La Romana Local Attractions

Saona Island is a tropical island located a short distance from the mainland on the south-east tip of the Dominican Republic, near La Altagracia Province. It is a government protected nature reserve and a popular destination for tourists from all over the Dominican Republic, who arrive in fleets of catamarans and small motorboats on organized excursions every day. The Island is famous for the natural beauty of its beaches, and has been used on many occasions by film-makers and advertisers looking for a stereotypical "desert island" setting for their film or product. It is promoted amongst European visitors as the setting for the famous Bounty chocolate bar adverts.

Altos de Chavón
The biggest attraction in La Romana, Dominican Republic, is Altos de Chavón, a re-creation of a medieval European village conceived from the imagination of Roberto Copa, a former Paramount Studios set designer, and Charles Bluhdorn.

Its construction began in 1976 when the construction of a nearby road and bridge crossing the Chavón River had to be blasted through a mountain of stone. Charles Bludhorn, chairman of Gulf+Western, had the idea of using the stones to build a sixteenth century Mediterranean village. Construction was completed in the early 1980s.

Charles Bluhdorn's daughter, Dominique Bluhdorn, is the current president of the Altos de Chavón Cultural Center Foundation. Narrow, cobble-covered alleyways lined with lanterns and shuttered limestone walls yield several good Mediterranean-style restaurants, a number of quaint shops featuring the diverse craftwork of local artisans, and three galleries exhibiting the talents of students from the on-site design school (La Escuela de Diseño, an affiliate of Parsons School of Design in New York City). Notable attendees of the Altos de Chavón Design School have included Lisa Thon and Mía Lourdes Taveras López.

Cave of Miracles
The Cave of Miracles or Cueva de las Maravillas, as it is known locally, had been the gift of the early inhabitants of this scenic sea resort. The tour of the caves takes nearly an hour. The tourists travel in small groups along well lit paths. The cave formations are spectacular to say the least. These monstrous caves are full of intricate patterns of stalactites and stalagmites. Even after the passage of several thousand years, these fabulous rock formations are still in formation mode with drops of rich calcium adding further layers to the existing ones. The caves also house the cave drawings of the native Taino tribe. These ancient art works that number more than 250 are surprisingly well preserved even now. These caves are pure history, with the mystery of the ancient blending beautifully with nature.