La Caleta Underwater National Park

La Caleta was declared an underwater park in 1986 and its main feature is the Hickory, a salvage vessel deliberately sunk there in 1984 in around twenty metres of water, now broken and encrusted and reachable from the shore. Three more wrecks have been added since. A Taíno cemetery excavated on the land beside the park has its own small museum. The site is the standard training and shore dive for Santo Domingo operators.

Background

The park lies approximately 20 kilometres from Santo Domingo, next to Las Americas International Airport, and covers 12 square kilometres. Established on September 25, 1986, it was the first underwater park in the country. The sea floor drops to a maximum depth of 180 metres, with many coral reefs between 10 metres and 50 metres. The Hickory was put in place in 1984 by Grayson Roach to give reef fish a habitat and divers a destination. On land, archaeologists in 1972 uncovered 373 skeletons of pre-Columbian people linked to three cultures, Ostionoid, Late Taíno and Late Elenoide, with bones dated to AD 650, 750 and 840. The park's Ethnological and Archaeological Museum holds a large collection of Taíno objects.

Source: Wikipedia, "Parque Nacional Submarino La Caleta"

The landscape

• The Hickory wreck - the salvage vessel sunk in 1984 in around twenty metres.
• The added wrecks - the further vessels placed in the park since.
• The shore entry - a dive reachable by walking in from the beach.
• The Taíno cemetery - the excavated burial ground and museum on the land beside.

When to go

December to April has the calmest water and best visibility. Hurricane season runs June to November. Weekends bring local crowds to the beach.

Before you go

Visibility is often poor and the site is close to a busy stretch of coast. The beach area gets crowded and littered at weekends. The museum keeps irregular hours.

Nearby

Boca Chica is east, and Santo Domingo is west.

Key facts