Monte Cristi

The province

Get to know Monte Cristi

The province of Monte Cristi occupies the far northwest of the Dominican Republic, between the Atlantic, the border with Haiti and the mouth of the Yaque del Norte river. The landscape is different from the rest of the country: dry, with cacti and thorn scrub, white salt flats, mangroves and a deep blue sea.

This guide covers the Monte Cristi destination, centered on the town of San Fernando de Monte Cristi. Beside it, El Morro, a limestone table about 240 meters high, rises by the sea within Monte Cristi National Park, with a beach at its base. Offshore, the Cayos Siete Hermanos are seven small sandy islets, with reefs, seabirds and turtles.

The town was a wealthy port at the end of the 19th century and still has wooden Victorian houses and a public clock brought from France. In the house where Máximo Gómez lived, he and José Martí signed in 1895 the Manifesto of Montecristi, which launched the final war for Cuba’s independence.

Further west, Manzanillo Bay, in Pepillo Salcedo, has a port and mangroves. Local cuisine features chivo picante, the region’s kid goat, and fish and seafood.