Pico Duarte

Pico Duarte, 1986

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The Pico Duarte is with 3098 meters the highest mountain in the Caribbean. It is located in the Dominican Republic in the mountains of the Cordillera Central in the natural park Parque Nacional José Armando Bermúdez.

The first ascent was, as far as we know, in 1851 by the British consul Sir Robert H. Schomburgk instead. He named the mountain " Monte Tina ". The Swedish botanist Erik Leonard Ekman called the twin peaks 1913 " Pelona Grande and Pelona Chica ".

During the Trujillo dictatorship also had this mountain as well as the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo pay tribute to the megalomania of the dictator: The mountain was named Pico Trujillo. Only after the death of the dictator of the mountain Pico Duarte was called.

On the summit of Pico Duarte, a bust of Padre de Patria is ("Father of the Fatherland" ) Pablo Duarte.

The nearest major town and an ideal starting point for excursions to the Pico Duarte is Jarabacoa. Ascents of the Pico Duarte are only allowed with the permission of administration of the National Park and with an official guide - there are many and sometimes dramatically tourism-oriented guides. The entrance to the park with the ascent to Pico Duarte is located in La Cienaga, about 30 km from Jarabacoa.

Debate over the size of Pico Duarte

The exact height of the mountain was unclear for a long time. Until the mid- 1990s the mountain according to Sir Robert H. Schomburgk than 3175 meters was high. 2003 but 3098 meters was measured by the GPS technology of a geographer.

In January 2005, a group of hikers measured with their GPS units a height of 3087 meters, but in spite of the above measurement SRTM data show that the professional measurement is probably more accurate. Thus, the Pico Duarte only four meters higher than its neighboring peak, La Pelona.

Gallery

Summit cross