Swim the 27 waterfalls of Damajagua
The Damajagua waterfalls, nestled amid the rugged landscape of the Dominican Republic's Northern Corridor Mountain range, provide exquisite pools created by limestone and pressure from torrents of water. A guide is now necessary, but there is no minimum group size, so you can go alone if you choose. It will take you around four hours to get to the 27th waterfall and return. The falls are open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., but if you go early, before the masses come, you may have the entire site to yourself.
You can ascend to the seventh, twelfth, or twenty-seventh waterfalls. The majority of 'jeep safari' package itineraries only visit the seventh waterfall. You must be in decent physical condition and over the age of 12. The admission charge varies according to nationality and distance traveled; foreigners pay RD$460 to access the tallest waterfall and less to reach the smaller ones.
Every admission charge of US$1 is donated to a community development fund. Eight members, including the Secretary of Environment, sit on the board to ensure that the money is utilized appropriately. With an average of 3000 tourists passing through the falls each month, the bank account is doing well - plans are in the works to create a library for the local school, repair a local church, and construct footbridges over a nearby river. Other Peace Corps volunteers are carrying on Kennedy's effort.
To get to the falls, take the roadway south from Imbert for 3.3 kilometers (crossing two bridges) until you reach a sign with waterfall photographs on your left. It's roughly 1km down to the visitor's center from there. Take a gua-gua from Puerto Plata and ask to be dropped off near the entrance. The large Texaco station in Imbert acts as a junction for the entire region. There is gua-gua service to Santiago and Puerto Plata on a regular basis.
