Cuevas Las Cabachuelas
LocationMorovis and Ciales, Puerto Rico
Nearest cityBarahona, Morovis, Puerto Rico
Area1,000 acres (400 ha)
EstablishedFebruary, 2012
Websitehttp://www.lascabachuelas.org/
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Cuevas Las Cabachuelas (Cabachuelas Caves) is a large cave system in Puerto Rico, located between the municipalities of Morovis and Ciales[1] in the Cabachuelas Natural Reserve, which was established in 2012.[2] It is of natural, cultural, archaeological, hydrological and geomorphological importance to Puerto Rico.[3] Guided tours are offered by the Diógenes Colón Gómez Cultural Center in Morovis.[1]

History

The caves are located in Barahona barrio in Morovis and have been studied in depth by Roberto Martínez and Ovidio Dávila.[4] Martínez pushed for designating the cave system as a national park system.[5] There are 60 caves in the Cabachuelas zone which was declared a natural reserve on February 29, 2012, with the signing of law 129 by then governor, Luis Fortuño.[6] Since then a process of identifying the land around the cave system-what needed to be purchased from private owners began, and it was decided that there were 16 privately owned properties which should become part of the reserve.[3] In February 2019 the park opened to the public. Guided tours for groups of up to 15 people are coordinated by CABACOOP, Proyecto Cabachuelas.

Future plans

Tourism managed by Discover Puerto Rico encouraged the marketing of the caves in Morovis.[7] Once the final 75 acres, which need to be purchased, are purchased by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA), then the park will be properly established as Parque Nacional Las Cabachuelas.[8][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Nueva opción al turismo para explorar cuevas en la isla". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Nuestras áreas naturales protegidas: tesoro ecológico de Puerto Rico" (in Spanish). DRNA. 13 June 2017. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Atractivo de clase mundial la Reserva Natural Las Cabachuelas" (in Spanish). 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  4. ^ Oficina Estatal de Conservación Histórica. "Sitios Arqueológicos de Puerto Rico" (PDF). agencies PR Gov (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Las Cabachuelas - Historia". Las Cabachuelas Official site (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Las Cabachuelas son reserva natural". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 13 November 2012. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Morovis recibe al DMO para impulsar el turismo en las Cuevas las Cabachuelas".
  8. ^ "Morovis ofrecerá recorridos por cuevas de Las Cabachuelas, en centro P.Rico". EFE (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019. As of August, 2019 the purchase was still in the works.
  9. ^ "Morovis anuncia el endoso al proyecto Cuevas Las Cabachuelas [Morovis announces endorsement for Cuevas Las Cabachuelas project]". El Vocero de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.

External links

Cuevas Las Cabachuelas on Instagram

18°20′56″N 66°27′00″W / 18.34889°N 66.45000°W / 18.34889; -66.45000

Caves of Puerto Rico
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