Pinar del Río Province

      

   PINAR DEL RÍO AREA
   PINAR DEL RÍO
   SOUTHWEST OF PINAR DEL RÍO
   PENÍNSULA DE GUANAHACABIBES
   PARQUE NACIONAL PENÍNSULA DE GUANAHACABIBES
   VALLE DE VIÑALES
   VIÑALES
   PARQUE NACIONAL VIÑALES
   WEST OF VIÑALES
   CAYO JUTÍAS
   NORTHERN PINAR DEL RÍO
   PUERTO ESPERANZA
   CAYO LEVISA
   BAHÍA HONDA & AROUND
   SAN DIEGO DE LOS BAÑOS & AROUND
   SOROA
   LAS TERRAZAS



Verde, que te quiero verde (green, how I love you green), wrote Lorca in one of his most immortal lines. It’s a stanza that springs to mind regularly as you track west through verdant Pinar del Río province where an all-pervading emerald sheen seems to envelop everything you see.


Known popularly as the ‘garden of Cuba’ for its distinct agricultural heritage, bucolic Pinar protects more land than any other province with two Unesco Biosphere Reserves (the Sierra del Rosario and the Península de Guanahacabibes), a Unesco World Heritage Site (the Valle de Viñales) and a patchwork of carefully managed flora and fauna zones. Long celebrated for the fertility of its rust red soil, this is the best place in the world to grow tobacco, a blessing that has created one of Cuba’s most quintessential landscapes, a colorful cornucopia of oxen-furrowed fields and rustic tobacco-drying houses that is guarded jealously by an omnipresent army of sombrero-wearing guajiros.


One of Cuba’s classic regional stereotypes, the guajiro is Pinar del Río personified, an amiable rural hick with a level of generosity that verges on the gullible. Venerable Viñales is the guajiro’s spiritual home, a serene settlement ringed by craggy mogotes (flat-topped hills) which, despite its popularity on the tourist circuit, remains one of Cuba’s most friendly and hassle-free towns.


Beyond the countryside, Pinar’s beaches are renowned for their quality rather than quantity. Cayo Jutías and Cayo Levisa stand out as highlights, two sandy carpets on the north coast that enjoy minuscule foot traffic compared with the big resorts further east. In-the-know divers head west to Playa María la Gorda on the island’s remote tip, while eco-warriors hone in on salubrious Las Terrazas, a groundbreaking ‘model village’ that took root when environmentalism was still a hobby for hippies.

History

The pre-Columbian history of western Cuba is synonymous with the Guanahatabeys, a group of nomadic Indians who lived in caves and procured most of their livelihood from the sea. Less advanced than the other indigenous natives who lived on the island, the Guanahatabeys were a peaceful and passive race whose culture had developed, more or less independently of the Taíno and Siboney cultures further east. Extinct by the time the Spanish arrived in 1492, little firsthand documentation remains on how the archaic Guanahatabey society was structured and organized although some archaeological sites have been found on the Guanahacabibes Peninsula.

Post-Columbus the Spanish left rugged Pinar del Río largely to its own devices, and the area developed lackadaisically only after Canary Islanders began arriving in the late 1500s. Originally called Nueva Filipina (New Philippines), the region was renamed Pinar del Río in 1778, supposedly for the pine forests crowded along the Río Guamá. Tobacco plantations and cattle ranches soon sprang up in the rich soil and open grazing land that typifies Pinar, and the fastidious farmers who made a living from the delicate and well-tended crops were colloquially christened guajiros, a native word that means – literally – ‘one of us.’ By the mid-1800s, Europeans were hooked on the fragrant weed and the region flourished. Sea routes opened up and the railway was extended to facilitate the shipping of the perishable product.

These days, tobacco, along with tourism, keep Pinar del Río both profitable and popular. Quiet and laid-back compared with the car-crazy capital 160km or so to the east, the relaxed Pinareños – despite the countless guajiro jokes – are some of the friendliest, most ingratiating people you’ll meet on the island.

In 2008, Pinar was slammed by two catastrophic hurricanes within a fortnight causing serious damage to local infrastructure (see boxed text,).

Parks & Reserves

Pinar del Río boasts more protected land than any other Cuban province, including one Unesco World Heritage Site (the Valle de Viñales) as well as two Unesco Biosphere Reserves – the Sierra del Rosario and the Guanahacabibes. Two of these areas – Guanahacabibes and Viñales – are also national parks. The Área Protegida Mil Cumbres is another expansive reserve that encompasses the mountainous terrain in and around the Hacienda Cortina in the Cordillera de Guaniguanico.

Getting There & Around

Both Pinar del Río and Viñales are well served by twice-daily Víazul buses. Las Terrazas (but not Soroa) was also recently added to this route. An alternative is to hop on one of the many tour buses that head out from Havana to Viñales on a daily basis. The prices often work out the same as Víazul’s. Beyond the main hubs, transport can be scant. The train line runs out through the city of Pinar del Río as far as Guane in the west. Beyond this you’re off the grid. There are sporadic transfer buses from Havana and Viñales to María la Gorda; if you want more flexibility, hire a taxi or car.

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PINAR DEL RÍO AREA

PINAR DEL RÍO

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Pinar del Río is Cuba’s tobacco central – it fairly smells of the stuff. Plunked in the middle of the Vuelta Abajo, the capital of Cuba’s second-largest province is a sleepy, unprepossessing settlement that feels more like an oversized town than a frenetic city. Not surprisingly, the place boasts its own tobacco factory (open for visits) plus a friendly population of leather-faced cigar-smoking locals. Unfortunately, this affable group is matched by a noticeably less affable contingent of jineteros (tourist touts) who have, for some reason, made otherwise tranquil Pinar their unofficial base of operations. Get used to saying no me moleste, por favor and watch out for the more aggressive touts on bicycles.

Founded in 1774 by a Spanish army captain, Pinar del Río was one of the last provincial capitals on the island to take root. Neglected by successive central governments who preferred sugarcane to tobacco, the city became an urban backwater and the butt of countless jokes about the supposedly easy-to-fool guajiros who were popularly portrayed as simple-minded rural hicks. In 1896 General Antonio Maceo brought the Second War of Independence to Pinar del Río in an ambitious attempt to split the island in two and the town rallied to his wake-up call.

Following the 1959 Revolution Pinar del Río’s economic fortunes improved exponentially; this was facilitated further by the building of the Autopista Nacional from Havana and the development of tourism in the 1980s.

Orientation

The main street in Pinar del Río is Martí; there are many facilities on Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo, which run parallel to Martí just to the south. A major cross street is Isabel Rubio, which becomes the Carretera Central north of the city toward Havana and on the road to San Juan y Martínez to the southwest.

To avoid going the wrong way when you’re looking for addresses, it’s important to know that the street numbering begins at two base streets: Gerardo Medina divides the numbering of east–west streets while Martí marks the division between the north–south streets.

Information

BOOKSTORES

INTERNET ACCESS & TELEPHONE

MEDIA

Guerrillero is published on Friday. Radio Guamá airs on 1080AM or 90.2FM.

MEDICAL SERVICES

MONEY

POST

TRAVEL AGENCIES

Dangers & Annoyances

For a relatively untouristed city Pinar del Río has its fair share of unsolicited touts or jineteros. The majority are young men who hang around on Calle Martí offering everything from paladar meals to ‘guided tours’ of tobacco plantations. Most will take your first or second ‘no’ answer as a sign to back off. However, the bolder ones have been known to mount bicycles and accost tourist cars (identifiable by their purple/brown number plates) when they stop at red traffic lights. Although they’re generally nonaggressive, it’s best to be firmly polite from the outset and not invite further attention.

Sights

The most interesting sight, at least from the outside, is the Museo de Ciencias Naturales Sandalio de Noda ( 77-94-83; Martí Este No 202; admission CUC$1, plus camera CUC$1; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun). A wild, neo-Gothic-meets-Moorish mansion built by local doctor and world traveler Francisco Guasch, this museum (called Palacio de Guasch by locals) has everything from a concrete T-Rex to a stuffed baby giraffe.

Nearby is the slightly more riveting Museo Provincial de Historia ( 75-43-00; Martí Este No 58 btwn Colón & Isabel Rubio; admission CUC$1; 8:30am-6:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat), collecting the history of the province from pre-Columbian times to the present. Look for the Enrique Jorrín ephemera (Jorrín was the creator of the chachachá).

Four blocks south is the Fábrica de Bebidas Casa Garay (Isabel Rubio Sur No 189 btwn Ceferino Fernández & Frank País; admission CUC$1; 9am-3:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-12:30pm Sat). Erected in 1892, this factory uses a secret recipe to distill sweet and dry versions of the famous Guayabita del Pinar guava brandy. Whistle-stop 15-minute multilingual factory tours are topped off by a taste of the brew in the sampling room. There’s a shop adjacent.

You can observe people busily rolling cigars at the Fábrica de Tabacos Francisco Donatien (Maceo Oeste No 157; admission CUC$5; 9am-noon & 1-4pm Mon-Fri). Until 1961 this building was a jail, but now it’s tobacco central on the tourist circuit. Smaller than the Partagás factory in Havana, you get a more intimate insight here, though the foibles are the same – robotic guides, rushed tours and the nagging notion that it’s all a bit voyeuristic. There’s an excellent cigar shop opposite.

On Plaza de la Independencia near Alameda and around the corner from the cigar factory is the Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas Galería (Antonio Guiteras; admission free; 8am-9pm Mon-Sat), Pinar’s best art gallery, which houses many local works.

The wooden, 540-seat Teatro José Jacinto Milanés ( 75-38-71; Martí No 160 btwn Isabel Rubio & Colón) is a gorgeous venue dating from 1845 – making it one of Cuba’s oldest. It reopened in 2006 after a lengthy on-off renovation and, with its colorfully painted interiors and Spanish-style patio and cafe, is well worth a look.

Pinar del Río’s understated Catedral de San Rosendo (Maceo Este No 3) dates from 1883 and its pastel-yellow exterior seems to get a more regular paint job than the rest of the city’s buildings. As with most Cuban churches, the interior is often closed. Slip inside for a peek during the Sunday morning service.

Activities

Gym freaks might want to check out the Gimnasio Deportivo (Ceferino Fernández No 43 btwn Isabel Rubio & Gerardo Medina) where, with some fumbling Spanish and a bit of deft sign language, you can talk your way into tai chi, weightlifting or somersaulting over a horsebox. Alternatively there’s the Sala Polivalente 19 de Noviembre (Rafael Morales) for boxing, volleyball and basketball.

From October to April, exciting baseball games happen at the Estadio Capitán San Luis ( 75-38-95; admission 1 peso), on the north side of town. Pinar del Río is one of the country’s best teams, often challenging the Havana-Santiago monopoly. Pop by in the evening to see the players going through a training session.

Festivals & Events

Carnaval in early July features a procession of carrozas (carriages) through the streets with couples dancing between the floats. It’s a big drunken, dance party.

Sleeping

IN TOWN

Casas Particulares

Martí 51 – Laura González Valdés ( 75-22-64; Martí Este No 51 Altos btwn Colón & Isabel Rubio; r CUC$20-25; ) In a house stuffed with more books than Pinar’s main library you won’t be stuck for things to read. This lovely senior couple has created a veritable heritage home in this 1928 house with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and even a small museum with artifacts collected from around the world by the owner’s late father. There are two well-appointed rooms, one of which has a huge corner balcony overlooking the full sweep of Calle Martí.

Gladys Cruz Hernández ( 77-96-98; Av Comandante Pinares Sur No 15 btwn Martí & Máximo Gómez; r CUC$20; ) A splendid house with tasteful colonial furnishings situated near the train station; there are two rooms with baths, fridges, a TV and a big patio.

Casa Colonial – José Antonio Mesa ( 75-31-73; Gerardo Medina Norte No 67 btwn Adela Azcuy & Isidro de Armas; r CUC$20; ) Loads of space and an improvised Jacuzzi in the backyard. Pinch yourself, this is Pinar del Río! Not surprisingly José’s a Pinar stalwart and his two rooms and lovely communal living spaces are perennially popular.

Hotels

Hotel Pinar del Río (Islazul; 75-50-70; cnr Gonzales Alcorta & Autopista; s/d CUC$29/38; ) One of the first buildings you hit as you slip off the Autopista Nacional and, frankly, not the best intro to the city. Cold, uninviting and badly-lit, you’d think twice about staying here if it wasn’t one of only two hotels in town. There are 136 generic rooms and the usual noise-trap of a swimming pool (with or without water, depending on the season). The disco is popular with locals, but a nightmare for those trying to catch a bit of sleep.

Hotel Vueltabajo (Islazul; 75-93-81; cnr Martí & Rafael Morales; s/d CUC$45/62; ) A rare newcomer in Cuba’s stable of midrange hotels this fabulous hotel is as delightful as the Hotel Pinar del Río is drab. Stylishly colonial with high ceilings, and striped Parisian window awnings, the rooms here are so spacious you almost think they must have run out of furniture. Old-fashioned shutters give out onto the street and downstairs there’s an OK bar-restaurant; a reasonable breakfast is included in the price.

OUTSIDE TOWN

Villa Aguas Claras (Cubamar; 77-84-27; s/d incl breakfast CUC$22/36; ) The plushest of all Cuba’s 85-plus campismos lies 8km north of town on the Carretera a Viñales and has the facilities of a midrange hotel. The 50 bungalows with hot showers sleep two (10 have air-con). The rooms are adequate, the landscaping lush and the staff congenial, making this a better overall choice than Hotel Pinar del Río. The Villa Aguas Claras also offers horseback riding and day trips. Insect repellent is essential here. Aguas Claras is accessible from Pinar del Río by bus several times a day.

Eating

PALADARES

Paladar El Mesón (Martí Este No 205; noon-10pm Mon-Sat) This long-standing paladar opposite the Museo de Ciencias Naturales serves chicken, pork and fish in a pleasant colonial atmosphere. Main plates start at CUC$5 with side dishes extra; the service is efficient and friendly.

RESTAURANTS

Coppelia (Gerardo Medina Norte No 33; noon-midnight Tue-Sun) You’ll require the patience of a saint, but the two peso a scoop ice cream (when there is ice cream) is cheap and the atmosphere is usually cheerful.

Heladería (cnr Martí & Rafael Morales; 9am-9pm) Guaranteed to make you even more cheerful is this clean place where you can get a substantial tres gracias (three scoops) for the price of half a teaspoon’s worth of Haagen Daas.

El Rápido (Martí No 64 btwn Recreo & Colón; 24hr) Yes, Pinar del Río’s struggling restaurant scene might be scant enough to merit a visit to Cuba’s proverbial McDonald’s where the chickens are born fried and soggy pizzas materialize microwaved.

La Casona ( 77-82-63; cnr Martí & Colón; 11am-11pm) Hard to believe, but this is Pinar’s best government-run restaurant outside Rumayor. Encouragingly there are tablecloths and wine glasses, along with steak, chicken and pasta on the menu, but positioned unstrategically on the town’s busiest nexus the hissing hustlers are never far away. Get a seat away from the door.

Rumayor ( 76-30-51; Carretera a Viñales Km 1; noon-midnight) The best food in Pinar del Río is probably at Islazul’s Rumayor, located 1km north of the town center, off the Carretera a Viñales. Justly famous for its succulent pollo ahumado (smoked chicken), you’ll pay a little extra here (CUC$10 to CUC$15), but it is definitely worth it – as is the walk. This is Pinar’s premier cabaret spot in the evening (see below).

GROCERIES

Mercado agropecuario (Rafael Ferro; 8am-6pm Mon-Sat, 8am-1pm Sun) Pinar del Río’s colorful open-air market is almost on top of the tracks near the train station. You’ll see the odd tour group tramping through here getting a grip on Special Period economics.

La Mariposa organopónico (cnr Carretera Central & Av Aeropuerto) A conveniently located organic fruit and vegetable market; and a good place to get a close-up look at Cuban’s urban agriculture program.

Other self-catering options:

Entertainment

Casa de la Música (Gerardo Medina Norte No 21; admission CUC$1; concerts start at 9pm nightly) After warming up at Café Pinar, many revelers cross the street for more live music here.

Café Pinar ( 77-81-99; Gerardo Medina Norte No 34; admission CUC$1-4; 10am-2am) This place gets the local youth vote and is also the best place to meet other travelers. Situated on a lively stretch of Calle Gerardo Medina there are live bands at night on the open patio, and light menu items such as pasta, chicken and sandwiches to quench your appetite during the day.

Rumayor ( 76-30-51; Carretera a Viñales Km 1; noon-midnight) As well as serving good food (opposite), this Palmares place metamorphoses at night from Tuesday through Sunday as a kitschy cabaret with a floor show that starts at 11pm (CUC$5 cover). It’s not the Tropicana, but it ain’t half bad.

Disco Azul (cnr Gonzales Alcorta & Autopista; admission CUC$5; from 10pm Tue-Sun) A drab hotel, but a kicking disco – this glittery nightclub in Hotel Pinar del Río is the city’s most popular.

Teatro Lírico Ernesto Lecuona (Antonio Maceo Oeste No 163) Near the cigar factory, this theater is best for classical music and opera.

Patio Milanés (cnr Martí & Colón) With the Milanés back in business you’d be foolish to miss this theatrical patio alongside the real deal. Check the schedule posted outside for nightly cultural activities.

Cine Praga ( 75-32-71; Gerardo Medina Norte No 31) Next to Coppelia restaurant, Cine Praga shows mostly subtitled films; also look here for the video schedule at Uneac (Antonio Maceo No 178 between Rafael Ferro and Comandante Pinares; movies screened at 8:30pm and 10:15pm).

Shopping

ARTex ( 77-83-67; Martí Este No 36; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, 9am-noon Sun) It sells souvenirs, CDs and T-shirts.

La Casa del Ron (Antonio Maceo Oeste No 151; 9am-4:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat & Sun) Near the cigar factory, sells the same merchandise as ARTex, plus plenty of the strong stuff.

Casa del Habano ( 77-22-44; Antonio Maceo No 162) Right opposite the tobacco factory, this store is one of this popular government cigar chain’s better outlets with a patio bar, frigidly air-conditioned shop, smoking room and Infotur desk.

Getting There & Away

BUS

The city’s bus station (Adela Azcuy btwn Colón & Comandante Pinares) is conveniently located close to the center. Víazul leaves for Viñales twice daily at 12:05am and 4:30pm (CUC$6) and for Havana at 8:50am and 2:50pm (CUC$11). The afternoon Havana bus also stops in Las Terrazas. Tickets in Convertibles are purchased at the window upstairs (open 8am to 7pm).

Numerous tour buses and excursions leave daily for Havana – a trip that may include a couple of tourist stops. Ask at Havanatur ( 77-84-94; cnr Martí & Colón; 8am-noon & 1:30-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon & 1-4pm Sat) about these and other transfers to Cayo Levisa, Cayo Jutías and María la Gorda.

Private taxis hanging around outside the bus station will offer you prices all the way to Havana.

TRAIN

Before planning any train travel, check the blackboards at the station for cancelled, suspended and rescheduled services. From the train station ( 75-57-34; cnr Ferrocarril & Comandante Pinares Sur; ticket window 6:30am-noon & 1-6:30pm) there’s a painfully slow train to Havana (CUC$7, 5½ hours, 9:45am) every other day. You can buy your ticket for this train the day of departure; be at the station between 7am and 8pm. Local trains go southwest to Guane via Sábalo (CUC$2, two hours, 7:18am and 6:30pm). This is the closest you can get by train to the Península de Guanahacabibes.

Getting Around

Cubacar ( 75-9381) has a car-rental office at Hotel Vueltabajo and Havanautos ( 77-80-15) has one at Hotel Pinar del Río. Mopeds can be rented from La Casona.

Servicentro Oro Negro is two blocks north of the Hospital Provincial on the Carretera Central. The Servi-Cupet gas station is 1.5km further north on the Carretera Central toward Havana; another is on Rafael Morales Sur at the south entrance to town.

Horse carts (one peso) on Isabel Rubio near Adela Azcuy go to the Hospital Provincial and out onto the Carretera Central. Bici-taxis cost five pesos around town.

If you are up for cadging a ride to Viñales Cuban-style, trudge north to the junction of the Carretera a Viñales and the northern extent of Rafael Morales and get talking to the amarillo (traffic organizer).

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SOUTHWEST OF PINAR DEL RÍO

If Cuba is the world’s greatest tobacco producer and Pinar del Río its proverbial jewel box, then the verdant San Luis region southwest of the provincial capital is the diamond in the stash. Few deny that the pancake-flat farming terrain around the town of San Juan y Martínez churns out the crème de la crème of Cuba’s (and hence the world’s) best tobacco and the rural scenery is typically picturesque. Further on, there are a couple of little-visited southern beaches and the freshwater Embalse Laguna Grande, stocked with largemouth bass.

Sights

Well into his eighties now and threatening to out-live Fidel, Alejandro Robaina is the only surviving Cuban with a brand of cigars named after him. His famous vegas (fields), in the rich Vuelta Abajo region southwest of Pinar del Río, have been growing quality tobacco since 1845, but it wasn’t until 1997 that a new brand of cigars known as Vegas Robaina was first launched to wide international acclaim.

An enterprising man in more ways than one, Robaina has also unofficially opened up his tobacco farm to outside visitors, and with a little effort and some deft navigational skills, visitors can roll up at the farm and, for a small fee (CUC$5), get the lowdown on the tobacco-making process from delicate plant to aromatic wrapper.

To get to the Alejandro Robaina Tobacco Plantation ( 79-74-70) take the Carretera Central southwest out of Pinar del Río for 18km, turn left onto another straight road and then left again (after approximately 4km) onto the rougher track that leads to the farm. Tours are generally available from 10am to 5pm every day bar Sunday, but call ahead to check. The tobacco-growing season runs from October to February and this is obviously the best time to visit.

RANCHO LA GUABINA

A former Spanish farm spread over 1000 hectares of pasture, forest and wetlands, Rancho La Guabina ( 75-76-16; Carretera de Luis Lazo Km 9.5) is a jack of all trades and a master of at least one. You can partake in horseback riding here, go boating on a lake, enjoy a scrumptious Cuban barbecue, or even see a cockfight. The highlight for most, though, is the fantastic horse shows. The Rancho is a long-standing horse-breeding center that raises fine Pinto Cubano and Apaloosa horses, and mini-rodeo-style shows run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to noon and from 4pm to 6pm. Agencies in Viñales and Pinar del Río run excursions here starting at CUC$29, or you can arrive on your own. It’s a great place to enjoy the peaceful guajiro life. Limited accommodation is available (see opposite).

Sleeping & Eating

Villa Laguna Grande (Islazul; 84-34-53; Carretera a Ciudad Bolívar; s/d CUC$23/29) Something of an anomaly, this rough-around-the-edges fishing resort, 29km southwest of Guane and 18km off the highway to María la Gorda, is Islazul’s most isolated outpost. The 12 rather scruffy thatched cabins sit in woodland directly below the Embalse Laguna Grande, a reservoir stocked with bass where locals come to fish. It’s OK for a pit stop, but if it’s freshwater fishing you’re after, better options are in Embalse Zaza near Sancti Spíritus.

Rancho La Guabina ( 75-76-16; Carretera de Luis Lazo Km 9.5; r CUC$65; ) Just outside Pinar del Río, this expansive farm (see opposite) offers eight rooms, five in a cottage-style house and three in separate cabins. It’s a charming and unhurried place with excellent food and friendly staff.

There are a couple of off-the-beaten-track beach resorts on the Bahía de Cortés halfway between Pinar del Río and María la Gorda, if you don’t mind going local. The Villa Boca de Galafre ( 829-8592; 3/6 beds CUC$15/20), 3km off the main highway, has 32 rock-bottom cabins on a scruffy beach. The train to Guane stops on the access road 2km from the resort, which is often closed in the winter. For a sandier stretch of beach, try Villa Playa Bailén ( 829-6145; bungalow CUC$15) 8km further on, where basic A-frame bungalows sleep four.

There are also some casas particulares (CUC$15 to CUC$20) available in Sandino, 6km southwest of the Laguna Grande turn-off and 89km from Pinar del Río. Try Motel Alexis ( 84-32-82; Zona L No 33; r CUC$15-20) or nearby Casa de Estrella; both are signposted just off the main highway.

Getting There & Away

Two trains a day travel between Pinar del Río and Guane stopping at San Luis, San Juan y Martínez, Sábalo and Isabel Rubio (two hours). Passenger trucks run periodically between Guane and Sandino, but southwest of there, public transport is sparse, bar the sporadic Havanatur transfer Click here. Be sure to fill your tank up at the Servi-Cupet gas station in Isabel Rubio if you intend to drive to Cabo de San Antonio, as this is the last gasp for gas.

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PENÍNSULA DE GUANAHACABIBES

As the island narrows at its western end, you fall upon the low-lying and ecologically rich Península de Guanahacabibes, one of Cuba’s most isolated enclaves that once provided shelter for its earliest inhabitants, the Guanahatabeys. A two-hour drive from Pinar del Río, this region lacks major tourist infrastructure meaning it feels a lot more isolated than it is. The Guanahacabibes is famous for its national park (also a Unesco Biosphere Reserve) and an international-standard diving center at María la Gorda.

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PARQUE NACIONAL PENÍNSULA DE GUANAHACABIBES

Flat and deceptively narrow, the elongated Península de Guanahacabibes begins at La Fe, 94km southwest of Pinar del Río. In 1987, 1015 sq km of this uninhabited sliver of idyllic coastline were declared a Biosphere Reserve by Unesco – one of only six in Cuba. The reasons for the protection measures were manifold. Firstly, the reserve’s submerged coastline features a wide variety of different landscapes including broad mangrove swamps, low scrub thicket vegetation and an uplifted shelf of alternating white sand and coral rock. Secondly, the area’s distinctive limestone karst formations are home to a plethora of unique flora and fauna including 172 species of bird, 700 species of plant, 18 types of mammal, 35 reptiles, 19 amphibians, 86 types of butterfly and 16 orchid species. Sea turtles, including loggerhead and green turtles, come ashore at night in summer to lay their eggs – the park is the only part of mainland Cuba where this happens. If you’re here between May and October, night tours can be arranged to watch the turtles nest. Another curiosity is the swarms of cangrejos colorados (red and yellow crabs) that crawl across the peninsula’s rough central road only to be unceremoniously crushed under the tires of passing cars. The stench of the smashed shells is memorable.

To date, Guanahacabibes’ value as an archaeological goldmine is still in the discovery stage. Suffice to say the area is thought to shelter at least 100 important archaeological sites relating to Cuba’s oldest and least-known indigenous inhabitants, the Guanahatabey.

In late 2008 Guanahacabibes was on the verge of opening a long-awaited new visitors center designed to exhibit the park’s environmental riches and educate people about its ongoing conservation efforts.

Orientation & Information

Although the park border straddles the tiny community of La Fe, the entry to the reserve proper is at La Bajada where you’ll find the Estación Ecológica Guanahacabibes. Just beyond the office the road splits in two with the left-hand branch going south to María la Gorda (14km along a deteriorating coastal road) and the right fork heading west toward the end of the peninsula.

It’s a 120km round-trip to Cuba’s westernmost point from here. The lonesome Cabo de San Antonio is populated by a solitary lighthouse, the Faro Roncali, inaugurated by the Spanish in 1849, and a Gaviota marina and villa (see opposite). Four kilometers to the northwest lays Playa Las Tumbas, an idyllic beach where visitors to the park are permitted to swim.

There’s no charge to visit Hotel María la Gorda and its adjoining 5km beach, both named after a voluptuous Venezuelan who was marooned here by pirates and turned to prostitution to survive. Divers are unanimous about the quality of the reefs here and it’s also one of Cuba’s prime yachting venues.

Activities

Península de Guanahacabibes is a paradise for eco-travelers, conservationists, divers and bird-watchers – or, at least, it ought to be. Feathered species on display here include parrots, tocororos, woodpeckers, owls, tody flycatchers, and zunzuncitos (bee hummingbirds) and, with no official settlements, the peninsula is one of Cuba’s most untouched. However, thanks to the rather draconian park rules (you can’t go anywhere without a guide), some travelers have complained that the experience is too limiting.

DIVING

Diving is María la Gorda’s raison d’être and the prime reason most people come here. Good visibility and sheltered offshore reefs are highlights, plus the proximity of the 50-plus dive sites to the shore. Couple this with the largest formation of black coral in the archipelago and you’ve got a recipe for arguably the best diving reefs outside the Isla de la Juventud.

The nerve center is the well-run Centro Internacional de Buceo ( 77-13-06) dive center based at the Marina Gaviota close to the eponymous hotel. A dive here costs a reasonable CUC$35 (night diving CUC$40), plus CUC$7.50 for equipment. The center offers a full CMAS (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques; World Underwater Activities Federation) scuba certification course (CUC$365; four days) and snorkelers can hop on the dive boat for CUC$12. The dive center also offers four hours of deep-sea fishing for CUC$200 for up to four people and line fishing/trolling at CUC$30 per person, four maximum.

Among the 50 identified dive sites in the vicinity, divers are shown El Valle de Coral Negro, a 100m-long black-coral wall, and El Salón de María, a cave 20m deep containing feather stars and Technicolor corals. The concentrations of migratory fish can be incredible. The furthest entry is only 30 minutes by boat from shore.

Another option is Cuba’s most westerly located boat dock, the Marina Gaviota Cabo de San Antonio ( 75-01-18) on Playa Las Tumbas at the end of the Guanahacabibes Peninsula. The marina has fuel, boat mooring, a small restaurant, shop and easy access to 27 diving sites. The Villa Cabo San Antonio is nearby.

EXCURSIONS

The Estación Ecológica Guanahacabibes ( 82-75-03-66; www.ecovida.pinar.cu; 7:30am-3:30pm), opposite the meteorological station at La Bajada, can arrange guides, specialized visits and a five-hour tour to the park’s (and Cuba’s) western tip at Cabo de San Antonio. The responsibility is yours to supply transport, sufficient gas, water, sunscreen, insect repellent and food, which makes the task for independent travelers a little more difficult. During most of the 120km round-trip you’ll have dark, rough diente de perro (dog’s teeth) rock on one side and the brilliant blue sea on the other. Iguanas will lumber for cover as you approach and you might see small deer, jutías (edible tree rats) and lots of birds. Beyond the lighthouse is deserted Playa Las Tumbas where you’ll be given 30 minutes for a swim. Any hire car can make this trip though a 4WD is preferable. The five-hour excursion costs CUC$10 per person, plus the CUC$70 or so you’ll need to hire a car (there’s a Vía rental place at Hotel María la Gorda). There’s a possibility of other excursions to local communities in the area and at least four new hikes in the works; call ahead to check developments.

HIKING

The hike to Cueva las Perlas (Pearl Cave; CUC$8, three hours, 3km) traverses deciduous woodland replete with a wide variety of birds, including tocororos, zunzuncitos and woodpeckers. After 1.5km you come to the cave itself, a multi-gallery cavern of which 300m is accessible to hikers. The Del Bosque al Mar trail (CUC$6, 1½ hours, 1.5km) leaves from near the eco-station, passes a lagoon where you can view the resident birdlife, and takes in some interesting flora including orchids. At 90 minutes it’s rather short for such an immense park, but the guides are highly trained and knowledgeable, and tours can be conducted in Spanish, English or Italian. There was a new trail called Guanahacabibes antes de Colón on the verge of opening as this book was being written. Ask about this and other new trails at the Estación Ecológica Guanahacabibes.

Sleeping & Eating

Hotel María la Gorda (Gaviota; 77-81-31, 77-30-67; s/d incl breakfast CUC$44/68; ) This is the most remote hotel on the main island of Cuba and the isolation has its advantages. But, while the adjoining palm-fringed beach is pretty, most people come here to dive; there’s a dive site with a vertical drop-off just 200m from the hotel. María la Gorda (literally ‘Maria the Fatso’) is on the Bahía de Corrientes, 150km southwest of Pinar del Río and 14km from the park office at La Bajada along a rough road. Room-wise you get a choice of three pink-concrete, motel-type buildings or 20 newer cabins set back from the beach. The latter are more comfortable and private. Not that luxury is an issue here. Far from being a posh resort, María la Gorda is a place where hammocks are strung between palm trees, cold beers are sipped at sunset and dive talk continues into the small hours.

Buffet meals cost CUC$15 for lunch or dinner; reports on the food vary. Water in the hotel shop is expensive, so bring your own or purify the tap water.

Villa Cabo San Antonio ( 75-01-18; Playa Las Tumbas; r CUC$75-120) A 16-villa complex on the almost-virgin Guanahacabibes Peninsula, situated 3km from the Roncali lighthouse and 4km from the new Gaviota Marina, this environment-friendly place has satellite TV, car rental, bike hire and a small cafe.

Restaurante La Bajada ( 8:30am-10:30pm) Just next to the meteorological station, this place has (you guessed it) fried chicken, and french fries and sandwiches – when it’s open.

Getting There & Away

Without a hire car or a prearranged transfer, getting to Cuba’s extreme west can be problematic.

A transfer bus operates between Viñales and María la Gorda, but only with a 10-passenger minimum. Current demand dictates that this bus runs once a week at best. It is scheduled to leave Viñales at 7am and arrive at the peninsula at 9:30am. The return leg leaves María la Gorda at 5pm and arrives in Viñales at 7pm. The cost for a single/
return ticket is CUC$15/25. You can inquire at Cubanacán ( 79-63-93) in Viñales or Havanatur ( 77-84-94) in Pinar del Río.

Via Gaviota ( 77-81-31) has an office at Hotel María la Gorda and offers a jeep taxi service with driver to Cabo de San Antonio at CUC$50 for up to four people. It also offers transfers to/from Pinar del Río at CUC$50 one-way for the whole car (or CUC$120 to/from Havana).

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VALLE DE VIÑALES

Embellished by soaring pine trees and scattered with bulbous limestone cliffs that teeter like giant haystacks above the peaceful and well-tended tobacco plantations, Parque Nacional Viñales is one of Cuba’s most magnificent natural settings. Wedged spectacularly into the Sierra de los Órganos mountain range, this 11km-by-5km valley was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1999 for its dramatic rocky outcrops (known as mogotes), coupled with the vernacular architecture of its traditional farms and villages.

Once upon a time the whole region was several hundred meters higher. Then, during the Cretaceous period 100 million years ago, a network of underground rivers ate away at the limestone bedrock, creating vast caverns. Eventually the roofs collapsed leaving only the eroded walls we see today. It is the finest example of a limestone karst valley in Cuba and contains the Caverna Santo Tomás, the island’s largest cave system.

Rock studies aside, Viñales also offers opportunities for fine hiking, history, rock climbing and horseback trekking. On the accommodation front it boasts four first-class hotels and some of the best casas particulares in Cuba. Despite drawing in day-trippers by the busload, the area’s well-protected and spread-out natural attractions have somehow managed to escape the frenzied tourist circus of other less well-managed resorts, while the atmosphere in and around the village remains refreshingly hassle-free.

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VIÑALES

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Ah…tranquil Viñales where rocking chairs creak on well-swept porches and sombrero-wearing guajiros saunter home on horseback after a tough day in the tobacco fields. Despite a double pummeling by hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008, this most unhurried and friendly of Cuban towns has lost none of its picturesque charm. Well established on the standard tourist circuit, travelers come here to relax, ruminate and hit the great outdoors in a settlement that has so far managed to avoid the annoying jinetero-fest so common elsewhere.

Information

INTERNET ACCESS & TELEPHONE

MEDICAL SERVICES

MONEY

POST

TRAVEL AGENCIES

Sights

Founded in 1875, Viñales is more about setting than sights with most of its activities of a lung-stretching outdoor nature. Nevertheless the town has some engaging architecture and a lively main square backed by the sturdy colonial Casa de la Cultura, one of the oldest structures in the valley. Next door is a tiny art gallery while to the right is an equally diminutive (and dilapidated) church. Positioned halfway down Cisneros, Viñales’ pine-lined main street, the Museo Municipal ( 79-33-95; Salvador Cisneros No 115; 8am-5pm) occupies the former home of independence heroine Adela Azcuy (1861–1914) and tracks the local history. Four different hikes leave from here daily.

Just left opposite the Servi-Cupet gas station as the road swings north out of town, you’ll spot an outlandish, vine-choked gate beckoning you in. This is the entrance to El Jardín de Caridad (donations accepted; 8am-5pm), a sprawling garden almost a century in the making. Cascades of orchids bloom alongside plastic doll heads, thickets of orange lilies grow in soft groves and turkeys run amok. Knock on the door of the Little Red Riding Hood cottage and one of the elderly owners will probably show you around.

To learn about the local tobacco-growing process, stop by at La Casa del Veguero ( 97-60-80; 10am-5pm) just outside Viñales on the road to Los Jazmines where you can see a fully operating secadero (drying house) in which tobacco leaves are cured from February to May. The staff gives brief explanations and you can buy loose cigars here at discount prices.

Activities

While most of the activities in Viñales are located outside town, there’s a handful – including some climbing routes – within easy walking distance.

Even if you’re staying in a casa, it’s worth strolling the 2km uphill to the astounding Hotel Ermita where you can swim in the gorgeous pool (CUC$7, including bar cover) or book a massage (CUC$20-35). Hotel Los Jazmines has an equally amazing pool (CUC$5) though the ubiquitous tour buses can sometimes kill the tranquility.

Casa owners in Viñales are particularly adept at being able to rustle up all number of activities more or less on demand. One particularly resourceful couple is Yoan & Yarelis Reyes ( 79-32-63; Rafael Trejo No 134) who not only rent out rooms in their engaging casa but also organize walks, cycling tours, massage, salsa lessons and visits to a nearby farm and tobacco plantation. The services are enhanced by the fact that Yarelis is a qualified national park biologist and Yoan’s father owns a Garden of Eden–like Finca, 1km out of town, nestled beneath the steep mogotes. For a small fee he’ll take you there (and onto the Cueva de la Vaca) to sample fruit, coffee and a dose of throat-warming rum. It’s sublime.

Tours

Cubanacán ( 79-63-93; Salvador Cisneros No 63C; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat) organizes perennially popular day trips to Cayo Levisa (CUC$29), Cayo Jutías (CUC$22), San Tomás Cave (CUC$10) and María la Gorda (CUC$32). There’s an organized valley bike tour for CUC$20 and horseback riding from CUC$5. Official park hikes leave from here daily (CUC$8).

Sleeping

There are some 250 houses renting rooms in Viñales, and most of them are pretty good. Shop around and you’ll always find space somewhere. The two hotels within walking distance of Viñales village are both spectacularly located gems.

CASAS PARTICULARES

Villa Nelson ( 79-32-68; Camilo Cienfuegos No 4; r CUC$15-20; ) Loquacious Nelson has been around for ages surviving Gustav, Ike, high taxes and more. He still offers a prized local cocktail known as Ochún (rum, honey and orange juice) in his homely backyard along with two recently renovated rooms with baths.

Villa Chicha (Camilo Cienfuegos No 22; r CUC$15-20) This is a basic but comfortable room in the home of gracious señora. Meals are shared with the Villa Blanca ( 69-69-44) next door, which rents a similarly-sized room.

‘Villa Los Reyes’ – Yoan & Yarelis Reyes ( 69-52-25; yarelis@pnvinales.co.cu; Rafael Trejo No 134; r CUC$20; ) A great house with all amenities; this young couple can organize everything from salsa dancing to Spanish lessons. Yarelis is a biologist at the national park and Yoan has Viñales running through his veins.

Oscar Jaime Rodríguez ( 79-33-81; Adela Azcuy No 43; r CUC$20; ) Oscar’s something of a local legend, not so much for his casa (though he rents two rooms), but for his role as the king of climbing in Viñales (and consequently Cuba). Not surprisingly, there’s plenty of room out back for nonguests to mix, mingle and plan sorties up the mogotes.

Ubaido Chirino Suárez ( 79-32-26; Adela Azcuy No 35; r CUC$20; ) After having chunks ripped out of her house by Hurricane Gustav, Ubaido was planning a 2009 relaunch. This place is a separate apartment with its own entry, terrace, lounge, rocking chairs, kitchen and two bedrooms.

Hostal Doña Hilda ( 79-60-53; Carretera Pinar del Río Km 25 No 4; r CUC$20-25; ) One of the first houses in town on the road from Pinar del Río, Hilda’s house is small, unpretentious, and classic Viñales – just like the perennially smiling hostess.

Villa Pitín & Juana ( 79-33-38; Carretera Pinar del Río Km 25 No 2; r CUC$25; ) Two rooms on separate floors and a fantastic family atmosphere make this a great place to stay. But the highlight is the food, cooked with true amor (love), and ranking among the best in Cuba.

Villa Liana & Lily ( 69-53-54; liana86@correodecuba.cu; Carretera Pinar del Río Km 25 No 7; r CUC$25; ) The same family as above and the same wonderful hospitality. Liana is new to the game and rents one room with private entry and cooks meals made with vegetables plucked straight from the garden out back.

HOTELS

La Ermita (Cubanacán; 79-60-71; s/d incl breakfast CUC$56/70; ) While Los Jazmines might edge the prize for best view, La Ermita takes top honors for architecture, interior furnishings and all-round services and quality. It’s also a lot less frenetic, thanks to the absence of any tour buses. Among a plethora of extracurricular attractions are an excellent pool, skillfully mixed cocktails, tennis courts, a shop, horseback riding and massage. Rooms with views are housed in handsome two-story colonial edifices and the restaurant is an ideal perch for breakfast. You can walk the 2km downhill to the village or the Viñales tour bus Click here stops outside.

Hotel Los Jazmines (Cubanacán; 79-62-05; s/d incl breakfast CUC$56/70; ) Inhale deeply and prepare yourself. The vista from this pastel-pink colonial-style hotel is one of the best and most quintessential in Cuba. Open the shutters of your classic valley-facing room and drink in the sight of magnificent mogotes, rust-red fields and palm frond–covered tobacco drying houses shimmering in the early morning mist. While no five-star palace, the Jazmines benefits from its unrivaled location, gloriously inviting swimming pool and a host of handy extras such as international clinic, massage room and small shop/market. The setting comes at a cost: bus tours stop off here every hour or two destroying a little of the ethereal ambience. The hotel is 4km south of Viñales on the road to Pinar del Río.

Eating & Drinking

Viñales home-cooking is some of the best in Cuba – eat at your casa particular! The following places are OK if you’re stuck for lunch.

El Estanco II ( 10am-11pm) A simple pizza and beer place 1km out of town on the road north, and a decent pit stop. A pizza costs a couple of Convertibles, a plate of spaghetti slightly more.

Restaurante Las Brisas ( 79-33-53; Salvador Cisneros No 96; 11am-2pm & 6-9pm) This place serves deep-fried chicken and congrí (rice) for peanuts, or you can pick up a lunchtime grilled cheese sandwich at either the Patio del Decimista or the Centro Cultural Polo Montañez (see below).

Restaurante La Casa de Don Tomás ( 79-63-00; Salvador Cisneros No 140; 10am-11pm) The oldest house in Viñales is also its best restaurant – by default (there’s no real opposition). The casa, with its terra-cotta roof and exuberant flowering vines, is suitably salubrious and the food’s OK if you stick to the house special, las delicias de Don Tomás, a rich mélange of rice, lobster, fish, pork, chicken and sausage with an egg on top (CUC$10). There’s an atmospheric deck out back.

Viñales’ mercado agropecuario (agricultural market) is about 100m from town at the west end of Salvador Cisneros down the road toward Dos Hermanas. Get your peso rum and Convertible bread here.

Entertainment

Centro Cultural Polo Montañez (cnr Salvador Cisneros & Joaquin Pérez; admission after 9pm CUC$2) Named for the late Pinar del Río resident turned guajiro hero, Polo Montañez, this open-to-the-elements patio off the main plaza is a bar-restaurant with a full-blown stage and lighting rig that comes alive after 9pm.

Patio del Decimista (Salvador Cisneros No 102; admission free; music at 9pm) Smaller but equally ebullient is this long-standing place that serves live music and cold beers.

Cine Viñales (cnr Ceferino Fernández & Rafael Trejo) The settlement’s only cinema is a block south of the main square.

Shopping

ARTex (Salvador Cisneros No 102) You can get postcards, T-shirts and CDs here. It’s attached to the Patio Decimista.

Estanco de Tabaco (Carretera de Puerto Esperanza Km 1; 9am-5pm) A good choice for cigar shopping, next to Estanco II.

Getting There & Around

BUS

The Víazul ticket office (Salvador Cisneros No 63A; 8am-noon & 1-3pm) is opposite the main square in the same building as Cubataxi (below). The daily Víazul bus for Havana via Pinar del Río departs at 8am and 2pm daily (CUC$12). At the time of writing only the second bus stopped in Las Terrazas.

There are also daily transfer buses to Havana (CUC$15), Soroa (CUC$12) and Las Terrazas (CUC$12); and a daily – except Tuesday – service to Cienfuegos (CUC$25) and Trinidad (CUC$40). The transfers to Cayo Levisa (CUC$29, two person minimum), Cayo Jutías (CUC$22, six minimum) and María la Gorda (CUC$32, six minimum) run if enough people book. Cayo Levisa departs most days while María la Gorda runs approximately once a week. Transfers can be booked through Havanatur or Cubanacán Click here.

CAR & MOPED

To reach Viñales from the south, you take the long and winding road from Pinar del Río; the roads from the north coast are not as sinuous, but are pretty drives. The wildly scenic mountain road from the Península de Guanahacabibes through Guane and Pons is one of Cuba’s most spectacular routes. Allow a lot of travel time.

Car hire can be arranged at Cubacar ( 79-60-90; Salvador Cisneros No 63C; 9am-7pm) in the Cubanacán office and Havanautos ( 76-63-30; Salvador Cisneros final) opposite the gas station.

Mopeds can be rented for CUC$24 a day at Restaurante La Casa de Don Tomás.

There’s a Servi-Cupet gas station at the northeast end of Viñales town.

TAXI

Cubataxi ( 79-31-95; Salvador Cisneros No 63A) shares an office with Víazul. Drivers hanging around outside will take you to Pinar del Río for approximately CUC$15, Palma Rubia (for the boat to Cayo Levisa) for CUC$28 or Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás for CUC$13.

VIñALES BUS TOUR

The Viñales Bus Tour is a hop-on/hop-off minibus that runs nine times a day between the valley’s spread-out sites. Starting and finishing in the village’s main park, the whole circuit takes an hour and five minutes with the first bus leaving at 9am and the last at 4:50pm (with a one-hour break for lunch). There are 18 stops along the route and all are clearly marked with route maps and timetables. All-day tickets cost CUC$5 and can be purchased on the bus.

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PARQUE NACIONAL VIÑALES

Parque Nacional Viñales’ extraordinary cultural landscape covers 150 sq km and supports a population of 25,000 people. A mosaic of communities grows coffee, tobacco, sugarcane, oranges, avocados and bananas on some of the oldest landscape in Cuba. The park is administered through the highly informative Parque Nacional Viñales visitors center (Carretera a Pinar del Río Km 2) on the hill just before you reach Hotel Los Jazmines. Inside, colorful displays (in Spanish and English) map out the park’s main features. Hiking, information and guides are also on hand.

Sights

Four kilometers west of Viñales village is the Mural de la Prehistoria (admission CUC$1). On a cliff at the foot of the 617m-high Sierra de Viñales, the highest portion of the Sierra de los Órganos, this 120m-long painting on the side of Mogote Dos Hermanas was designed in 1961 by Leovigildo González Morillo, a follower of Mexican artist Diego Rivera (the idea was hatched by Celia Sánchez, Alicia Alonso and Antonio Núñez Jiménez). It took 15 people five years to complete it. The huge snail, dinosaurs, sea monsters and humans on the cliff symbolize the theory of evolution and are either impressively psychedelic or monumentally horrific, depending on your point of view. You don’t really have to get up close to appreciate the mural, but the admission fee is waived if you take the delicious, if a little overpriced, CUC$15 lunch at the site restaurant (Click here). Horses are usually available here for a short ride around the park or a longer excursion through the valley.

A kilometer beyond the turn-off to Dos Hermanas, a dirt road leads toward the mountain community of Los Aquáticos. Los Aquáticos was founded in 1943 by followers of visionary Antoñica Izquierdo, who discovered the healing power of water when the campesinos of this area had no access to conventional medicine. They colonized the mountain slopes and several families still live there. Unfortunately, the last patriarch practicing the water cure died in 2002, taking the tradition with him, but you can still visit. Los Aquáticos is accessible only by horse or on foot. Ask at your casa for guide contacts; horses can be hired from farmers living near the trailhead (CUC$10 per person for a three-hour tour with a Spanish-speaking guide). From the main road it’s 1km inland to the trailhead (just across the stream) of La Ruta de las Aguas. After your visit, you can make this a loop by continuing on this road (fork left at the same stream, recrossing it a few hundred meters to the east) another 3km to Campismo Dos Hermanas and the cliff paintings; it’s a wonderfully scenic route (the complete Los Aquáticos–Dos Hermanas circuit totals 6km from the main highway).

North from the Cueva del Indio ( 79-62-80; admission CUC$5; 9am-5:30pm) is the prettiest part of Viñales, although the cave itself, 5.5km north of Viñales village, is a little over-populated with tourists. An ancient indigenous dwelling, it was rediscovered in 1920 and motor boats now ply the underground river through the electrically lit cave.

The Cueva de San Miguel is a smaller cave at the jaws of the Valle de San Vicente. You pay CUC$1 to enter a gaping cave that engulfs you for five minutes or so before dumping you a tad cynically in the El Palenque de los Cimarrones restaurant (Click here).

Activities

CYCLING

Despite the sometimes hilly terrain, Viñales is one of the best places in Cuba to cycle (note: there are no off-road routes). La Casa de Don Tomás usually rents bikes Click here. If they’re all out, inquire at your casa particular. Viñales residents have a habit of making marvelous two-wheeled cycling machines appear out of thin air.

HIKING

The Parque Nacional has three official hikes (four if you count the Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás) and approximately 10 more under ‘consideration.’ All of them can be arranged directly at the visitors center, the Museo Municipal, or any of the town’s tour agencies. The cost is CUC$6 to CUC$8 per person.

The Cocosolo Palmarito starts on a spur road just before La Ermita hotel and progresses for 8km past the Coco Solo and Palmarito mogotes and the Mural de la Prehistoria. There are good views here and plenty of opportunities to discover the local flora and fauna including a visit to a tobacco finca (farmhouse; ask about lunch with one of the families there). It returns you to the main road back to Viñales.

The Maravillas de Viñales trail is a 5km loop beginning 1km before El Moncada, 13km from the Dos Hermanas turn-off. This hike takes in endemic plants, orchids and the biggest ant cutter hive in Cuba (so they say).

The San Vicente/Ancón trail takes you on an 8km circuit around the more remote Valle Ancón where you can check out still functioning coffee communities in a valley surrounded by mogotes.

These are just the official hikes. There are many more unofficial treks available and asking around at your casa particular will elicit further suggestions. Try the Aquáticos walk with its incredible vistas, the Cueva de la Vaca, a cave that forms a tunnel through the mogotes and is easily accessible (1.5km) from Viñales village, and the Palmerito Valley, infamous among those in the know for its high-stakes cockfights.

SWIMMING

There is the possibility to swim in a natural pool at La Cueva de Palmerito in the Palmerito Valley. This place is hike-able from Viñales. Ask the locals for directions.

Tours

Cubanacán ( 79-63-93; Salvador Cisneros No 63C; 8:30am-7pm Mon-Sat) is conveniently located in the center of Viñales village opposite the main square and organizes excursions everywhere from Cayo Levisa to the Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás. The staff is helpful. Havanatur is next door.

Sleeping

Campismo Dos Hermanas (Cubamar; 79-32-23; s/d CUC$9.5/13; ) This place, trapped between the sheer-sided jaws of the Dos Hermanas (literally ‘two sisters’) mogotes and in view of the Mural de la Prehistoria, is (along with Aguas Claras) one of Cubamar’s best international campismos. The 54 two- and four-bed concrete cabins are frequented by campers, climbers and cyclists and the facilities easily rival those of a two-star hotel. Bonuses include a restaurant, pool and horseback riding, and a couple of trails start outside the gate. The only incongruity is the loud music that spoils the tranquil ambience of this beautiful valley. The campismo is a full Campertour facility.

Hostal Las Magnolias ( 79-62-80; Carretera a Esperanza Km 38; CUC$25; ) Under renovations at the time of writing, this small building with three rooms (restaurant attached) opposite the Cueva del Indio offers a cheap alternative to Hotel Rancho San Vicente.

Hotel Rancho San Vicente (Cubanacán; 79-62-01; Carretera a Esperanza Km 38.5; s/d CUC$35/55; ) After Viñales’ two spectacularly located hotels, you probably thought it couldn’t get any better, but Rancho San Vicente does a good job trying. Situated 7km north of the village, this highly attractive hotel nestled in a grove with two dozen or more wooden cabins is lush and – for once – the interior furnishings match the magnificent setting. There’s a restaurant, pool, massage facility and short bird-watching hike on-site.

Eating & Drinking

La Casa del Veguero ( 97-60-80; 10am-5pm) Just outside Viñales toward Pinar del Río, this ranchón (rural restaurant) serves mediocre à la carte items. It’s a stop on the Viñales bus tour and also popular on the tour bus circuit; there’s a secadero (drying house) adjacent.

Mural de la Prehistoria Restaurant ( 79-62-60; 8am-7pm) Steep but almost worth it, the Mural’s humungous CUC$15 set lunch – tasty pork roasted and smoked over natural charcoal – ought to keep you going until tomorrow’s breakfast.

El Palenque de los Cimarrones ( 79-62-90; noon-4pm) If you’re exploring the murky Cueva de San Miguel, you’ll be unsubtly ushered through this restaurant as you grope for the exit. It’s an odd combination of folklore show, eating joint and plantation slavery museum, but the young Cubans dressed as cimarrones (runaway slaves) don’t really stimulate the appetite.

El Ranchón ( 79-61-10; Carretera a Esperanza Km 38; 8am-5pm) Eat here! You won’t forget the experience. The set meal, which is (judging by the crowds) a proverbial rite of passage on the tour bus circuit, is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. You pay CUC$11 for a huge traditional spread of roast pork and all the trimmings, and it trumps almost anything else you’ll eat in Cuba.

Entertainment

Unesco World Heritage Sites aren’t renowned for their nightlife, hence Viñales’ nocturnal tranquility. Your one sporadic option is the Cueva San Miguel, where the bar in the entrance cave sometimes puts on a reasonable cabaret show.

Getting Around

Bike, car, moped or the Viñales Bus Tour ; take your pick.

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WEST OF VIÑALES

El Moncada, a pioneering postrevolutionary workers’ settlement 14km west of Dos Hermanas and 1.5km off the road to Minas de Matahambre, is also the site of the Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás (admission CUC$8; 8:30am-5pm), Cuba’s largest cave system and the second-largest on the American continent. There are over 46km of galleries on eight levels, with a 1km section accessible to visitors. There’s no artificial lighting, but headlamps are provided for the 90-minute guided tour. Highlights include bats, stalagmites and stalactites, underground pools, interesting rock formations and a replica of an ancient native Indian mural. Specialists should contact the Escuela de Espeleología ( 79-31-45) for more information. The visitors center contains a small museum (admission CUC$1; 10am-10pm) with ephemera relating to Cuban scientist Antonio Núñez Jiménez. Most people visit the cave on an organized trip from Viñales (Click here).

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CAYO JUTÍAS

Pinar del Río’s most discovered ‘undiscovered’ beach is the 3km-long blanket of sand that adorns the northern coast of Cayo Jutías, a tiny mangrove-covered key situated approximately 65km northwest of Viñales and attached to the mainland by a short pedraplén (causeway). Jutías – named for its indigenous tree rats – vies with Cayo Levisa to the east for the title of the province’s most picturesque beach and, while the latter might be prettier, the former has less crowds and more tranquility.

The serenity is thanks to the lack of any permanent accommodation (unlike Levisa). The only facilities on the island are the airy oceanside Restaurante Cayo Jutías ( 11am-5pm), specializing in local seafood, and a small beach hut that rents out kayaks for CUC$1 per hour and runs snorkeling trips to an offshore reef for CUC$12. Beyond the initial arc of sand the beach continues for 3km; you can hike barefoot through the mangroves. The Cayo’s access road starts about 4km west of Santa Lucía. Four kilometers further on you’ll come to a control post at the beginning of the causeway where you’ll need to pay a CUC$5 per person entry fee. Ten minutes later the Faro de Cayo Jutías appears, a metal lighthouse built by the US in 1902. The route ends at the white Jutías beach caressed by crystal-clear water, 12.5km from the coastal highway.

Tours from Viñales (basically just transport and a snack lunch) cost CUC$22 and will give you an adequate six hours’ beach time. Otherwise you will have to make your own transport arrangements. The fastest and by far the prettiest route is via El Moncada and Minas de Matahambre through rolling pine-clad hills.

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NORTHERN PINAR DEL RÍO

Considering its relative proximity to Havana, northern Pinar del Río province is a remote and largely unexplored area. Facilities are sparse and roads are rutted on the isolated Gulf of Mexico coast, though visitors who take the time to make the journey out have reported memorable DIY adventures and famously hospitable locals.

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PUERTO ESPERANZA

Puerto Esperanza (Port of Hope), 6km north of San Cayetano and 25km north of Viñales, is a sleepy fishing village visited by yachts sailing around the country. According to town lore, the giant mango trees lining the entry road were planted by slaves in the 1800s. A long pier pointing out into the bay is decent for a jump in the ocean. Otherwise the clocks haven’t worked here since…oh…1951.

Sights & Activities

Puerto Esperanza’s sights are not the domain of guidebook listings. Rather, this is the kind of low-key, put-down-the-Lonely-Planet sort of place where it’s more fun to unravel the social life on your own. Discover some weirdly transcendental Santería ritual or take a spontaneous tour around your neighbor’s tobacco plantation in search of pungent peso cigars.

Sleeping & Eating

Villa Leonila Blanco ( 79-36-48; Hermanos Caballeros No 41; r CUC$15; ) The town has six legal casas including this one. A supernice couple rent two big rooms with bath, garage and meals. They also have the option of an independent house out back with a bath.

Villa Dora González Fuentes ( 79-38-72; Pelayo Cuervo No 5; r CUC$15; ) This is enthusiastically recommended by readers. It has two rooms with bath and great food.

Getting There & Away

There’s a handy Servi-Cupet gas station at San Cayetano. The road to Santa Lucía and Cayo Jutías deteriorates to dirt outside of San Cayetano: expect a throbbing backside if you’re on a bike or moped.

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CAYO LEVISA

More frequented than Cayo Jutías but just as beautiful, Cayo Levisa sports a beach bungalow–style hotel, basic restaurant and a fully equipped diving center, yet it still manages to feel relatively isolated. Separation from the mainland obviously helps. Unlike other Cuban keys, there’s no causeway here and visitors must make the 35-minute journey by boat from Palma Rubia. Most of them agree the trip is worth it. Three kilometers of sugar-white sand and sapphire waters earmark Cayo Levisa as Pinar del Río’s best beach. American writer Ernest Hemingway first ‘discovered’ the area, part of the Archipiélago de los Colorados, in the early 1940s after he set up a fishing camp on Cayo Paraíso, a smaller coral island 10km to the east. These days Levisa attracts up to 100 visitors daily as well as the 50-plus hotel guests and, while you won’t feel like an errant Robinson Crusoe here, you should find time (and space) for plenty of R & R.

Sights & Activities

Larger and busier than Cayo Jutías, Levisa has a small marina offering scuba diving for CUC$35 per immersion, including gear and transport to the dive site. Snorkeling plus gear costs CUC$12 and a sunset cruise goes for the same price.

Sleeping & Eating

Hotel Cayo Levisa (Cubanacán; 52-35-54; s/d CUC$46/
67; ) With an idyllic tropical beach just outside your front door, you won’t really worry about the slightly outdated cabañas (cabins) and dull food choices here. Expanded to a 40-room capacity in 2006, the Levisa’s newer wooden cabins (all with bath) are an improvement on the old concrete blocks and the service has pulled its socks up too. Book ahead as this place is understandably popular.

Getting There & Away

The landing for Cayo Levisa is around 21km northeast of La Palma or 40km west of Bahía Honda. Take the turn-off to Mirian and proceed 4km through a large banana plantation to reach the coast-guard station at Palma Rubia, from which the boat to the island departs. The Cayo Levisa boat leaves at 10am and returns at 5pm, and costs CUC$25 per person round-trip (CUC$10 one-way) including lunch. From the Cayo Levisa dock you cross the mangroves on a wooden walkway to the resort and gorgeous beach along the island’s north side. If you are without a car, the easiest way to get here is via a day excursion from Viñales, good value at CUC$29 including the boat.

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BAHÍA HONDA & AROUND

The wild, whirling road to Havana through northern Pinar del Río province is surprisingly low-key and bucolic. You’ll feel as if you’re 1000 miles from the busy capital here. Sugarcane gives way to rice paddies in the shaded river valleys as you breeze past a picturesque succession of thatched farmhouses, craning royal palms and machete-wielding guajiros. It makes a tough but highly rewarding cycling route.

Bahía Honda itself is a small bustling town with a pretty church. Close by the purple shadow of the Pan de Guajaibón (699m) marks the highest point for miles around. Despite your relative proximity to Havana you’ll feel strangely isolated here, particularly as the road deteriorates after the Palma Rubia turn-off.

Your nearest accommodation options are Cayo Levisa to the west and Soroa to the southeast.

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SAN DIEGO DE LOS BAÑOS & AROUND

San Diego de los Baños, 130km southwest of Havana, is a small nondescript town just north of the Carretera Central popularly considered to be Cuba’s best spa. In common with other Cuban spas, its medicinal waters were supposedly ‘discovered’ in the early colonial period when a sick slave stumbled upon a sulfurous spring, took a revitalizing bath and was miraculously cured. Thanks to its proximity to Havana, San Diego’s fame spread quickly and a permanent spa was established here in 1891. During the early 20th century American tourists flocked here in their thousands leading to the development of the current hotel and bathhouse facilities built in the early 1950s.

Sitting aside the Río San Diego, the village enjoys an attractive natural setting; with the Sierra de los Órganos to the west, and the higher Sierra del Rosario to the east. The Sierra de Güira on the Pinar del Río side of San Diego de los Baños is a nature reserve with pine, mahogany and cedar forests, and a favorite spot for bird-watchers.

Sights & Activities

BALNEARIO SAN DIEGO

The balneario ( 73-78-80; 8am-5pm) is a decrepit-looking bathing complex where thermal waters of 30°C to 40°C are used to treat all number of muscular and skin afflictions. The sulfurous waters of these mineral springs are potent and immersions of only 20 minutes per day are allowed (CUC$4/6 for collective/private pools). Mud from the Río San Diego is also used here for revitalizing mud baths (CUC$20). Other health services include massage (CUC$25) and a 15-day course of acupuncture; but don’t expect fluffy towels and complementary cups of coffee. The Balneario San Diego is more like a Moroccan hammam than a five-star hotel facility, though it’s perennially popular with Cubans undergoing courses of medical treatment, plus the odd curious tourist.

If you’re looking for cold water, you can swim at the Hotel Mirador pool (admission CUC$1; 9am-6pm). Two blocks over from the Hotel Mirador is the gracious old Hotel Saratoga (1924), complete with columns, mosaic tiling and elderly Cubans oiling the rocking chairs on the porch.

PARQUE LA GüIRA

Five kilometers west of San Diego de los Baños lies the surreal Parque La Güira, an abandoned – and vaguely spooky – country mansion surrounded by 219 sq km of protected parkland. Known formerly as the Hacienda Cortina, this rich man’s fantasy-made-reality was built in the style of a giant urban park during the 1920s and ’30s by wealthy lawyer José Manuel Cortina who plunked a stately home in its midst. Various remnants of the estate remain – most notably the grand crenellated entry gate, along with a gatehouse, the ruins of a Chinese pavilion and large clusters of bamboo – but there’s little structure to the surrealism. Wander round on your own and soak up the atmosphere or head for the unimpressive state-operated restaurant 1km beyond the gate for great views (the facilities were closed at time of writing). The complex behind is reserved for vacationing military personnel. You’ll need a car, bike or taxi to get here.

CABAñAS LOS PINOS

Twelve kilometers west of San Diego de los Baños via Parque La Güira is the Cabañas Los Pinos, an abandoned mountain retreat used by Castro’s secretary Celia Sánchez in the 1960s. The cabins are built like tree houses above the ground with Sánchez’ circular abode standing in the center of the eerie, shuttered complex. It’s another rather surreal curiosity that gets few visitors but is worth a spare hour or two of silent contemplation. Ask at Hotel Mirador in San Diego de los Baños for directions.

CUEVA DE LOS PORTALES

During the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara transferred the headquarters of the Western Army to this rather spectacular cave (admission CUC$1), 11km west of Parque La Güira and 16km north of Entronque de Herradura on the Carretera Central. The cave is set in a beautiful remote area among steep-sided vine-covered mogotes and was declared a national monument in the 1980s. A small outdoor museum contains a few of Che’s roughshod artifacts including his bed and the table where he played chess (while the rest of the world stood at the brink of nuclear Armageddon). Three other caves called El Espejo, El Salvador and Cueva Oscura are up on the hillside. This area is excellent for bird-watching. Trips can be arranged at the Hotel Mirador (below) in San Diego de los Baños or you can ask the staff at the cave entrance. There’s a campismo and small restaurant just outside the cave. Both were closed at the time of writing in the aftermath of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Sleeping

Hotel Mirador (Islazul; 77-83-38; s/d CUC$34/41; ) In contrast to the usual ugly two-star Islazul establishments, the Mirador is a low-key gem. Predating the Revolution by five years, the hotel was built in 1954 to accommodate spa-seekers headed for the adjacent Balneario San Diego. The rooms are comfortable with fridges (some have views) while downstairs there’s a pleasant swimming pool and an outdoor grill that does whole roast pig. Inquire with the helpful front desk staff about bird-watching trips to the Parque La Güira.

There are two or three decent casas particulares in San Diego de los Baños. Another highly recommended place is the house of Carlos Alberto González (Calle 21A No 3003 btwn 30 & 32; r CUC$20). If this is full, the owners can point you in the direction of a few others.

Eating

Hotel Mirador restaurants (Islazul; 77-83-38; meals under CUC$8) The open-air parrillada (grill restaurant) at the Hotel Mirador is rather good and it’ll barbecue whole roast pig on a spit if it can muster up enough people. There’s also a proper restaurant inside serving Cuban cuisine.

Getting Around

There’s a Servi-Cupet gas station at the entrance to San Diego de los Baños from Havana. The road across the mountains from Cabañas Los Pinos and Che Guevara’s cave is beautiful, but precariously narrow and full of potholes. That said; a brave driver or superfit (and careful) cyclist should make it.

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SOROA

Soroa, 95km west of Havana, is the closest mountain resort area to the capital and makes a popular day trip. It’s above Candelaria in the Sierra del Rosario, the easternmost and highest section of the Cordillera de Guaniguanico. Soroa is nicknamed the ‘rainbow of Cuba,’ and the region’s heavy rainfall (more than 1300mm annually) promotes the growth of tall trees and orchids. The area gets its name from Jean-Pierre Soroa, a Frenchman who owned a 19th-century coffee plantation in these hills. One of his descendants, Ignacio Soroa, created the park as a personal retreat in the 1920s, and only since the Revolution has this luxuriant region been developed for tourism. This is another great area to explore by bike.

Sights & Activities

All Soroa’s sights are conveniently near Hotel & Villas Soroa, where you can also organize horseback riding and a couple of otherwise impossible-to-find hikes into the surrounding forest. Next door to the hotel is Orquideario Soroa ( 57-25-58; admission CUC$3, plus camera CUC$2; 9am-4pm), a labor of love built by Spanish lawyer Tomás Felipe Camacho in the late 1940s in memory of his wife and daughter. Camacho traveled the world to amass his collection of 700 orchid species (the largest in Cuba), 6000 ornamentals and various growing houses and research facilities. Though he died in the 1960s, the Orquideario lives on with guided tours in Spanish or English; although some orchid enthusiasts have expressed disappointment at the quality and quantity of what’s on show. The Orquideario is connected to the University of Pinar del Río.

Down the road is the entrance to a park featuring the Salto del Arco Iris (admission CUC$3), a 22m waterfall on the Arroyo Manantiales. It’s at its most impressive in the May-to-October rainy season, otherwise it’s a trickle. You can swim at the foot of the falls. Entry is free for Hotel & Villas Soroa guests.

On the opposite side of the stream from the waterfall car park is the Baños Romanos (per hr CUC$5; 9am-4pm), a stone bathhouse with a pool of cold sulfurous water. Ask at Villas Soroa about the baths and massage treatments. It’s a half-hour steep scramble up the hill from the bathhouse to the Mirador, a rocky crag with a sweeping view of all Soroa.

Castillo de las Nubes is a romantic castle with a circular tower on a hilltop above the Orquideario. There are good views of the Valle de Soroa and the coastal plain from the ridge beyond the bar, but the interior – formerly a restaurant – is currently closed to visitors.

Sleeping & Eating

Several signposted houses on the road from Candelaria to Soroa, 3km below the Hotel & Villas Soroa, rent rooms.

Maité Delgado ( 522-70069; Carretera a Soroa Km 7; r CUC$20; ) This accommodation is within easy walking distance of all the Soroa sights and the family is pleasant. If it’s full, the owners will point you in the direction of a few others further down the road.

Hotel & Villas Soroa (Cubanacán; 52-35-34; s/d inc breakfast CUC$56/70; ) Nestled in a narrow valley amid stately trees and verdant hills, you can’t knock the setting of this place. But, if you’ve just drifted over from eco-friendly La Moka (Click here) you might wonder what the architect was thinking when he juxtaposed these scattered blocklike cabins against such a breathtaking natural backdrop. Isolated and tranquil, there are 80 rooms on this spacious complex, along with an inviting pool, small shop and an OK restaurant. And with the forest just shouting distance from your front door, you’re never far from an easy escape route.

Restaurante El Salto ( 9am-9pm) This simple place next to the Baños Romanos is your only eating option outside the Hotel.

Getting There & Away

The Havana–Viñales Víazul bus stops in Las Terrazas, but not Soroa; you can cover the last 16km in a taxi for approximately CUC$8.

A daily transfer bus connects Soroa with Viñales (CUC$12) and Havana (CUC$10). Inquire about times (which can be sporadic) at Hotel & Villas Soroa, or at Havanatur in Viñales Click here and Havana.

The only other access to Soroa and the surrounding area is with your own wheels: car, bicycle or moped. The Servi-Cupet gas station is on the Autopista at the turn-off to Candelaria, 8km below Villas Soroa.

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LAS TERRAZAS

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The pioneering eco-village of Las Terrazas in eastern Pinar del Río abutting the border of Havana province dates back to a reforestation project in 1968 (see boxed text, opposite). Today it’s a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, burgeoning activity center (with Cuba’s only canopy tour) and site of the earliest surviving coffee plantations in Cuba. Not surprisingly, it attracts day-trippers from Havana by the busload.

Overnighters can stay in the community’s sole hotel, the mold-breaking La Moka, an upmarket eco-resort built between 1992 and 1994 by workers drawn from Las Terrazas to attract foreign tourists. Close by, in the picturesque whitewashed village that overlooks a small lake, there’s a vibrant art community with open studios, woodwork and pottery workshops. But the region’s biggest attraction is its verdant natural surroundings; ideal for hiking, relaxing and bird-watching.

Las Terrazas is 20km northeast of Hotel & Villas Soroa and 13km west of the Havana–Pinar del Río Autopista at Cayajabos. There are toll gates at both entrances to the reserve (CUC$3 per person). The Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas ( 77-29-21) is close to the eastern entrance of the reserve, while the best place to get information is at the Oficinas del Complejo ( 57-85-55), adjacent to Rancho Curujey, or the Hotel Moka, both of which act as nexus points for the reserve.

Sights

The Las Terrazas area supported 54 coffee estates at the height of the Cuban coffee boom in the 1820s and ’30s. Today, coffee is barely grown at all, but you can discover the jungle-immersed ruins of at least half a dozen old cafetales (coffee farms) in the area.

About 1.5km up the hill from the gate on the Cayajabos side and accessible by road, are the restored ruins of the Cafetal Buenavista, Cuba’s oldest coffee plantation built in 1801 by French refugees from Haiti. The huge tajona (grindstone) out the back once extracted the coffee beans from their shells. Next the beans were sun-dried on huge platforms. Ruins of the quarters of some of the 126 slaves held here can be seen alongside the driers. The attic of the master’s house (now a restaurant) was used to store the beans until they could be carried down to the port of Mariel by mule. There are decent views from here.

Hacienda Unión, 3.5km west of the Hotel Moka access road, is another partially reconstructed coffee-estate ruin that features a country-style restaurant, a small flower garden known as the Jardín Unión and horseback riding (CUC$6 per hour).

At La Cañada del Infierno (Trail to Hell), midway between the Hotel Moka access road and the Soroa side entrance gate, a secondary road follows the Río Bayate down to the 19th-century San Pedro & Santa Catalina coffee-estate ruins. A kilometer off the main road, a bar overlooks a popular swimming spot.

Looming elsewhere in the fecund forest and only accessible by hiking trails are the Santa Serafina, the San Idelfonso and El Contento coffee-estate ruins.

The former lakeside house of local guajiro singer Polo Montañez is now a small museum called Peña de Polo Montañez containing various gold records and assorted memorabilia. It’s right in the village overlooking the lake.

Activities

HIKING

First the good news: the Sierra del Rosario boasts some of the best hikes in Cuba. Now the bad: they’re all guided, ie you can’t officially do any of them on your own (and nonexistent signposting deters all but the hardiest from trying). On the upside, most of the area’s guides are highly trained experts which means you’ll emerge from the experience both a fitter and wiser person. The cost of the hikes varies depending on the number of people and length of walk. Bank on anything between CUC$15 and CUC$25 per person. Book at the Oficinas del Complejo (opposite) or Hotel Moka.

The biosphere’s toughest hike is the 13km San Claudio trail, which traverses the hills to the northwest of the community culminating in the 20m-high San Claudio waterfall. It is sometimes offered as an overnighter with the opportunity to camp out in the forest (equipment provided).

El Contento is an 8km ramble through the reserve’s foothills between the Campismo El Taburete (for Cubans only) and the Baños del San Juan taking in two coffee-estate ruins; San Idelfonso and El Contento. El Taburete (6.5km) has the same start and finish point but follows a more direct route over the 452m Loma El Taburete where a poignant monument is dedicated to the 38 Cuban guerrillas who trained in these hills for Che Guevara’s ill-fated Bolivian adventure.

The Sendero La Serafina is a 4km loop starting and finishing near the Rancho Curujey and a well-known paradise for bird-watchers (there are more than 70 species on show). Sendero Las Delicias (3km) runs from Rancho Curujey to the Cafetal Buenavista and incorporates some fantastic views.

Finally, the Valle del Bayate trail (7km) kicks off near the San Pedro coffee-estate ruins and tracks downriver to the Santa Catalina cafetal. There’s sometimes a possibility of continuing all the way to Soroa; ask when booking.

SWIMMING

It’s hard to envisage more idyllic natural swimming pools than those at the Baños del San Juan (admission with/without lunch CUC$10/4), situated 3km to the south of Hotel Moka down an undulating paved road. The baños (baths) are surrounded by naturally terraced rocks where the clean, bracing waters cascade into a series of pools. Riverside, there are a handful of open-air eating places along with changing rooms, showers and some overnight cabins (below), though the place still manages to retain a sense of rustic isolation.

The Baños del Bayate (admission CUC$4) offers a similar idyll on the Río Bayate near the San Pedro coffee-estate ruins. Alternatively you can knock out a few lengths in the Hotel Moka swimming pool.

CYCLING

A 30km guided cycling tour takes in most of the area’s highlights for CUC$22 (CUC$20 with your own bike). Inquire at Hotel Moka.

CANOPY TOUR

Cuba’s only canopy tour (per person CUC$25) maintains three zip lines that catapult you over Las Terrazas village and the Lago del San Juan like an eagle in flight. The total ‘flying’ distance is 800m. Professional instructors maintain high safety standards.

Sleeping & Eating

Hotel Moka ( 77-86-00; s/d CUC$75/110; ) Cuba’s only real eco-hotel might not qualify for the four stars it advertises, but who’s arguing? With its trickling fountains, blooming flower garden and resident tree growing through the lobby, Moka would be a catch in any country. The 26 bright, spacious rooms have fridges, satellite TV and bathtubs with a stupendous view (there are blinds for the shy). Equipped with a bar, restaurant, shop, pool and tennis court, the hotel also acts as an information center for the reserve and can organize everything from hiking to fishing.

El Romero ( 57-87-00; 9am-10pm) The most interesting place to grab a bite, this full-blown eco-restaurant (unique in Cuba) specializes in vegetarian fare. El Romero uses home-grown organic vegetables and herbs, solar energy and keeps its own bees. You’ll think you’ve woken up in San Francisco when you browse a menu replete with hummus, bean pancake, pumpkin and onion soup, and extra virgin olive oil.

Patio de María ( 9am-11pm) A couple of doors down is the Patio de María, a small, brightly painted coffee bar, which might just qualify as the best brew in Cuba. The secret comes in the expert confection (María lives upstairs) and the fact that the beans are grown about 20m away from your cup in front of the airy terrace.

Casa del Campesino ( 57-87-00; 9am-9pm) Of the ranchón-style restaurants dotted around, this one adjacent to the Hacienda Unión is the best.

You’ll find other ranchóns at Cafetal Buenavista, Baños del Bayate and Baños de San Juan. The Rancho Curujey offers beer and snacks under a small thatched canopy overlooking a small lake.

Through the Moka you can also book five rustic cabins 3km away in Río San Juan (single/double CUC$15/25) or arrange tent camping (own tent/rented tent CUC$5/12). There are also three villas (single/double CUC$60/85) available for rent in the village.

Getting There & Away

At the time of writing two Víazul buses a day were stopping at the Rancho Curujey next door to Las Terrazas; one at around 11am from Havana to Pinar del Río and Viñales, the other at 4pm heading in the opposite direction. Daily transfer buses run between Viñales and Las Terrazas (CUC$12) and Las Terrazas and Havana (CUC$10). Inquire at Hotel Moka or contact Havanatur ( 79-62-62) in Viñales.

Getting Around

The 1950s-style Essto station, 1.5km west of the Hotel Moka access road, is one of Cuba’s quirkiest gas stations. Fill up here before heading east to Havana or west to Pinar del Río. Most excursions organize transport. Otherwise you’ll have to rely on hire car, taxi or your own two feet to get around.


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