The cable car starts south of the city centre and climbs 793 metres to the flat summit plateau of Pico Isabel de Torres in about ten minutes. The views on the way up are good but the summit is the point: on a clear day, the coast stretches in both directions, the city below looks like a grid of toy buildings, and the mountains behind the ridge roll south in waves of green towards the Cibao valley. The summit is often in cloud — mornings tend to be clearer than afternoons — so it's worth asking locals about the weather before committing to the trip.
The summit itself has a botanical garden with a collection of native Dominican plants, most labelled, spread across a well-maintained path that loops around the plateau. The Christ the Redeemer statue at the far end of the path is smaller than the Rio version but set in a more intimate position, at the edge of the ridge with the coast directly below. There's a small café and a souvenir stand. Budget two to three hours for the whole excursion, including the taxi ride to the lower station (the station is about 3 km south of the central park) and time at the summit. The cable car runs limited hours and closes in bad weather — check before going.