El Dudu
Costa Norte, Dominican Republic
El Dudu is about 15 mins east of Cabrera, you will see a sign on the right side of the road that says: Dudu Lake.
El Dudu is a classic large sinkhole, access is very easy with cement stairs going down to the waters edge. It is a very popular tourist attraction and local hangout and people are jumping in from all over the place and swimming and getting drunk.
An easy surface to swim on the surface to the far left side and the beginning of a very large tunnel and the start of the cavern line, this tunnel goes in about 100 meters and has a large airdrome 50 meters in. To the right against the wall you will notice an area of breakdown slabs and a warning sign, tie in to the cavern line (at yellow arrow) and go through the restriction you will then get to the cave's mainline which is right in the halocline
The first part of the cave features a very large and tall main tunnel that has many dark tannic stained decorations, one column is over 15 meters high.
The max depth here is 20 meters. At the end of this tunnel there is a steep slope that goes up to about 6 meters there is a T, to the right is an air pocket with good air but no outside access, to the left cave keeps going.
Continuing on the mainline the cave gets lower and you pass through with a series of weird dark stalactites before the tunnel opens up again. The rest of the dive has no decorations and is generally shallower with an average depth of only 6-7 meters. After swimming about 45 minutes you eventually get to the end of the line which goes up to another entrance called Cueva de Lilly, here you will usually see many bats, snakes and the usual cave critters like whip scorpions and tarantulas. You can exit through Cueva de Lily if need be, but it is a hassle.
Coming back out you can swim around the sinkhole to the left and dive the cavern zone which consists of two more tunnels that lead to the third entrance Pozo de los Caballos, before turning back toward the stairs. The cavern zone is quite grandiose and well worth it with huge shellfish encrusted stalactites and very unusual water colors.
Suitable for any configuration
The kids will carry your gear down for a modest fee and the area is very safe for cars and belongings.
DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS |
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DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS |
DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS |
DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS |
DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS |
DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS |
DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS |
DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS |
DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS | DRSS / El DuduPhoto: ©2014 Laurent Benoit for DRSS |