The great variety of gastronomic offerings that the Dominican Republic possesses is the result of the mixture of different migrations from pre-Columbian times to our lands, leaving behind different traditions within culinary art, which today positions us as one of the destinations with the best cuisine in the Caribbean.
Today, our tourism has diversified, going beyond the promotion of Dominican gastronomy to the creation of community tourism experiences of characteristic products found in our destinations, such as coffee, strawberries, cassava bread, organic bananas, honey, and cocoa.
A famous phrase says, "God gave wings to angels and chocolate to humans," and undoubtedly, the Dominican Republic is no exception. Dominican cocoa, at the agricultural level, is among the most precious and exported products, being such an important element for both our agriculture and our identity and tourist culture.
This product is produced in various areas of the country, with the most characteristic being the northern region of the Dominican Republic. Beyond cocoa plantations, there is a whole tourist experience behind it that you have to live if you are a true chocolate lover, and you can easily have it just minutes away from wherever you are.
Santo Domingo: The First City of America, where we find the highest concentration of cultural and historical tourism in our country, and also magical cocoa and chocolate experiences that take you back with their stories to the beginnings of this product in the Dominican Republic, such as the Kah Kow Experience located in the Colonial City. You can stay in rural accommodations in the city and witness the planting and harvesting of cocoa until it becomes chocolate at La Cueva del Eden, and even produce your own chocolate bar or cookie at the end of the tourist experience at the Cortes Hermanos Visitors Center.
Cortes Hermanos Visitor Center, Santo Domingo - Photo by: José Sánchez Coste
Learn more:
Kaw Kow Experience https://www.instagram.com/kahkowexperience/
La Cueva del Eden https://www.instagram.com/cuevadeledenrd/?hl=es
Centro de Visitantes Cortes Hermanos https://www.instagram.com/centrocortesrd/?hl=es
Hermanas Mirabal: The historical city from which the "Hermanas Mirabal" take their name, women who became symbols in the Dominican Republic and have a tour in their museum house, right on the Salcedo - Tenares road. But beyond museum experiences like this one and others like the Magua Museum (Taíno History), and adventure tourism experiences you can do here such as exploring the pools of Río Partido or visiting the Las Golondrinas waterfall, you can also learn about cocoa in its "Chocolate Jungle," a rural accommodation project with experiences that explain the entire process from planting to finished chocolate product, allowing you to taste its rich flavor, but also relax with the body chocolate practices you can do in this place.
Chocolate therapy experience, Chocolate Jungle, Salcedo, Hermanas Mirabal.
Learn more:
Jungle of Chocolate https://www.instagram.com/chocolatejunglerd/?hl=es
San Francisco de Macorís: If you visit this destination in the Dominican Republic, located in the Duarte province in the northern region, you cannot miss "El Sendero del Cacao" (The Cocoa Trail). Here within its fields, you can learn alongside its specialized guides about the origins of cocoa, its transformation into chocolate, and what makes a product like gourmet chocolate special. And the best part is that these are routes for the whole family, where you can go with children and enjoy a delicious typical Dominican lunch at the end of the tour.
Cacao Plantation, Cacao Trail, San Francisco de Macorís, Duarte.
Learn more:
El Sendero del Cacao https://www.instagram.com/elsenderodelcacao/?hl=es
Puerto Plata: Where it all began, a destination that has everything in one place: beautiful beaches for the enjoyment of friends, couples, families, but also beaches for water sports lovers such as surfing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing, thematic museums of rum, amber, tobacco, cultural streets and monuments, mountain viewpoints such as Loma Isabel de Torres where you can access through the cable car, resort hotels, ecological hotels, and above all, not to mention its varied chocolate experiences, such as Guananico, where in "Hacienda Cufa," you will learn all about cocoa and its production, accompanied by men and women who will show you this tourist experience, linked to Dominican folklore and culture, where you will also learn about the characteristic musical instruments of merengue and bachata, taste its typical food, and at the end of the chocolate route, relax with its chocolatherapy. Altamira is also located here, where we find "Chocal" and "Chocolala," two cocoa routes where you can coexist from the perspective of rural tourism with the community, especially with women who welcome you and lead you on the explanatory tour about cocoa and chocolate, where you can also find products based on this beyond chocolate, such as cocoa butter, cocoa soap, cocoa wine, among others. Another magical place also here in Altamira is Chocolate Mountain, another community project where you will not only live this agrotourism experience, but also enjoy the taste of cocoa from the plant, you can make your own chocolate ball to the rhythm of music, and even stay in its facilities and disconnect with the nature that surrounds you, especially the cocoa plantations.
Explanation of the Cacao process, Chocolate Mountain, Altamira, Puerto Plata - Photograph by: José Sánchez Coste
Learn more:
Hacienda Cufa https://www.instagram.com/haciendacufa/?hl=es
Chocal https://www.instagram.com/chocolatesaltamira/?hl=es
Chocolala https://www.instagram.com/chocolalard/?hl=es-la
Chocolate Mountain https://www.instagram.com/chocomtn/?hl=es-la
Other destinations in the country where you can also find these tourist routes are Monte Plata, Hato Mayor, El Seibo, and the areas of Higüey - Bavaro and Punta Cana.
Learn more about cocoa and Dominican gastronomy at the following link: https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/dominicanrepublic/gui_a_gastrono_mica_dominicana_2021_74cf74ab-7377-414d-a7f7-82cb04f8b63c.pdf