The big dune
Bay and sea views.
Ronny Medina — CC BY 4.0 · Ronny Medina — CC BY 4.0 · Ronny Medina — CC BY 4.0 · Ronny Medina — CC BY 4.0 · Ronny Medina — CC BY 4.0
Dunas de Baní, or the Las Calderas Natural Monument, is a wide field of sand covering the Las Calderas peninsula on the south coast of the Dominican Republic. It stretches about 15 km, with dunes up to 35 m high, a rare desert scene in the Caribbean where grey sand meets blue sea and green shrub. The fine sand is rich in quartz and feldspar, carried by nearby rivers including the Baní and Nizao, then sorted by currents and wind. The process began in the Pleistocene, and the volume is put at over 117 million cubic metres. It is a protected area within subtropical dry forest, with mangroves along Las Calderas Bay. You climb a timber or sandy path onto soft pale grey dunes, rippled by the wind and dotted with green shrubs. From a high dune you see a calm blue bay on one side, the open sea on the other and distant mountains beyond the water. The beach has dark sand and gentle waves, and salt pans lie nearby at Las Salinas. It is 70 km in a straight line from Santo Domingo, a day trip best made by car. The sand gets very hot at midday, so go in the morning with water, a hat and closed shoes. Keep to marked paths, as the area is protected, and do not take sand with you. Ask about the sea before swimming, and the wind is strong on many days, so shield your eyes and camera.
Bay and sea views.
On grey sand.
Mountains beyond the water.
Las Calderas peninsula, Peravia, southern Dominican Republic
In the morning, as the sand gets very hot at midday.
Yes, from Santo Domingo by car.