Cavern
Cueva de Chicho
A daylight-lit cave chamber near Bayahibe with a clear fresh-water pool and a decorated flooded passage beyond. Taíno pottery has been recovered from the pool, and a local dive centre runs guided dives.
Cueva de Chicho is the most significant cavern in the Padre Nuestro complex according to the archaeologists who studied it. A steep slope descends about 25 m from the entrance into a chamber some 30 m wide and 20 m high, where daylight still reaches a fresh-water pool about 8 m wide and 20 m long.
The archaeological team recovered Taíno ceramic water bottles from the pool, one intact vessel lodged among rocks at 3 m, and noted petroglyphs in the cave. They also recorded reports, which they could not confirm, of a flooded passage leading on from the pool.
A Bayahibe dive centre now runs guided dives in the cave, describing a tunnel of stalactites and stalagmites in clear fresh water. The wider Padre Nuestro complex was reported in 2002 to supply water to local hotels.
The environment
Fresh, clear water at about 25 °C; a daylight chamber above the pool and a decorated flooded passage beyond; no measured flow.
Conditions
Water measured at a nearly constant 25 °C with no anoxic layer (2002).
Typical ranges from published sources, not current conditions.
For orientation, not navigation. Hollow dots are approximate.
Every fact on this page, with its source (8)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The entrance slope descends 25 m to a chamber 30 m wide and 20 m high with some daylight, above a pool 8 m wide, 20 m long and 8 m deep.2002 paper. | Verified | [1] |
| The dive centre gives the dive's maximum depth as 14 m and the length as 190 m.Beeker et al. (2002) measured the pool at 8 m and recorded unconfirmed reports of a passage to 10 m connecting to another cavern 100 m away; the dive centre's figures cover the flooded passage. | Sources conflict | [2] [1] |
| Thirty Taíno ceramic pieces were recovered, including an intact water bottle found at 3 m; petroglyphs are recorded in the cave. | Verified | [1] |
| The pool is fresh water at a nearly constant 25 °C with no anoxic layer.2002 measurement. | Verified | [1] |
| The dive centre says cave certification is not required; Advanced Open Water, or Open Water depending on logged dives, is accepted, with 2 to 4 divers per group.Provider claim, not a land-manager rule. | Reported | [2] |
| The dive centre charges USD 99 per diver, equipment extra.Checked 2026-10-14. | Reported | [2] |
| The dive centre describes the cave as inside the 'Del Este' national park, a 15-20 minute drive from Bayahibe, with park staff helping with equipment.Conflicts with the 2002 paper, which placed the complex just outside the park boundary. | Reported | [2] |
| Area coordinates are the GeoNames point for Padre Nuestro.Area-level; exact entrance not given. | Reported | [3] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction