Punta Cana hotels collection

Behind the beach at Punta Cana, the ground is a fossil coral limestone so sharp that it is called diente de perro here, dog's tooth. Inland there is nothing but pasture and cattle haciendas as far as Higüey, where the basilica of Altagracia raises a great concrete arch above the rooftops; inside, stained glass lays its colours on the raw surfaces. On the coast, coconut palms grow right down to the sand, and cana palms still supply the dried fronds used to thatch farmhouse roofs. The trade wind passes through them with a sound like paper.