With kaleidoscopic streetscapes and a catchy Caribbean ambience, the colonial city of Puerto Plata is a visual treat. Its location between the mountains and the sea adds natural drama to the setting, and there's plenty to explore. On this whistle-stop tour, you'll discover the city's highlights, including the cable car, the historic downtown and a rum distillery. Ana, one of our expert local guides, says, ‘Christopher Columbus called this area “the most beautiful land human eyes will ever see”, and when you reach the top of the cable car and look across the green hills to the port and the sea, you'll have to agree with him.'
You'll take in Isabel de Torres, a mountain rising to 800 metres behind the city, from the ‘teleferico' cable car. The mountaintop can feel very different to the coast, as it's sometimes cloudy at the summit. On the peak lies a beautiful botanical garden – the world's highest – stuffed full of exotic plants and trees, a great place to spend a few moments immersed in nature on one of the trails.
You'll also visit a rum distillery, where you can taste different varieties of the Dominican Republic's most popular spirit. After lunch, you'll have time to take snapshots of the town centre. It's a jumble of wooden colonial houses and old shops stocked with hand-rolled cigars and amber jewellery. Ana says, ‘The Amber Museum is worth a look. It has some truly ancient pieces, which have preserved flora and fauna from the Jurassic era some 200 million years ago.'
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