23 Little Known Facts About Dominican Republic

Endless beaches, white sands, palm trees, beautiful weather - that's what comes to our mind when we talk about the Dominican Republic! But what we don't know is that the country also has towering waterfalls, huge mountains, rain forests, and rich colonial history.

The island boasts of 800 miles of coastline with about 200 beautiful beaches!

Earlier, the Dominican Republic and the Haiti island were jointly known as Hispaniola. It was the first destination that Christopher Columbus landed on, during his first voyage across the Atlantic.

It was Christopher Columbus who established America's first Spanish colony on the island of Hispaniola!

It is the only country in the world which has the image of the Holy Bible on the flag. It was in 1844 that the bible was adopted after the country gained independence! The Gospel of John chapter 8, verse 32 that reads - 'And the truth shall make you free' can be seen on the flag.

There are about three colors in the flag - red, white and blue. Each color in the flag has a meaning. The red rectangles represent the blood of the war heroes who fought for independence, the blue rectangles represent liberty while the white color stands for salvation.

It is the second-largest island in the Caribbean, after Cuba!

The country's official language is Spanish, and you can find most of the signboards in the said language.

The oldest cathedral in the Americas, the Catedral de Santa Maria La Menor, was built in 1540, in the capital city of Santo Domingo. The interesting part is that this 500-year-old church is still opened using the same key that was used to open it for the first time!

The gravity hill, where you can experience challenging gravity, is a prime attraction on the island. At the Magnetic Pole i.e. El Polo Magnético, if you stop your car in neutral gear, your car will roll up instead of rolling down!

The Merengue style of dance and music is said to have its origin in the Dominican Republic.

Do you remember the scene from Jurassic Park that started the entire race of dinosaur - the amber stone housing a trapped prehistoric mosquito? That scene was a replica of the original piece of a real mosquito trapped in amber stone, that is showcased at the Amber Museum in Puerto Plata!

The Stefilia's Stone or the Larimar, is a blue mineral stone that is found only on the island. The Dominican Amber is another such rare stone native to the island, that is famous for its clear composition and high concentration levels of fossils.

How about enjoying a water-filled day by rolling down a waterfall through caves and water slides? The 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua give you an experience of a lifetime with unique slides and cave patterns!

It is home to both the highest elevation and the lowest elevation in the Caribbean! The Pico Duarte has an elevation of 3087 meters above the sea level while the Lago Enriquillo has the lowest elevation of 39 meters below the sea level!

The Lago Enriquillo is the largest lake in the Caribbean while it is also the lowest elevation point on the island! This hypersaline lake is home to the largest population of crocodiles in the Caribbean, with about 400 species living here.

The Bay of Samana welcomes about 2000-3000 giant humpback whales, every year on the western coast, during winters.

The country's national bird, Cigua Palmera, is unique to the island. It is named after the palm trees where it builds its nest and harvests fruits to later feed on them!

The most-visited country in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic, is visited by almost 6.1 million visitors each year, which is about 21% of the total Caribbean tourism market!

The oldest city in the new world, Santo Domingo, is the capital city of the Dominican Republic.

The country's national drink is coffee while its national sport is Baseball!

Dominicans love to honk! They even have a secret Beep language that you must be aware of, if you are going to drive in the country! A short beep means I'm here or get on, move on while two long beeps mean get out of my way and two short beeps mean I'm coming.

The island boasts of good golf courses with scenic beauty, which are the main tourist attraction points. There are about 26 golf courses on the island with the Robert Trent Jones designed golf course at Playa Grande Beach being a popular spot.

The famous three B's rums - Barcelo, Brugal and Bermudez, are produced in the Dominican Republic!