Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Goa's Daugim Cross
The two 36-inch refracting lenses in the Lick Observatory telescope are among the largest ever built.
James Lick’s Grave
The Lagoda
Human figures at Miculla Petroglyphs
Miculla Petroglyphs
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Pigeons were included in a series of 1891 illustrations entitled “Household Pets.”
What Makes a Pest a Pest?
Burros Alfa and Beto, seen here with Luis Soriano in 2008, have been helping the teacher deliver books for more than 20 years.
How One Man and His ‘Biblioburro’ Spreads Literacy in Rural Colombia
Price Tower
What Happened to Price Tower, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Only Skyscraper?
Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon in its new location in 2020
The Jeremy Bentham Auto-Icon: Why This Legendary Philosopher Put His Own Body on Display

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Dominican Republic Puerto Plata Museo Del Ambar (Amber Museum)

Museo Del Ambar (Amber Museum)

Collection of fossils, plants, and ancient animals encased in amber.

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Added By
bebeto
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  Eduardo Robles Pacheco/Flickr
  Molly/Flickr
  Molly/Flickr
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The Dominican Republic has a special relationship with amber, producing and extraordinary range of colors. Christopher Columbus wrote about the local Taino Indians amber-adorned shoes, which he exchanged for a necklace made of Baltic amber.

Considered a semi-precious gem, amber is formed when tree sap fossilizes, sometimes catching plants, and animals in it. Amber mining has, over the centuries, been big business in the Dominican Republic.

The German Bentz brothers made their fortune at the turn of the last century in another popular export: sugar. They built the opulent Villa Bentz in 1919 at the peak of their success. In later years hard times would force them to sell the mansion, after which it began to fall into disrepair. It was not until Didi and Aldo Costa restored it for their museum that it reclaimed its former beauty.

In 1970, the Costa family moved to Puerto Plata and began the collection of amber that would eventually fill the museum. Curated with the assistance of the American Brandt Ghepart of the Museum of Natural History in Cleveland, the museum opened in March 1982.

On display are many rare finds, including the most famous display: a nearly 17-inch long ancient lizard trapped in amber.

Related Tags

Museums And Collections Geological Oddities Natural History Geology

Know Before You Go

About 100 meters from the Church of San Felipe on Calle Duarte

Community Contributors

Added By

bebeto

Edited By

icatsstaci, Allison

  • icatsstaci
  • Allison

Published

June 29, 2010

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.popreport.com/FeatureArticles/AmberMuseum/
  • http://dr1.com/articles/amber.shtml
Museo Del Ambar (Amber Museum)
Calle Duarte 61
Puerto Plata, 57000
Dominican Republic
19.796461, -70.69222
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Castillo Mundo King

Sosúa, Dominican Republic

miles away

La Isabela

La Isabela, Dominican Republic

miles away

El Carnaval de la Vega

La Vega, Dominican Republic

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

Caribbean

Places 19
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Castillo Mundo King

Sosúa, Dominican Republic

miles away

La Isabela

La Isabela, Dominican Republic

miles away

El Carnaval de la Vega

La Vega, Dominican Republic

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

Caribbean

Places 19
Stories 1

Related Places

  • Winona, Missouri

    Rocky Falls

    A 40-foot waterfall flows into this unique natural swimming hole.

  • Dinosaurs on the facade.

    Mexico City, Mexico

    Museo de Geología (Museum of the Institute of Geology)

    The museum houses "the most studied meteorite in history," among other geological oddities.

  • Temnodontosaurus platyodon skull at the Lyme Regis Museum.

    Lyme Regis, England

    Lyme Regis Museum

    A local museum honors the overlooked discoveries of Mary Anning, one of the first professional fossil hunters.

  • The colorful, glowing rocks of Sterling Hill

    Ogdensburg, New Jersey

    Fluorescent Rocks of Sterling Hill Mine

    Hundreds of glow-in-the-dark objects light up a museum in a historic zinc mine.

  • Tumuli near Byaduk

    Byaduk, Australia

    Tumuli Lava Blisters

    These naturally occurring but rare geological formations are each about the size of a small house.

  • Blood red “volcanic veins”

    Iceland

    Leiðarendi Lava Tube

    A winding, blood-red tunnel of hardened lava navigable by foot.

  • Geological Museum

    Copenhagen, Denmark

    Geological Museum

    Museum on earth sciences featuring a recreation of a famous curiosity cabinet.

  • Las Cruces, New Mexico

    Prehistoric Trackways National Monument

    Wee (and not so wee) footprints that insects and reptiles of the Paleozoic Era left behind.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.