Located 16 kilometers south of Constanza is Valle Nuevo National Park. The road to it is horrific, but beautiful views make it worth the work. The park covers an area of 657 square kilometers. This protected forest is 2,640 meters above sea level and the climate can be cool and wet with an annual average rainfall over 2,500 millimeters. It is excellent for bird-watching, with 65 species of birds in the park, including the blue-hooded euphonia, the pine warbler, and the white-winged warbler, which is endemic to Hispaniola.

The three-tiered waterfall Salto de Aguas Blancas is in the Valle Nuevo park. It is 135 meters high and falls into a gorgeous pool whose average temperature is 10° C (50°F). You’ll definitely need a tough four-wheel-drive to make the two-hour round-trip venture to this park.

On the higher plains of the Valle Nuevo, you’ll encounter a monument built in 1957 by the communities of Constanza and San Juan de Ocoa. Las Pirámides mark the geographic center of the Dominican Republic. This is also very close to the area where Colonel Francisco Caamaño Deño, former guerilla leader, general, and president, was murdered while fighting the regime of President Joaquín Balaguer. A monument is placed in his honor.