you can also wear elegant suits to go out at night if you want.
Carnival of Puerto Plata
Since the end of the last century, there has been information about the carnival in the city of Puerto Plata, which is enriched with the arrival of Cuban groups at the beginning of this century. In spite of the socio-economic transformations, as a result of a tourism development that surpassed expectations and forecasts, the rise of a carnival in the search for identity takes place in the last ten years, due to the effort and the creative capacity of a generation of Restless youths. The Devil Cojuelo, as a central character becomes Taimacaro. This character reproduces Tainan deities in their masks, with a beautiful suit, where they are symbolized elements of the Spanish culture and in multicolored ribbons the African essences in their arms, which are complemented by the Atlantic snails as identity of the town of Puerto Plata.
Playa Dorada
It is a beautiful resort on the coast of Puerto Plata located on a beautiful beach with golden sands that bears its name, the complex houses 18 hotels and resorts located in Puerto Plata. Within Playa Dorada there is an impressive 18-hole golf course where regular local and international tournaments take place. Most hotels have the all inclusive system but there are also other meal plans for more freedom when it comes to choosing. Playa Dorada has more than 4,500 rooms and each one has its special charm, with a great variety of gastronomic options, a la carte restaurants, all inclusive bars and cash bar with international drinks. Sports options range from tennis, basketball, volleyball and horseback riding and many water sports like Jet Ski, Catamaran, Banana Boat, Parachute and Diving lessons. All the hotels in Playa Dorada have discos and there are complete entertainment centers like Hemingays with an excellent restaurant and live music, rock bands and other rhythms are played well into the night. In the center of the complex is Playa Dorada Plaza, with gift shops, call centers, photo lab, pizzeria, jewelry stores, clothing stores, beach accessories, candles, tattoos, disks, caps, decorative items, books And Dominican cigars. It has three movie theaters, banks, bars, and a totally free children’s play area.
SOSUA
On the north coast of the Dominican Republic, we find the town of Sosua. It is easily reached after a short crossing between beaches and mountains from the city of Puerto Plata. The road is in good condition and the distance is about 25 km to the East. The village located 15 km east of the International Airport and 25 km from Puerto Plata, was founded in 1938 by 500 Jewish settlers. Sosua is known throughout the island for its dairy products and meat products. In Sosua you find several international restaurants, and coffee shops, international schools, German butchers and bakeries, newspapers and transmissions in German and English and French. The urban center of Sosua is called Charamicos, there you will still find the original life of the Dominicans, and you can listen to their music: merengue, bachata and salsa. The beach of Sosua is wonderful, considered one of the best in Dominican Republic
CABARETE
Cabarete is about 15 minutes drive east of Sosua, on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. This beach town, located between a bay and a lagoon, enjoys great popularity among young and young at heart. Its atmosphere is a colorful and casual mix of national folklore, international tourism, the sport of Windsurfing and adventure tourism. Its attractions include the landscape of its mountains, its two lagoons (Cabarete and Punta Goleta), its nearby caverns and its hamlet of descendants of freed blacks brought from the United States in the last century. From the geomorphological point of view it is located in the coastal plain of Yasica. Cabarete is known internationally for its exceptional conditions for windsurfing. In its waters there have been several championships of the World Cup tournament of the Windsurfing Association, as well as taking place each year the amateur world cup, Cabarete Race Week. There are several active Windsurf schools throughout the year. In addition to windsurfing, Cabarete stands out for its sports and adventure tourism offer. There are many organized excursions to cross the inland fields, to ride on bicycles of monteo, or to observe the birds in the Lagoon of Cabarete