Geography

Santiago de los Caballeros is located on a hilly terrain in the middle of the Cibao Valley in the
Central Region of the Dominican Republic, one of the most fertile lands found in the island.
The Yaque del Norte River passes by Santiago which is in between the Cordillera Central and
the Cordillera Septentrional, two of the three major mountain ranges on the island
of Hispaniola, forming the Cibao Valley.

History
The original colony was in the city of Jacagua, which was founded in 1495, but when it was
destroyed by an earthquake, it was moved to its present location in 1506. It was devastated by
another earthquake in 1562. In 1805, Haitian general Henri Christophe invaded Santo
Domingo and massacred several hundred residents of Santiago. Santiago de los Caballeros
has at times been the capital of the country, and was an important strategic city in
the Dominican War of Independence in 1844.
The name of the city, Saint James of the Knights, makes allusion to the Hidalgos de la Isabela,
a group of knights who had come from La Isabela city to stay in Santiago. That they were
actual knights is clear from the fact that when they got back to Spain they put a formal
complaint before the king stating that their horses had been unfairly commissioned as beasts
of burden and their weapons had been appropriated by the Columbus brothers (Diego and
Bartolome) and that they had been made to do manual labor, something considered beneath
their station as knights, who were meant to engage only in battle. The king compensated them
for all their losses. Sometimes the city is even called Santiago de los 30 Caballeros (English:
Saint James of the 30 Knights).

Sports[
As much as the rest of the nation, Santiago residents enjoy baseball and look forward to the
Dominican winter season with the local team being the Aguilas Cibaeas.[14] Besides baseball,
basketball is also played at a professional level in the city of Santiago. The institution in charge
of organizing these events is the Asociacin de Baloncesto de Santiago de los Treinta
Caballeros (ABASACA)[15]
Santiago's major baseball and basketball teams are Las Aguilas Cibaeas and Los Metros de
Santiago.
Santiago has two stadiums, and the stadiums are The Estadio Cibao home of the Aguilas
Cibaeas and The Gran Arena del Cibao home of Los Metros De Santiago

The Female Volleyball Team have claimed two bronze medals[16] in the professional Dominican
Volleyball League.

Transportation
Cibao International Airport in 2003 AIC

Santiago has Share taxis (called Carros Pblicos or conchos) and private and independent bus
owners who form their own routes according to their demands

The city has private bus transportation to other cities. Bus companies include Dioni, Metro,
Caribe Tours, Transporte Espinal, Aetra Bus.
The Autopista Juan Pablo Duarte highway, officially known as DR-1, passes by the city center
and connects the city directly to Santo Domingo. Other minor highways connect the city to
Puerto Plata, Samana, and the northwestern region of the country.
The Cibao International Airport serves mostly Dominicans living in the United States and other
Caribbean islands like Cuba, Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico and Panama. [17] The
former airport of the city was the Santiago Municipal Airport, a regional airport that closed in
March 2002. It served destinations such as San Juan, Port-au-Prince, Miami and Santo
Domingo with regular services.

People
Often compared to Santo Domingo, the city of Santiago, the second largest metropolis, is
comprised of natives that prefer a less chaotic and more purposeful lifestyle than its
counterpart. Home to over 750,000 people, the heart of this laid back city proves to be the
cultured downtown area. In addition, Santiago is where most of the country's presidents were
raised; giving the city well-deserved bragging rights.

Tourism
Travel guide and tourist information to visit Santiago de los Caballeros and
around: what to see, what to do, what to visit, which excursions... in Santiago.
The city of Santiago de los Caballeros is the capital of the province of
Santiago and is the second largest city of the Dominican Republic. It is
located in the northern region in the center of the Cibao Valley, 155kilometers
northwest of Santo Domingo.
The city was founded in 1508 during the first phase of Spanish colonization of
the New World, becoming the first Santiago of America.

It has been historically one of the most important cities of the Dominican
Republic, the scene of battles during the War of Restoration and be declared
the capital of the Government in 1865, when the Dominicans have recovered
their independence from Spain.
Rivers and lakes
The 8 longest rivers of the Dominican Republic are:[6]
1. Yaque del Norte. With 296 km, it is the longest river of the Dominican Republic. Its
sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the Atlantic Ocean. Itswatershed has
an area of 7,044 km.
2. Yuna. It is 209 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the east
into Saman Bay. Its watershed has an area of 5,498 km.
3. Yaque del Sur. It is 183 km long and its sources are in the Cordillera Central. It flows to
the south into the Caribbean Sea. Its watershed has an area of 4,972 km.
4. Ozama. It is 148 km long. Its sources are in Sierra de Yamas (a branch of the
Cordillera Central). It flows into the Caribbean Sea. Its watershed has an area of
2,685 km.
5. Cam. It is 137 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows into the
Yuna River. Its watershed has 2,655 km.
6. Nizao. It is 133 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the south
into the Caribbean Sea. Its watershed has an area of 974 km.
7. San Juan. It is 121 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the
south into the Yaque del Sur River. Its watershed has an area of 2,005 km.
8. Mao. It is 105 km long. Its sources are in the Cordillera Central and flows to the north
into the Yaque del Norte River. Its watershed has an area of 864 km.
The Artibonite River is the longest river of the island but only 68 km are in the Dominican
Republic.
The largest lake of the Hispaniola, and of the West Indies, is the Lake Enriquillo. It is located in
the Hoya de Enriquillo with an area of 265 km. There are three small islands within the lake. It
is around 40 meters below sea level and is a saline lake with a higher concentration of salt
than the sea water.

Others lakes are Rincn (fresh water, area of 28.2 km), Oviedo (brackish water, area of
28 km), Redonda, Limn.
Mountains
The Dominican Republic is a country with many mountains, and the highest peaks of the West
Indies are found here. The chains of mountains show a direction northwest-southeast, except
in the Southern peninsula (in Haiti) where they have a direction west-east. The mountains are
separated by valleys with the same general direction.
From north to south, the mountain ranges and valleys are:[5]

Cordillera Septentrional (in English, "Northern Range"). It runs parallel to the north
coast, with extensions to the northwest, the Tortuga Island, and to the southeast, the
Saman Peninsula (with its Sierra de Saman). Its highest mountain is Diego de Ocampo,
close to Santiago, with 1,249 m. There are several small plains between this range and the
Atlantic Ocean. Rivers are short and most of them flow to the north.

The Cibao Valley (Dominican Republic) is the largest and the most important valley of
the country. This long valley stretches from North Haiti, where is called Plaine du Nord, to
Saman Bay. It can be divided in two sections: the northwestern part is the Yaque del
Norte Valley(or Lnea Noroeste) and the eastern Yuna Valley (or Vega Real,
English: Royal Valley). The Vega Real is the most fertile area in the country, with a high
population density.

Attractions in Santiago

The picture on the left is a monument built to commemorate the restoration of the
Republic's Independence, it was built in the 40's with 67 meters of altitude, in white marble,
it has small museums in it's interior, several murals and frescos decrypting the life of taino
indians and other equally impressive works, it's a symbol of the city of Santiago, once
named "Monumento to the peace of Trujillo" while the Dominican Dictator was in power, .
It's a site that serves as a meeting destination for all Santiagueros, these are the residents
of the City of Santiago, if you ever go there you'll notice something very much unique to
this city, the absolute absence of any tourism aimed sites, we have none there, it's by far a
tourism free city(if there ever was one).

Santiago is known as the oldest and most traditional families in the Dom. Rep. the most
prestigious and well to do merchants and industrial owners and executives make it their
home, many of the country leaders come from including presidents come from this region.

A primary downtown attraction and a place were boredom is not in the vocabulary is
Calle del Sol. Known as the city's main shopping district, the street is stocked with shops,
hotels, restaurants, bars and an array of vendors.
Located north of Calle del Sol is Parque Duarte. A popular area to kick up those traveling
feet and get acquainted with the natives, this shady park is a great representation of
Santiago's laid back lifestyle.
Flora and fauna / Gastronomy / Population del transporte