Trip recap: Constanza, Jarabacoa, Presa de Taveras

KateP

Silver
May 28, 2004
2,845
6
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A little while back I thankfully asked for recommendations for a trip my hubby and I wanted to do to the Constanza/Jarabacoa and maybe Ocoa area. Based on that, this is what we ended up doing.

Left Punta Cana on a Thursday afternoon, unfortunately quite a bit later than planned and ended up in Santo Domingo around 6:30. Rain started as we finally finished crossing Santo Domingo and accompanied us basically all the way up to Constanza. Let me tell you, the next time we drive up to Constanza, it better be during the day. We hadn't been climbing for even 1km before we ended up in the dark, in the rain and literally in the clouds/fog. If we could see on average about 5m ahead of us, it's a lot and that's how it was for pretty much the whole drive. Since neither of us had driven this road in the past 10 years, it was a bit harrowing. I was on Google maps calling out the upcoming curves as if we were in a rally to help my hubby navigate his way (and trying to avoid looking at how close the edge of the road was). I must say though that the road is in very good condition all the way up. The going was very slow and we finally pulled up to Alto Cerro hotel just before 10pm.

We had booked a 1 bedroom villa as this was all that was left. If I remember correctly, one of the owners designed the hotel and I have to say the way everything is built into the slope of the mountain is impressive. The view of the valley is spectacular from pretty much any room you book. However, in most cases you have to go up and down a good number of stairs as there's no parking space right next to the villas/rooms. So on top of being an enjoyable weekend, we got a good amount of exercise in too lol . The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel restaurant which was very nice. Weather was terrific, just around 16C in the morning and went up to 24C during the day.

We drove up to the Monumento del Niño Divino and the view of the whole valley from up there is breathtaking. From there we decided to give it a try to get to the Pyramids with our Kia Soul. We drove (carefully) for about 1.5h but then decided to turn around as we were still about 1 hour away from the pyramids and had only crossed 2 other vehicles on the way. The Soul could have probably made it but it wasn't a risk we were willing to take and we were starting to get hungry. Next time we go, we'll rent a hardy 4x4 SUV and not have to worry about damaging a new vehicle. The road from the moment you head out of "town" is dirt and although not in too bad condition, it can get slick when it rains (which it was) and as mentioned before, you're in the middle of a large mountain park with very few vehicles and little to no cell phone reception. It's incredible to see farmers cultivating the land just on the outsides of the park in the valleys and steep slopes.

So we drove back down, had lunch at the hotel (yummy!) and enjoyed the view and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The next morning, we headed back out for Presa de Taveras via Jarabacoa. My hubby had heard about a restaurant in Jarabacoa up in the mountain and we easily found it on Google Maps. The place is called Aroma de la Montaña. It's a short drive up a very steep dirt road but soooo worth it. The restaurant itself looks extremely modern and even has a rotating floor on the second floor. Although the menu was quite a bit over what we normally look for price-wise, we decided to splurge. Honestly one of the best meals we've ever had with a view to die for.

We then headed down towards Santiago and turned off towards the Presa de Taveras. I had gotten it into my head a few months back that I wanted to fish and from the looks of it, this lake was going to be a terrific spot. The only place I had found online right on the edge of the lake was Villas del Lago Resort. In reality it's not a resort and it's 1 villa. But it's a great spot to disconnect, relax and get some good fishing in. Even though the owner had told us repeatedly that she did not recommend we drive up to the hotel but rather park on the other side and take a boteconcho (boat taxi) over, we decided that the Soul could make it there and it did. Barely. The last 1000m is mud mud mud on rough slopes and after thinking it over, we decided to drive back to the other side of the lake and leave our vehicle at Rancho Teo (restaurant) as they had recommended (200 pesos) and boat back over (200 pesos). Had it rained overnight, there was no way we were getting out of there. The fishing was pretty good (I managed to catch 3 small I don't know whats), next time we'll rent a boat to go around but since we didn't have much time, we decided to just fish from the edge of the lake. Unfortunately the water level was quite high with some submerged trees and bushes so it was a bit of a challenge. I hope to go back this year and maybe recuperate some of my Rapala lures that got left behind by my hubby... The hotel itself is basically 4 nice rooms with their private bathroom. No a/c, just a floor fan so we'll choose carefully when we'll return. It's about 300m up a steep slope (more exercise!) with a beautiful view of the lake. The manager and his wife are the only 2 employees and they're both cooks so the food was very nice. They set up a campfire in the evening which we very much enjoyed. The owners do seem to nickel and dime a bit too much from their remote location (Europe I believe) but for the location of the place, it's worth it. We'll probably go back after hurricane season for a long weekend.

So all in all, a very nice trip that we will definitely repeat hopefully soon.
 
Jan 9, 2004
10,898
2,226
113
A little while back I thankfully asked for recommendations for a trip my hubby and I wanted to do to the Constanza/Jarabacoa and maybe Ocoa area. Based on that, this is what we ended up doing.

Left Punta Cana on a Thursday afternoon, unfortunately quite a bit later than planned and ended up in Santo Domingo around 6:30. Rain started as we finally finished crossing Santo Domingo and accompanied us basically all the way up to Constanza. Let me tell you, the next time we drive up to Constanza, it better be during the day. We hadn't been climbing for even 1km before we ended up in the dark, in the rain and literally in the clouds/fog. If we could see on average about 5m ahead of us, it's a lot and that's how it was for pretty much the whole drive. Since neither of us had driven this road in the past 10 years, it was a bit harrowing. I was on Google maps calling out the upcoming curves as if we were in a rally to help my hubby navigate his way (and trying to avoid looking at how close the edge of the road was). I must say though that the road is in very good condition all the way up. The going was very slow and we finally pulled up to Alto Cerro hotel just before 10pm.

We had booked a 1 bedroom villa as this was all that was left. If I remember correctly, one of the owners designed the hotel and I have to say the way everything is built into the slope of the mountain is impressive. The view of the valley is spectacular from pretty much any room you book. However, in most cases you have to go up and down a good number of stairs as there's no parking space right next to the villas/rooms. So on top of being an enjoyable weekend, we got a good amount of exercise in too lol . The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel restaurant which was very nice. Weather was terrific, just around 16C in the morning and went up to 24C during the day.

We drove up to the Monumento del Niño Divino and the view of the whole valley from up there is breathtaking. From there we decided to give it a try to get to the Pyramids with our Kia Soul. We drove (carefully) for about 1.5h but then decided to turn around as we were still about 1 hour away from the pyramids and had only crossed 2 other vehicles on the way. The Soul could have probably made it but it wasn't a risk we were willing to take and we were starting to get hungry. Next time we go, we'll rent a hardy 4x4 SUV and not have to worry about damaging a new vehicle. The road from the moment you head out of "town" is dirt and although not in too bad condition, it can get slick when it rains (which it was) and as mentioned before, you're in the middle of a large mountain park with very few vehicles and little to no cell phone reception. It's incredible to see farmers cultivating the land just on the outsides of the park in the valleys and steep slopes.

So we drove back down, had lunch at the hotel (yummy!) and enjoyed the view and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The next morning, we headed back out for Presa de Taveras via Jarabacoa. My hubby had heard about a restaurant in Jarabacoa up in the mountain and we easily found it on Google Maps. The place is called Aroma de la Montaña. It's a short drive up a very steep dirt road but soooo worth it. The restaurant itself looks extremely modern and even has a rotating floor on the second floor. Although the menu was quite a bit over what we normally look for price-wise, we decided to splurge. Honestly one of the best meals we've ever had with a view to die for.

We then headed down towards Santiago and turned off towards the Presa de Taveras. I had gotten it into my head a few months back that I wanted to fish and from the looks of it, this lake was going to be a terrific spot. The only place I had found online right on the edge of the lake was Villas del Lago Resort. In reality it's not a resort and it's 1 villa. But it's a great spot to disconnect, relax and get some good fishing in. Even though the owner had told us repeatedly that she did not recommend we drive up to the hotel but rather park on the other side and take a boteconcho (boat taxi) over, we decided that the Soul could make it there and it did. Barely. The last 1000m is mud mud mud on rough slopes and after thinking it over, we decided to drive back to the other side of the lake and leave our vehicle at Rancho Teo (restaurant) as they had recommended (200 pesos) and boat back over (200 pesos). Had it rained overnight, there was no way we were getting out of there. The fishing was pretty good (I managed to catch 3 small I don't know whats), next time we'll rent a boat to go around but since we didn't have much time, we decided to just fish from the edge of the lake. Unfortunately the water level was quite high with some submerged trees and bushes so it was a bit of a challenge. I hope to go back this year and maybe recuperate some of my Rapala lures that got left behind by my hubby... The hotel itself is basically 4 nice rooms with their private bathroom. No a/c, just a floor fan so we'll choose carefully when we'll return. It's about 300m up a steep slope (more exercise!) with a beautiful view of the lake. The manager and his wife are the only 2 employees and they're both cooks so the food was very nice. They set up a campfire in the evening which we very much enjoyed. The owners do seem to nickel and dime a bit too much from their remote location (Europe I believe) but for the location of the place, it's worth it. We'll probably go back after hurricane season for a long weekend.

So all in all, a very nice trip that we will definitely repeat hopefully soon.

Next trip...trade Aroma de la Montana for Alta Vista. Equally impressive view wise, better food IMHO, but without the rotating floor and a little less pricey.

On a good day the roads in that area are a challenge.....cannot imagine the white knuckle ride in bad weather.

Nice report....about the other DR.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2