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Localizada en la provincia de Pedernales y parte del Parque Nacional Jaragua, este paraíso terrenal tiene una extensión de 37 km de largo y comprende desde punta Chimanche hasta punta Águila. / Located in the province of Pedernales and part of the Jaragua National Park, this terrestrial paradise has an extension of 37 km in length and comprises from point Chimanche to punta Águila.

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An Untapped Paradise in the Dominican Republic

THERE ARE NO HOTELS, RESTAURANTS OR STORE, BUT BAHIA DE LAS AGUILAS IS SAID TO BOAST THE LOVELIEST BEACHES OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Just a two-and-a-half-hour drive is what it takes to get to Bahia de las Aguilas (Eagles’ Bay), a place you won’t ever want to leave as you find yourself surrounded by an environment of unspoiled beaches of white sands and crystal-clear waters. Perched on the Pedernales Peninsula, in the southwestern Dominican Republic, and taking part of the Jaragua National Park, this paradise on earth can be reached as you leave behind mountains capped by high palm trees, rivers and small towns laden with wooden houses whose roofs are covered by tin sheets and thatches, and painted in lively colors. The total surface is 37 kilometers stretching from Punta Chimanche all the way to Punta Aguila.
Visitors cannot expect anything but just a ranch where they can eat a local reddish fish known as chillo or lobsters. The inexistence of human settlements in Bahia de las Aguilas has been well documented for years. The Jaragua National Park Management Plan published in 1986 defines an urbanization project based on recommendation for recreational purposes. This particular paper work characterized all major marine habitats and recognized the fragility of this breathtaking place’s coastal structure.
As a matter of fact, its values are plentiful. This God-blessed land boasts the Caribbean’s best-preserved coral reefs and is one of the few places where manatees can be spotted, an extremely endangered species. But its waters are also home to starfishes, marine prairies and gorgonians, those curious invertebrates that look like bush skeletons. Hawk-bill turtles also lord it around there. In fact, there’s no better place for them to lay their eggs, a reason why there’s no other place on the face of the earth with such an amount of turtle offspring than Bahia de las Aguilas. Moreover, the Jaragua National Park proudly showcases 130 bird species (10 are endemic), 76 resident species and 47 migratory birds. The rhino-billed iguana, the crowned dove and the ashy pigeon also roam around the premises, rubbing elbows with such endemic plants as canelilla and guanito. To top it all off, major pre-Hispanic archeological sites that lay bare the former existence of indigenous settlements, especially in the ancient caverns of El Guanal, La Poza and Mongó.

A VISION OF FUTURE
In the face of this lavish natural beauty that remains untapped, Bahia de las Aguilas is slowly getting in the crosshairs of big-time investors and impresarios from everywhere under the sun who are seeking to create the infrastructure required to come up with a full-fledged travel destination. However, this is not an easy task. A significant number of ecological organizations argue this is an extremely fragile ecosystem “whose conservation and public use call for a vision of future, coupled with a high sense of responsibility in the eyes of the Dominican society and the world.” For being a protected area, camping out and building bonfires are strictly banned.
If certain conveniences were offered to visitors, Bahia de las Aguilas would be the perfect place for adventure travel and ecological tourism, a project that would certainly provide much bigger possibilities for job creation, economic development and social advance for the local population in the vicinity. Many have given a shot at that effort, yet nobody wants to put the beach ecosystem –a protected area within the park- in harm’s way. In the same breath, everybody wants this place to keep its condition as World Biosphere Reserve granted by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 

TIPS FOR TRAVELERS

With scarce rainfall every year, Bahia de las Aguilas has just a handful of shade-providing palm trees, therefore there are few places where to find shelter from the sun. It’s indispensable to wear caps or hats, as well as skin lotions to prevent burns or excessive tanning.
Carry plenty of drinking water and all necessary foodstuffs since there are no restaurants or cafeterias.
You should hit the road on your way back before 4:00 pm just to avoid driving at night. Cows roam freely near the roads and you might incredibly find incoming trucks with just one headlight on or no lights at all.
Since this is a protected area, such activities as camping, trashing in the shrubs or building bonfires are strictly prohibited.