Higuey or in full Salvaleon de Higüey, is the capital city of the eastern La Altagracia Province, in the Dominican Republic. The Yuma River flows through the urban areas of Higüey.
Higuey is also the denomination of a former native chiefdom in the east of the island at the arrival of Christopher Columbus. It is one of the economically fastest-developing cities in the country, and dubbed the Capital of Dominican Tourism and sometimes the Capital of Stock breeding. Higüey's population topped 150,000 inhabitants as of 2006. The city thrives chiefly on tourism, with many of its inhabitants employed in the hotel complexes of Punta Cana a few kilometers away, or in the commerce of tourist products.
The most important monuments in the city are the Basilica of La Altagracia and the Church of San Dionisio (Saint Denis), from the 16th century.
According to some authors, GUEY or HUIOU is the sun in the Arawakan language of the Taínos, the island's native peoples. Among several Mesoamerican tribes the term also means sun, light, day. It could be a coincidence, but it is noted that Higüey is found in the oriental extreme of the island, that is to say, in the region that first receives the rays of the sun. Thus the name Higüey might signify land where the sun is born
