The Oviedo Lagoon´s Guides Association (AGUINAOVI) offers nature-based tours with trained local guides.  The guides work with experienced local captains in the most suitable boats to enjoy this beautiful salt-water lake in Jaragua National Park, Dominican Republic.   

Surrounded by mangroves, palm groves, dunes and beaches, Oviedo Lagoon is one of the best sites for watching aquatic and low-land birds of the Dominican Republic.  Close to 150 species have been reported in this area.

Oviedo Lagoon (Laguna de Oviedo in Spanish) is famous for its flamingo viewing opportunities. These lovely birds visit every year from other countries in the region. The best viewing time is the northern hemisphere winter months, but some of them stay year-round.  

The lagoon is long and narrow, occupying roughly 28 square kilometers, and contains a series of small cays or rocky outcrops where many birds nest in the summer months. One cay even has its own Rhinoceros iguana population!   The lagoon also has its own endemic fish species, the Oviedo pupfish (Cyprinodon nichollsi).

Oviedo Lagoon is separated from the Caribbean sea by a narrow stretch of land with long sandy beaches on the sea-side.  There, marine turtles nest, especially leatherback sea turtles during the spring months. To get there, the hike goes through one of the best preserved coastal forests in the Caribbean, including a dwarf forest of the rare fan palm or guano (Thrynax radiata).