Anybody starts to become accustomed to the heat after spending a week in the Dominican Republic. We've gone several times to Arroya Hondo to visit family and during the journey, I saw a largely green area, which looked like a jungle. They told me that it was where the National Botanical Garden was located. I downloaded some apps for my Iphone, it's really good and recommendable because a lot of the apps are free and there is an app for any country you could imagine. Of the things that I saw on TripAdvisor and in the IStore, I found that one of the things that was worthwhile to visit was the Dr. Rafael María Mosoco Botanical Gardens. I don't know if they said on one of the apps that it was "the best botanical garden in the world" just to attract tourists or if it really was the best in the world, but it was certainly something that I was willing to check out.
The main entrance of the enclosure. This photo was taken at just the right time because the sky was perfectly blue and at the moment I took the photo, there was an ideal breeze that made the Dominican flag billow in the wind.
The Dominican Republic is rich in very different flora and fauna, however, it can't be seen very well in the capital city, Santo Domingo. As in all cities, it's very populated, there are a lot of cars and unless you leave the city, you won't be able to see the true biological richness which this small, but marvellous island has. If you can't go so far, the closest you will be able to get to true nature is in the Botanical Gardens. I study biological engineering, so I've been a lover of nature since I was born, although I suffered a bit in this country because it gives me hay fever, which is an allergy that I have of trees, grass and everything else. It's because of this that when I go to the Dominican Republic, the symptoms get a little worse because of the climate, but with my hydrocortisone cream for any welts and my Zyrtek tablets for the allergy, everything is okay.
A little bit about the history behind the National Botanical Garden
The Botanical Garden has been around for a while, but it's not too old since it was opened to the public in 1976. The Dominican Republic is also known as "La Española" (the Spanish Island) because it was the first place that Christopher Colombus got to and so this is how it was baptised. Throughout its time, a lot of people wanted to conquer the island, but few managed it. One of them who took an interest in the island was Dr. Rafael María Moscoso, who was the first Dominican botanist that managed to write a catalogue about the flora on the island. This is where the garden takes its name.
By going in on the right, you will find this beautiful view. In the distance is the floral clock.
When you go into the park, you will see a species of Palm tree (but it's not a palm tree) with strange leaves which look like a handheld fan. These leaves are the famous hojas de Guanito (Guanito leaves) and they are in abundance in the botanic garden; they have subsequently been made into a logo for the garden.
Lets go in the botanical garden!
When we are small and still in school, we tend to have a lot of cultural or recreational outings, therefore all Dominicans have been to this place at least once in their lives, whether on a school trip or because they felt like it. When you go in, it's as if you were in a small bubble that separates the city from Dominican nature. It's impressive that when you go in, you feel a lot more fresh than in the city itself, even if the climate is still the same: tropical, humid and very wet.
Clothing recommendations
I decided to go to the garden dressed in a dress and dress shoes (flat ones), which you can see in the photos. This was a bad mistake because the park is a lot bigger than you would think. When you hear "botanical garden", you don't imagine anything much bigger than a park, but this place is approximately 2 million square kilometers. It's really big! Obviously, I didn't walk around the whole thing, but we walked around a fair bit of it, like 4 or 5 kilometers in total. I promised to go back, but with different shoes, since going in normal dress shoes (that would only happen to me) is a death sentence. In the end, I couldn't walk very well and I took advantage of when I could take off my shoes to be bare foot.
An example of how not to dress in the botanical gardens. Unfortunately, I was the person who set the example.
There were hundreds of dresses and shorts in my suitcase, but it seems incredible that I felt the heat a lot less when I wore my jeans, you'll have to try it for yourselves. Even though the heat is stifling, I felt more comfortable wearing trousers, so an adequate outfit for me would be jeans, a light top and some good and comfortable trainers. Although some areas of the park are covered by hundreds of trees which don't let the sun through, I would really recommend wearing sun screen and some sort of hat or cap. Furthermore, walking around leaves you very thirsty but they only sell bottles of water at the entrance, there's no shops whilst walking around, so I would recommend that you bring a bottle of water with you so that your walk around the paths and the botanic garden will be much more comfortable.
Although the park seems ideal for going around on a bicycle, you should avoid bringing one. Also, avoid bringing balls, skates, domestic animals and alcoholic drinks. You can go in with food - in fact, a lot of people usually bring a box of pizza or picnic baskets so they can have a picnic, however, remember to always put your litter in the bins which are divided between "biodegradable rubbish" and "plastics".
What is the best time and day to go?
The park is open seven days a week, almost all year round, except for on Christmas (25th December), Good Friday and the anniversary of the National Botanical Garden (25th August). However, it was close to the park's 40th anniversary when we were there, so every Tuesday from June of that year, the entrance was free (although I don't know how long that will last for).
At the time of writing this, the National Botanical Garden was open from 9 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. I would have recommended going on a Tuesday at at 1 in the afternoon to go in for free, but I'd still recommend going at 1 in the afternoon so you have 4 hours to walk around as much as you want.
How much does the entrance cost?
The garden isn't free, but you could say that it almost is. The entrance fee for adults costs $70 Dominican Pesos and $50 Dominican Pesos for kids which is around £1. 15 ($1. 50USD) and 82p ($1USD) respectively.
However, there is one thing about this place that I don't like. The entry fee is different for foreigners (£4/$5USD for adults and £2. 30/$3USD for kids). Fortunately, I didn't have to pay anything like that because my boyfriend's mum bought our tickets and she asked for 3 at a normal price (the price for Dominicans). It would be difficult to buy them when you're not Dominican because they'll be able to detect your accent. I would suggest imitating their accent or asking someone else to buy the ticket for you.
These types of flora and fauna are really well protected - you won't find it in any city and much less for such a good price for tourists. It feels like you're in a jungle.
Now then, let's start the tour!
Outside of the ticket booth and before going into the park, there is a detailed map of the park. It'd probably tire you out too much to walk around the whole park in a day, but you can mark the points of interest. I would recommend that you take a photo of the map on your phone so that it can act as your guide once you're inside the park, since once inside, you won't see many signs, which can confuse you if you don't know the park or even cause you to get lost.
The map is also on the internet, but I took this photo so you can download it onto your phone in case you forget to take your own photo.
The Floral Clock
One of the first things you see on entering the park is the enormous floral clock which is meant to be the biggest in the world thanks to its almost 4 metre height and 20 metre diameter. The 5 meter long hands which tell you the time weren't working when I went, but it didn't stop me from being able to admire its beauty. You can't climb the clock because it's surrounded by a pond with multiple fish and aquatic plants. There are a lot of water lilies which look gorgeous.
You can see the floral clock, surrounded by the Guanito leaves which have become the symbol of the park.
The aquatic plants which you can see surrounding the floral clock.
If you're a fan of water lilies, you'll find quite a few here.
These beautiful, beautiful flowers are similar to the columbine flower, but instead of white they have an orange or kind of salmon colour.
Paths in the Botanical Garden
From the clock we walked to the right where we continued on a path which looked sort of dark, but fairly reliable (the Botanical Garden is quite a safe place). There were quite tall trees and multiple palm trees, so we were fairly hidden from the sunlight.
I like this photo a lot because you can get a better image of how tall the trees are which block out a fair bit of the sunlight.
There were a lot of wooden bridges on the trail which made a nice panoramic, especially for photography lovers.
Who wouldn't like losing themselves in this magical place. Dare to see where the bridges lead you!
Thanks to a current of water which flows through the garden, the ambience and the scenery are really nice. This current is approximately a kilometre and a half long and it flows out into the Isabela River. The micro-climate which this ravine generate, boosts the growth of all the flora and fauna and it's what makes this place especially wet. In my personal opinion, I think that listening to the constant flow of water provokes an additional calming feel whilst walking around the garden.
On occasion, you will find some little viewpoints like this one, where you can hear the flow of the water a bit better.
I like that the water current is a little out of reach for the visitors, so you can only listen to it, but access is complicated because it's located around 20 metres below the paths in the garden and there is no pedestrian route to get to it, there are only flowers and slippery shrubbery which makes it dangerous to reach, but at least it prevents people from littering or trying to contaminate this little river.
Local plants
Throughout the walkways, you will see a lot of plants which are native to the Dominican Republic; one of them is called el aceituno. You will see its fruits which have fallen onto the pathways - they look like a greenish-brown and slightly elongated lemons.
You will also be able to see la campana criolla (the creole bell), which is easy to spot because its flowers are less than 2 metres off the ground and they look like a load of green bells hanging up together and they all face downwards. A lot of these native species are sadly in danger of extinction.
This is a photo I took of a campana criolla from below.
Pay special attention to the flowers I have told you about and also to la sabina (the Juniper) which is from the same family as the cypress tree and to the Red Camelia which is very similar to the Rose, but with a much brighter colour and a lot more petals.
I never found out the name of this flower, but it was one of my favourites so if you know the name, don't hesitate to tell me.
The Japanese Garden
One of the places that we insisted on going the most was the Japanese Garden. When the Dominicans graduate from college, they have a photo session, whether it be at the beach, in the colonial zone or in the Japanese Garden - it's a tradition. I took some photos of a girl who had just turned 15 years old and now I know why she wanted to have a photo session here - the garden is one of the prettiest things I have ever seen in my life.
The beautiful lake in the Japanese Gardens.
From the moment you step foot into the gardens, there is an enormous wooden, orange gateway, which is very Japanese; it's called "Torii" and it means "gateway to the sky" and I can see why! The landscapes in this place leave you breathless - it seems like you are in another very different world in regards to the flora and fauna which are found in the rest of the botanical garden. You will be able to see a lot of bamboo. Unfortunately, some of them have been vandalised - but it's minimum.
You are going to see hundreds of these trees.
You'll be able to see many like the previous one, but this tree is unique inside the park. Look at the shape of its roots, they are a little flattened. I like the small stone statue on the right hand side a lot because it gives a special touch.
We found a tree full of caterpillars.
You will also see Arancuarias and Junipers, all of which give the place an oriental touch together with the lakes, the turtles, the animals, the stones and the small bridges. Being here makes you feel an out of this world sense of tranquillity - it simply transports you to a place perfect for meditating and being in peace. This place is perfect to bring a book and sit for hours reading, there aren't really that many people here which makes it even more perfect.
An ideal place to have a romantic and eco-friendly date!
The turtles are about 30cm long, they are quite big and friendly with tourists.
This photo of the bridge was one of my favourites because it conserves the Japanese style of the garden and you can see a little of the stone trail which forms part of the bridge. Luckily for me, no one got in the way of my photo, so it came out perfectly.
Shops and recycling
Throughout the Botanic Garden there is a gift shop called Zombia Gift Shop and another one which is more a place to buy water, juice and snacks. Remember that if you want to have a picnic, you should bring your own food because they only really sell snack-foods, not really proper food.
The gift shop.
There are also a lot of allotments because the department of environmental education wants to educate the population and share the taste of nature. Other sections of the gardens are the Botanical section and the gardening section.
The Botanical Garden Train
The Botanical Garden also has a free train which takes you around almost the whole place leaving you in the Japanese gardens for 10 minutes and then carrying on with its journey. A lot of people miss the train because it's impossible to only spend 10 minutes in the Japanese garden! However, walking around inside the gardens is a very nice experience - I don't think that the train is essential, it's more of an unnecessary luxury when you're surrounded by multiple species of such beautiful flowers.
A large part of the pathways are paved over, so it's easy for the train to move around.
The Botanical Garden - like a disciple of science and biology
They say that there is not much scientific or biologic culture in the Dominican Republic, however, they also say that the Botanical Garden is one of the few places where science is promoted. Inside the park, they have their own investigation centre which publishes their own review - the "Revista Científica Moscoso" (The Scientific Moscoso Review, which is not only published in the Dominican Republic but also internationally. Although there is not huge support from the government, it does have different biological and scientific institutions.
I went without knowing the name of this shrub. If you know it, please let me know.
See you later Botanical Garden!
If one thing remains clear to me, it's that this is not a definitive goodbye because I missed going around the park more. The next time I will finish seeing the whole park, including the herbalist. I will also come with a basket so I can have a nice picnic next to the loved ones. As I am an independent soul, I'll bring the book that I'm reading, "Pinocchio", to finish it next to the lake in the Japanese Garden. I will also come better prepared with water, a cap and my trainers.
Until the next time!
