Parque Nacional Anacaona
Mountain forests named for a Taino queen
Parque Nacional Anacaona
A park protecting pine forests and mountain landscapes in the southwestern highlands, named after the legendary Taino queen who resisted Spanish conquest.
Parque Nacional Anacaona is named after the legendary Taino queen who ruled the Xaragua kingdom in southwestern Hispaniola and famously resisted Spanish colonial domination in the early 16th century. The park protects approximately 539 square kilometers of mountainous terrain in the southwestern highlands, with landscapes ranging from dry valleys to pine-forested ridges.
Created by Decree 571-09, the park protects the forests of the eastern Sierra de Neiba together with the faults, canyons and meanders left by the geological shifts that changed the course of the Yaque del Sur river. The vegetation includes dry forests, riverbank vegetation and forests transitioning from dry to humid conditions. While less visited than the major national parks, Anacaona offers quiet hiking through scenic mountain landscapes with cultural significance rooted in Taino history. It lies in the Yaque del Sur basin, south of the San Juan de la Maguana valley.
