Los Haitises National Park

Los Haitises is a drowned karst landscape on the southern shore of Samana Bay: hundreds of rounded limestone hummocks, or mogotes, standing out of shallow water and mangrove channels, their sides undercut by the sea and their tops covered in dense forest. Boats thread the channels to caves where the Taino, the island's people before European arrival, left pictographs of faces, animals and hunting scenes on the walls. Above, frigatebirds and pelicans nest in numbers, and the mangrove forest is among the largest and healthiest in the Caribbean.

What you actually see

• The mogote seascape - forested limestone humps rising from the bay.
• The Taino cave art - pictographs in caves reached directly from the boat.
• Mangrove channels - narrow green tunnels between the islets.
• Seabird colonies - frigatebirds and pelicans on the rock faces.

When to go

The drier months from November to April bring calmer water for the crossing. Boat trips from Samana often combine the park with whale watching between roughly mid January and mid March, when humpbacks fill the bay - the strongest reason to time a trip to the region.

Honest expectations

Crossings from Samana can be rough and long; anyone prone to seasickness should take something beforehand or go from Sabana de la Mar, which is far closer. Caves are dark, low and sometimes slippery. Guides vary widely in how much they explain the Taino history - a good one transforms the trip. Rain turns the boat ride cold and grey, so watch the forecast.

Nearby

Samana town, El Limon waterfall and Las Terrenas beaches are all across the bay.