Altos de Chavón, or Chávon Arriba, is a village that recreates a 16th century Mediterranean village, with a church, amphitheatre, park, houses, art gallery, restaurants, museum, shops, disco, arts school, and artist's studios. It all began in the '70s when Charles Bluhdorn, CEO of Golf & Western Corporation, had this idea of building a village on top of River Chavón as a birthday present for his daughter. The construction works begun in 1976 and they used materials such as coral block and terracotta. Nowadays this village hosts an arts school and many of its houses are inhabited by students (from all over the world).
This village has astonishing views over River Chavón and the Caribbean Sea; its surroundings are rather green, since it was built in the middle of vegetation. Altos de Chavón is located at about 100 km from Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic's capital).
Main places to visit: Amphitheatre, the river, Regional Museum of Archaeology, Art Gallery, S. Estanislao Church.
The amphitheatre is an amazing set and it frequently houses live concerts from renowned artists; actually, it was inaugurated in 1982 by Frank Sinatra and Carlos Santana.
The River is River Chávon and it is known worldwide because some scenes of movie Apocalipse Now were produced there, as well as Rambo.
From journal Relaxing in Punta Cana