Description

The Macaya National Natural Park is at the heart of the Massif de la Hotte Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO in 2016. This constitutes one of the most important areas for biodiversity conservation for Haiti and the Caribbean. Dominated by Pic Macaya, which culminates at 2,347 meters, Macaya Park is located on the southwestern peninsula of Haiti and represents the second largest mountain range in the country that extends over three departments, including the South, Grande-Anse and Nippes. With an area of 8,726 hectares, Macaya Park is an important source of fresh water that feeds more than seven rivers in the South Department and is culturally rich in its own right. 

Biodiversity

Created in 1983, the Macaya National Natural Park contains an area of tropical forest that covers part of the Massif de la Hotte; there is also a cloud forest that surrounds the mountain range. Macaya Park is the last remaining primary forest in Haiti and is one of 34 global biodiversity hotspots. 

Named a key area for biodiversity, Macaya Park is a true wild paradise that is home to 73 species of birds out of the 230 in Haiti to date, some of which are endemic. Among the 74 amphibian species cataloged on the island, 27 are endemic to Macaya and 27 reptile species form the most varied group of vertebrates in the Caribbean region. Its flora abounds with more than 150 listed orchid species, including 38 endemics, and more than 376 flowering plants, including 55 specific to the island of Haiti. Macaya Park is recognized as the world’s largest concentration of endemic amphibians, particularly frogs, some of which are found nowhere else in the world, as well as plants and animals previously thought to be extinct, such as the agouti (Dasyprocta) and the hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus), also called “long nose” (nez longue) in Haitian French. 

Ecotourism potential

Given its rich biodiversity, Macaya Park is the ideal place for the development of sustainable tourism in Haiti. Its relief, its fauna and flora constitute a true open-air laboratory for scientific research. Contemplating the fauna and flora of Macaya Park, climbing its steep mountains continues and continues to be one of the greatest gifts that nature can offer to lovers of life.