The cable car that has carried visitors up to the top of Loma Isabel de Torres since the 1970s is being rebuilt from the ground up. Dominican Republic's government has started a comprehensive modernisation of the Puerto Plata Cable Car, one of the country's most recognisable attractions, and the new system is due to start running in the first quarter of 2028.
The current setup carries roughly 18 to 20 people per cabin. The replacement is a modern double-cable aerial tramway with two panoramic cabins holding 55 passengers each — about 430 passengers per hour in each direction. That's a serious jump in capacity for a ride that often means long waits in high season.
This isn't a simple cabin swap. The project, led by the Unit for the Redevelopment of Neighbourhoods and Environments (URBE) together with the DOMA Consortium — Austrian cable-car manufacturer Doppelmayr and Dominican builder Grupo Malespín — covers new drive, control, monitoring and safety systems, plus upgraded electrical infrastructure and stations. Doppelmayr is one of the biggest names in ropeway engineering worldwide, so the technical pedigree is solid.
Crucially for nostalgia fans, the historic route itself stays the same: the ride will still climb from Puerto Plata city up to Loma Isabel de Torres, the forested mountain crowned with a replica of Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue and a botanical garden with sweeping views over the Atlantic coast. Minister of the Presidency José Ignacio Paliza, who led the launch, framed the project as preserving the cable car's heritage while making it safer, more accessible and higher-capacity.
For travellers, the timing matters. The cable car will be out of action during construction, so if you're heading to Puerto Plata in the next couple of years, plan around it — the city still has plenty going for it, from the Victorian architecture around Central Park to the beach at Playa Dorada and the forts along the Malecón. If a ride up Isabel de Torres is the main reason for your trip, you may want to wait until 2028, or consider hiking or driving up in the meantime.
When it reopens, expect shorter queues, better views through larger panoramic windows, and a smoother, safer ascent to one of the Caribbean's most distinctive viewpoints. It should also make the attraction more practical for cruise passengers on day calls in Puerto Plata, who historically had to gamble on whether the old system was running that day.
