Carnival is celebrated every Sunday during the month of February, and culminating on the Dominican independence day near the end of February. The best places to go for Carnival are the cities of La Vega and Santo Domingo, with other good festivals in Santiago, Puerto Plata and San Cristobal. Monte Cristi in the northwest of the country has a more "old-style" Carnival, with the Toros dressed up in bull masks and armed with bullwhips with which they castigate spectators. Spectators therefore come clothed in several layers, preferably leather.
