Sancti Spíritus Province

       

   SANCTI SPÍRITUS
   TRINIDAD
   PLAYA ANCÓN & AROUND
   VALLE DE LOS INGENIOS
   TOPES DE COLLANTES
   NORTHERN SANCTI SPÍRITUS


Sancti Spíritus is the province of good fortune. Spend a day trekking through its rolling Jatibonico hills or crested Sierra del Escambray and you’ll quickly discover that there’s more of everything here, and all of it squeezed into an area half the size of Camagüey or Pinar del Río.


The cities are a perennial highlight. Sancti Spíritus is the only province that hosts two of Cuba’s seven founding settlements: in the east is the understated provincial capital, a soporific mix of weather-beaten buildings and bruised Ladas. South, and within sight of the coast, is ethereal Trinidad, Cuba’s – and Latin America’s – colonial jewel that is second only to Havana as a tourist magnet.


Unlike other colonial belles, Trinidad has beaches – nearby Ancón is a stunner, easily the best on Cuba’s southern coast – and mountains. Within mirror-glinting distance of the city’s colonial core lie the haunting Escambray, Cuba’s best hiking area with an actual network of decent trails, a couple of which can be done – officially – without a guide!


Sandwiched in between is the once-formidable Valle de los Ingenios, the industrial heartland upon which Trinidad’s fortunes were once laid out in sugar. But, while the valley’s economic riches depleted, its tourist value sky-rocketed; it’s now a Unesco World Heritage Site and best explored on a steam train.


The rest of the province hides a surprisingly varied cache of oft-overlooked curiosities. There’s a great fishing lake at Zaza, a seminal museum to Cuba’s guerrilla icon Camilo Cienfuegos in Yaguajay, and a barely visited Unesco Biosphere Reserve in the beautiful Bahía de Buenavista.

HIGHLIGHTS

Parks & Reserves

Approximately 300 sq km of Sancti Spíritus’ north coast is protected in the Unesco Buenavista Biosphere Reserve. Encased inside the reserve is the pristine Parque Nacional Caguanes and the whole area has been designated a Ramsar Convention Site. In the south of the province, the ecologically important Sierra del Escambray is incorporated in the Topes de Collantes Natural Park, a carefully managed recreation area run by government-owned tourist company Gaviota.

Getting There & Around

Thanks to its popularity on the tourist circuit, Trinidad maintains good bus connections with the rest of the island, with Víazul coaches pulling in and out of its well-organized terminal daily. Train travel is a different matter and, since 1992, the city has been cut off from the rest of the island’s rail network by a damaged bridge. Sancti Spíritus has better train connections, though on occasion you’ll have to change in Guayos, 15km to the north. The north of the province is more remote, though a good road runs from Remedios to Morón via Yaguajay. There are no Víazul buses on this route.

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SANCTI SPÍRITUS

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Poor Sancti Spíritus. In any other country this attractive colonial city would be a cultural tour de force. But cocooned inside illustrious Sancti Spíritus province and destined to always play second fiddle to Trinidad, it barely gets a look-in. Of course, for many visitors therein lies the attraction. Sancti Spíritus is Trinidad without the tourist hassle. You can get served in a restaurant here and search for a casa particular without an uninvited assemblage of pushy ‘guides’ telling you that the owner is deceased, on vacation, or living in Miami. You can also get decidedly comfortable sitting on a metal chair in Parque Serafín Sánchez watching the kids play stickball while plaintive boleros (romantic love songs) infiltrate streets that never quite earned a Unesco listing.

Founded in 1514 as one of Diego Velázquez’ seven original ‘villas,’ Sancti Spíritus was moved to its present site on the Río Yayabo in 1522. But the relocation didn’t stop audacious corsairs, who continued to loot the town until well into the 1660s.

While Trinidad gave the world Playa Ancón, filthy-rich sugar barons and jineteros (touts) on bicycles, Sancti Spíritus concocted the dapper guayabera shirt, the guayaba (guava) fruit, and a rather quaint humped-back bridge that wouldn’t look out of place in Yorkshire, England.

Orientation

The bus and train stations are on opposite sides of town. Of the two, the train station is more convenient. It’s an easy five-minute walk to the old Puente Yayabo and then another five minutes to Parque Serafín Sánchez in the heart of the town. The bus station is a couple of kilometers east of the center on Carretera Central (called Bartolomé Masó as it passes through Sancti Spíritus).

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Sights

Looking like something out of an English country village, the quadruple-arched Puente Yayabo is Sancti Spíritus’ signature sight. Built by the Spanish in 1815, it carries traffic across the Yayabo and is now a national monument. For the best view (and a mirror-like reflection) hit the outdoor terrace at the Quinta Santa Elena. The Teatro Principal, alongside the bridge, dates from 1876, and the sun-bleached cobbled streets that lead uphill toward the city center from here are some of the settlement’s oldest. The most quintessential is narrow Calle Llano, a sinuous side street where old ladies peddle live chickens door to door, and feisty neighbors gossip noisily in front of their sky-blue or lemon-yellow houses.

Turning left on Pancho Jiménez you come to the Museo de Arte Colonial ( 2-5455; Plácido Sur No 74; admission CUC$2; 9am-5pm Tue-Sat, 8am-noon Sun), with 19th-century furniture and decorations displayed in an imposing 17th-century building that once belonged to the sugar-rich Valle-Iznaga family. Further up the hill is the verging-on-decrepit Iglesia Parroquial Mayor del Espíritu Santo (Agramonte Oeste No 58; 9-11am & 2-5pm Tue-Sat). Originally constructed of wood in 1522 and rebuilt in stone in 1680, it’s said to be the oldest church in Cuba still standing on its original foundations (although the clock seems to have given out in recent years). While the interior isn’t particularly interesting, locals are proud of this place and the best time to peek is during Sunday morning Mass.

Formerly known as Plaza de Jesús, tiny Plaza Honorato was where the Spanish authorities once conducted grisly public hangings. Later on it hosted a produce market and scruffy peso stalls still line the small connecting lane to the east.

Independencia Sur, the city’s newly revived shopping mall, is traffic-free and lined with statues, sculptures and myriad curiosity shops. Check out the junk store/antiques den Casa de Comisiones and catch a glimpse of the opulent Colonia Española Building, once a whites-only gentlemen’s club. The Galería de Arte (Céspedes Sur No 26; admission free; 8am-noon & 2-5pm Tue-Sat, 8am-noon Sun), next to the agropecuario (vegetable market; enter via Independencia Sur), houses numerous works by local painter Oscar Fernández Morera (1890–1946).

While not Cuba’s shadiest or most atmospheric square, pretty Parque Serafín Sánchez is full of understated Sancti Spíritus elegance. Metal chairs laid out inside the pedestrianized central domain are usually commandeered by cigar-smoking grandpas and flirty young couples with their sights set on some ebullient local nightlife. There’s plenty to whet the appetite on the square’s south side where the impressive Casa de la Cultura often exports its music onto the street. Next door the columned Hellenic beauty that today serves as the Biblioteca Provincial Rubén Martínez Villena was built originally in 1929 by the Progress Society. Sport and coins make improbable bedfellows in the obligatory Museo Provincial (Máximo Gómez Norte No 3; admission CUC$1; 9am-6pm Mon-Thu, 9am-6pm & 8-10pm Sat, 8am-noon Sun) on Parque Serafín Sánchez, which might appeal to numismatically minded baseball fanatics, but few others. Nearby, the Museo de Ciencias Naturales ( 2-6365; Máximo Gómez Sur No 2; admission CUC$1; 8:30am-5pm Tue-Fri, 8-10pm Sat, 8:30am-noon Sun), off Parque Serafín Sánchez, has a stuffed crocodile that will scare your three-year-old and some shiny rock collections.

THE GUAYABERA

No Mexican beach wedding would be complete without one, but according to popular legend, the guayabera shirt originated not in Puerto Vallarta, but in Sancti Spíritus in the late 1800s where people who lived close to the Yayabo River were known colloquially as Yayaberos. Crafting comfortable work-shirts for their menfolk to wear out in the fields, the local women took to calling their deftly sewn homemade garments guayaberas when their husbands started coming home with their pockets full of guayabas (guavas).

With its distinctive alforzas (pleats) and rustic retro elegance, the guayabera’s popularity quickly spread and by the 1880s it was being worn at official events in towns and cities throughout the Sancti Spíritus area. By the early 20th century the guayabera had arrived in Havana and, in the mid-1940s, the trend went national when Cuban President Ramón Grau San Martín was seen sporting one.

These days, guayaberas are ubiquitous all over Latin America from backstreet bars in Mexico to smart Miami business meetings. Usually worn casually untucked at the waist, the shirt comes in a variety of pastel colors (though white is the standard) and is noted for its four large pockets and numerous decorative buttons.

A few blocks north of the park is the Museo Casa Natal de Serafín Sánchez (Céspedes Norte No 112; admission CUC$0.50; 8am-5pm). Serafín Sánchez was a local patriot who took part in both Wars of Independence and went down fighting in November 1896.

Replicating its equally diminutive namesake in Miramar, Havana, the Fundación de la Naturaleza y El Hombre ( 2-8342; Cruz Pérez No 1; admission CUC$1; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-noon Sat) on Parque Maceo chronicles the 17,422km canoe odyssey ‘from the Amazon to the Caribbean’ in 1987 led by Cuban writer and Renaissance man Antonio Nuñez Jiménez (1923–98). Some 432 explorers made the journey through 10 countries, from Ecuador to the Bahamas, in the twin dugout canoes Simón Bolívar and Hatuey. The latter measures over 13m and is the collection’s central, prized piece. Across from the Fundación is the handsome old Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad (Céspedes Norte No 207), the city’s second church whose internal arches are a favored nesting spot for Cuban sparrows.

Sleeping

IN TOWN

Casas Particulares

Hostal Los Pinos ( 32-93-14; Carretera Central Norte No 157 btwn Mirto Milián & Coronel Lagón; r CUC$20-25; ) Good for travelers in transit, this museum to art deco is on Carretera Central and has a garage, delicious dinners and two comfy rooms.

‘Los Richards’ – Ricardo Rodríguez ( 32-30-29; Independencia Norte No 28 Altos; r CUC$25; ) The small stairway off the main square belies the size of this place. The front room is enormous, dwarfing the two beds, rocking chairs, full bar area and fridge. There’s a smaller room out back.

Hostal Paraíso ( 5271-1257; Máximo Gómez Sur No 11 btwn Honorato & Cervantes; r CUC$25; ) Hang out amid the hanging plants with this new kid on the block. The house itself dates from 1838 and, although the rooms are a little dark, bathrooms are huge and the surrounding greenery spirit-lifting.

Hotels

Sancti Spíritus’ two city-center hotels are set in attractive restored colonial buildings. They form part of a complejo that charges the same prices, though the Rijo is recommended as the best nook.

Hostal del Rijo (Cubanacán; 32-85-88; Honorato No 12; r CUC$49; ) Even committed casa particular fans will have trouble resisting this meticulously restored 1818 mansion situated on quiet (until the Casa de la Trova opens) Plaza Honorato. Sixteen huge, plush rooms – many with plaza-facing balconies – are equipped with everything a romance-seeking Cuba-phile could wish for, including satellite TV, complementary shampoos, and chunky colonial furnishings. Downstairs in the elegant courtyard restaurant you’ll get served the kind of sumptuous, unhurried breakfast that’ll have you lingering until eleven. Oh, what the hell, might as well stay another night.

Hotel Plaza ( 32-71-02; Independencia Norte No 1; r CUC$49; ) The Rijo’s smaller and slightly less attractive younger sister, the Plaza is a block north on Parque Serafín Sánchez. Spreading 28 rooms over two stories, the hotel is embellished by hanging wicker chairs suspended from the rafters and European-style statues and tiles surrounding a cozy downstairs bar. There’s a mirador (lookout) on the roof and great service throughout. If the Rijo’s full, look no further.

NORTH OF TOWN

There are two very agreeable hotels along Carretera Central as you head north; either one makes a good choice if you don’t want to bother with the city center.

Villa Los Laureles (Islazul; 32-73-45; Carretera Central Km 383; s/d CUC$30/38; ) Not content to rest on them, Los Laureles lines its laurel trees up along a shady entrance drive that beckons visitors into a surprisingly classy Islazul out-of-towner. There’s no dodgy Soviet architectonics here. In fact, even those with in-the-clouds expectations might fill out a favorable comments card here. Supplementing big, bright rooms with fridges, satellite TV and patio/balcony, are an attractive pool, leafy flower-studded gardens and colorful in-house cabaret, the Tropi, with a nightly show at 9pm.

Villa Rancho Hatuey (Islazul; 32-83-15; Carretera Central Km 384; s/d CUC$36/53; ) Here’s the dilemma. Not 1km from Los Laureles’ row of gnarly laurel trees lies another veritable Islazul gem accessible from the southbound lane of Carretera Central. Probably the more peaceful of the two options, Rancho Hatuey spreads 76 rooms in two-story cabins across expansive landscaped grounds set back a good 500m from the road. Catching some rays around the swimming pool or grabbing a bite in the serviceable on-site restaurant you’ll see bus groups from Canada and Communist Party officials from Havana mingling in awkward juxtaposition.

EAST OF TOWN

Hotel Zaza (Islazul; 32-85-12; s/d incl breakfast CUC$30/40; ) It’s the fish – in the nearby lake, not in the restaurant – that dominate the menu here. Perched above expansive Embalse Zaza, this scruffy rural retreat looks more like a utilitarian apartment block transplanted from Moscow than a hotel – not that this discourages the armies of bass fishermen who descend on here in their droves (four-hour fishing trips on the lake go for CUC$30). For nonfishermen there’s a swimming pool, and friendly staff who can organize boat trips on the lake without the fishing rod (one-hour cruise CUC$20 for two people). To get here, go east 5km on Carretera Central toward Ciego de Ávila, then south 5km to the lake.

Eating

You’ll burn vital calories searching for a square meal in Sancti Spíritus. Outside of the casas particulares and duo of Cubanacán hotels, there are just two places to seriously test your taste buds, both of which are run by state-run restaurant group Palmares.

RESTAURANTS

Cremería El Kikiri (Independencia Norte & Laborni) What, no Coppelia? Kikiri is Sancti Spíritus’ longstanding provincial stand-in. Alternatively, hang around long enough in Parque Serafín Sánchez and a DIY ice-cream man will turn up with his ice-cream maker powered by a washing-machine motor.

Quinta Santa Elena ( 32-81-67; Padre Quintero No 60; dishes CUC$4-8; 10am-midnight) ‘Old clothes’ is a name that has never really done justice to Cuba’s famous shredded-beef dinner (ropa vieja). There’s certainly nothing ‘old’ or ‘clothes-like’ about the dish here, or the equally tasty shrimps in red sauce for that matter. While the Mesón (below) has the edge on food, the Santa Elena wins the Oscar for location, set on a charming riverside patio in front of the city’s famous packhorse bridge.

Mesón de la Plaza ( 32-85-46; Máximo Gómez Sur No 34; noon-2:30pm & 6-10pm) The best food in town and the best location after the Santa Elena. Encased in a 19th-century mansion that once belonged to a rich Spanish tycoon you can tuck in to classic Spanish staples such as potaje de garbanzos (chickpeas with pork) and paella here while appetizing music drifts in from the Casa de la Trova next door.

Restaurante Hostal del Rijo (Cubanacán; 32-85-88; Honorato No 12) You could come here on a first date, so alluring is the quiet colonial ambience in the hotel’s impressive central courtyard. Service is equally good and the food does its best in a city not renowned for its cuisine.

Las Arcadas ( 32-71-02; Independencia Norte No 1) Based at Hotel Plaza, Las Arcadas restaurant is another place where the refined colonial surroundings seem to add taste layers to the all-too-familiar comida criolla (Creole food) dishes. There’s good coffee, too.

GROCERIES

Entertainment

Sancti Spíritus has a wonderful evening ambience: cool, inclusive and unpretentious. You can sample it in any of the following places.

Casa de la Cultura ( 32-37-72; M Solano No 11) Numerous cultural events that at weekends spill out into the street and render the pavement impassable.

Uneac (Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba; National Union of Cuban Writers & Artists; 32-63-75; Independencia Sur No 10) There are friendly nods as you enter, handshakes offered by people you’ve never even met, while the starry-eyed crooner on stage blows kisses to his girlfriend(s) in the audience. Uneac concerts always feel more like family gatherings than organized cultural events and Sancti Spíritus’ is one of the nicest ‘families’ you’ll meet.

Casa del Joven Creador (Céspedes Norte No 118) Instead of hanging around on street corners peddling dodgy substances, Sancti Spíritus’ youth head to this happening cultural venue near the Museo Casa Natal de Serafín Sánchez for rock and rap concerts.

Casa de la Trova Miguel Companioni ( 32-68-02; Máximo Gómez Sur No 26) Kicking folk-music venue off Plaza Honorato on a par with Trinidad. But here the crowds are 90% local and 10% tourist.

Café ARTex (M Solano; admission CUC$1; 10pm-2am Tue-Sun) On an upper floor in Parque Serafín Sánchez, this place has more of a nightclub feel than the usual ARTex patio. There’s dancing, live music and karaoke nightly and a Sunday matinee at 2pm (admission CUC$3). Thursday is reggaetón (Cuban hip-hop) night and the cafe also hosts comedy. Good groups to look out for in Sancti Spíritus are the Septeto Espirituanao and the Septeto de Son del Yayabo.

Estadio José A Huelga (Circunvalación) From October to April, baseball games are held at this stadium, 1km north of the bus station.

Teatro Principal ( 232-5755; Av Jesús Menéndez No 102) This landmark architectural icon next to the Puente Yayabo has weekend matinees (at 10am) with kids’ theater.

The city’s two main cinemas are Cine Conrado Benítez ( 32-53-27; Máximo Gómez Norte No 13) and Cine Serafín Sánchez ( 32-38-39; M Solano No 7), both on Parque Serafín Sánchez.

Shopping

Anything you might need – from batteries to frying pans – is sold at street stalls along the pedestrian mall on Independencia Sur, which recently benefited from a handsome refurbishment.

Casa de Comisiones (Independencia Sur No 6; 9am-4pm) Serious retro freaks will love this combination of pawn shop and flea market, a riot of prerevolutionary cameras, vintage jewelry, and stuff your Grandma never got around to throwing out.

Galería La Arcada (Independencia Sur) This place has Cuban crafts and paintings.

VideCuba (Independencia Norte No 50; 9am-9pm) Replace your well-worn batteries next door to La Época grocery store.

Getting There & Away

BUS

The provincial bus station ( 2-4142; Carretera Central) is 2km east of town. Punctual and airconditioned Víazul ( 2-4142; www.viazul.com) buses serve numerous destinations.

The Santiago de Cuba departure also stops in Ciego de Ávila (CUC$6, 1¼ hours), Camagüey (CUC$10, three hours), Las Tunas (CUC$17, five hours 40 minutes) and Bayamo (CUC$21, seven hours). The Havana bus stops at Santa Clara (CUC$6, 1¼ hours) and Entronque de Jagüey (CUC$10, three hours).

TRAIN

There are two train stations serving Sancti Spíritus. For Havana (CUC$14, eight hours, 9pm alternate days), via Santa Clara (CUC$4, two hours), and to Cienfuegos (CUC$5.50, five hours, 4am Monday) use the main train station ( 32-47-90; Av Jesús Menéndez al final; ticket window 7am-2pm Mon-Sat), southwest of the Puente Yayabo, an easy 10-minute walk from the city center.

Points east are served out of Guayos, 15km north of Sancti Spíritus, including Holguín (CUC$14, 8½ hours, 9:30am), Santiago de Cuba (CUC$21, 10¼ hours, 8:45am) and Bayamo (CUC$13, 8¼ hours). If you’re on the Havana–Santiago de Cuba cross-country express and going to Sancti Spíritus or Trinidad, you have to get off at Guayos.

The ticket office at the Sancti Spíritus train station can sell you tickets for the trains from Guayos, but you must find your own way there (CUC$8 to CUC$10 in a taxi, but bargain hard).

TRUCKS & TAXIS

Trucks to Trinidad, Jatibonico and elsewhere depart from the bus station. A state taxi to Trinidad will cost you around CUC$35.

Getting Around

Horse carts on Carretera Central, opposite the bus station, run to Parque Serafín Sánchez when full (one peso). Bici-taxis gather at the corner of Laborni and Céspedes Norte. There is a Cubacar ( 32-85-33) booth on the northeast corner of Parque Serafín Sánchez; prices for daily car hire start at around CUC$70. The Servi-Cupet gas station (Carretera Central) is 1.5km north of Villa Los Laureles, on the Carretera Central toward Santa Clara. Parking in Parque Serafín Sánchez is relatively safe. Ask in hotels Rijo and Plaza and they will often find a man to stand guard overnight for CUC$1.

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TRINIDAD

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Trinidad is special; a perfectly preserved Spanish colonial settlement where the clocks stopped ticking in 1850 and – bar the odd gaggle of tourists – have yet to restart. Built on huge sugar fortunes amassed in the adjacent Valle de Ingenios during the early 19th century, the riches of the town’s pre–War of Independence heyday are still very much in evidence in illustrious colonial-style mansions bedecked with Italian frescoes, Wedgewood china, Spanish furniture and French chandeliers.

VíAZUL DEPARTURES

THE ROAD TO NOWHERE

To the experienced motorist, Cuba’s arterial Autopista is no ordinary freeway. Home to vintage Buicks, grazing cattle, onion sellers, hitchhikers, hovering vultures and the odd runaway steam train or two, the road – originally designated to stretch from Pinar del Río in the west to Guantánamo in the east – comes to an abrupt halt at Jatibonico in Sancti Spíritus province after 650km of badly paved purgatory.

Financed with Soviet money during the 1980s, construction of the island’s ambitiously planned Autopista Nacional barely got beyond the halfway stage thanks to the ignominious fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1991 and the resulting demise of Cuba’s once-illustrious superpower patron.

Indeed, so sudden was the Soviet pullout that, even today, lane markings remain unpainted, slip roads end in sugarcane fields and an odd assortment of half-finished bridges dangle like crumbling beacons above the surreally deserted eight-lane highway.

Declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1988, Trinidad’s secrets quickly became public property and it wasn’t long before busloads of visitors started arriving to sample the beauty of Cuba’s oldest and most enchanting ‘outdoor museum.’ Yet tourism has done little to deaden Trinidad’s gentle southern sheen. The town retains a quiet, almost soporific air in its rambling cobbled streets replete with leather-faced guajiros (country folk), snorting donkeys and melodic guitar-wielding troubadours.

But, ringed by sparkling natural attractions, Trinidad is more than just a potential PhD thesis for history buffs. Twelve kilometers to the south lies platinum-blond Ancón, the south coast’s best beach, while, looming 18km to the north, the purple-hued shadows of the Sierra del Escambray offer a lush adventure playground.

With its Unesco price tag and a steady stream of overseas visitors, Trinidad, not surprisingly, has an above-average quota of prowling jineteros, though mostly they’re more annoying than aggressive. If you get worn down by the constant unwanted attention, head for a friendly casa particular in the small town of La Boca, 5km to the south, and bike or hike back in for the day-time and evening attractions.

History

In 1514 pioneering conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded La Villa de la Santísima Trinidad on Cuba’s south coast, the island’s third settlement, after Baracoa and Bayamo. Legend has it that erstwhile ‘Apostle of the Indians’ Fray Bartolomé de las Casas held Trinidad’s first Mass under a Calabash tree in present-day Plazuela Real del Jigúe. In 1518 Velázquez’ former secretary, Hernán Cortés, passed through the town recruiting mercenaries for his all-conquering expedition to Mexico and the settlement was all but emptied of its original inhabitants. Over the ensuing 60 years it was left to a smattering of local Taíno Indians to keep the ailing economy alive through a mixture of farming, cattle-rearing and a little outside trade.

Reduced to a small rural backwater by the 17th century and cut off from the colonial authorities in Havana by dire communications, Trinidad became a haven for pirates and smugglers who controlled a lucrative contraband slave trade with British-controlled Jamaica.

Things began to change in the early 19th century when the town became the capital of the Departamento Central and hundreds of French refugees fleeing a slave rebellion in Haiti arrived, setting up more than 50 small sugar mills in the nearby Valle de los Ingenios. Sugar soon replaced leather and salted beef as the region’s most important product and by the mid-19th century the area around Trinidad was producing a third of Cuba’s sugar, generating enough wealth to finance the rich cluster of opulent buildings that characterize the town today.

The boom ended rather abruptly during the two Wars of Independence, when the surrounding sugar plantations were devastated by fire and fighting. Floundering in the years that followed, the industry never fully recovered. By the late 19th century the focus of the sugar trade had shifted to Cienfuegos and Matanzas provinces and Trinidad, cut off by the Sierra del Escambray from the other parts of Cuba, slipped into a somnolent and life-threatening economic coma. Trinidad’s tourist renaissance began in the 1950s when President Batista passed a preservation law that recognized the town’s historical value. In 1965 the town was declared a national monument and in 1988 it became a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Orientation

Trinidad turns on two hubs. The museums and churches of the casco histórico (old town) are focused around Plaza Mayor, while the everyday facilities serving the local people are on – or near – Parque Céspedes. The bus station is west of Plaza Mayor. Everything is walking distance.

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ASK A LOCAL

When you arrive in Trinidad by bus or car, you’ll most likely be besieged by touts offering you a private room. If you’ve already booked somewhere, they’ll tell you that your owner’s since moved, closed or even passed away. Don’t believe them. These people work for a commission (you’ll pay CUC$5 extra if you use their house) and they’ll say anything to get you to follow them.

Hector, Trinidad

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Dangers & Annoyances

Thefts, though still uncommon, are on the rise in Trinidad. Incidents usually occur late at night and the victims are, more often than not, inebriated. Be on your guard, particularly when returning to your hotel or casa after a night out on the drink.

Sights

In Trinidad, all roads lead to Plaza Mayor, the town’s remarkably peaceful main square, located at the heart of the casco histórico and ringed by a quartet of impressive buildings.

The showpiece museum here is the grandiose Museo Histórico Municipal ( 99-44-60; Simón Bolívar No 423; admission CUC$2; 9am-5pm Sat-Thu), just off Plaza Mayor, housed in a mansion that belonged to the Borrell family from 1827 to 1830. Later the building passed to a German planter named Kanter or Cantero, and it’s still called Casa Cantero. Reputedly Dr Justo Cantero acquired vast sugar estates by poisoning an old slave trader and marrying his widow, who also suffered an untimely death. Cantero’s ill-gotten wealth is well displayed in the stylish neoclassical decoration of the rooms. The view of Trinidad from the top of the tower alone is worth the price of admission. Visit before 11am, when the tour buses start rolling in.

Despite its rather unremarkable outer facade, the Iglesia Parroquial de la Santísima Trinidad ( 11am-12:30pm Mon-Sat), on the northeastern side of Plaza Mayor, graces countless Trinidad postcard views. Rebuilt in 1892 on the site of an earlier church destroyed in a storm, the church mixes 20th-century touch-ups with older artifacts from as far back as the 18th century, such as the venerated Christ of the True Cross (1713), which occupies the second altar from the front to the left. Your best chance of seeing it is during Mass at 8pm weekdays, 4pm Saturday, and 9am and 5pm Sunday.

Across Calle Simón Bolívar is the Museo Romántico ( 99-43-63; Echerri No 52; admission CUC$2; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun) in the glittering Palacio Brunet. The ground floor was built in 1740, and the upstairs was added in 1808. In 1974 the mansion was converted into a museum with 19th-century furnishings, a fine collection of china and various other period pieces. Pushy museum staff will materialize out of the shadows for a tip. The shop adjacent has a good selection of photos and books in English.

Another public display of wealth is in the Museo de Arquitectura Trinitaria ( 99-32-08; Ripalda No 83; admission CUC$1; 9am-5pm Sat-Thu), on the southeastern side of Plaza Mayor, showcasing upper-class domestic architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum is housed in buildings erected in 1738 and 1785 that were joined together in 1819. It was once the residence of the wealthy Iznaga family.

On the northwestern side of Plaza Mayor is the Museo de Arqueología Guamuhaya ( 99-34-20; Simón Bolívar No 457; admission CUC$1; 9am-5pm Tue-Sat), an odd mix of stuffed animals, native bones, and vaguely incongruous 19th-century kitchen furniture. Don’t make it your first priority.

Admission is completely free at the 19th-century Palacio Ortiz, which today houses the Galería de Arte (cnr Rubén Martínez Villena & Simón Bolívar; 9am-5pm), on the southwestern side of Plaza Mayor. Worth a look for its quality local art, particularly the embroidery, pottery and jewelry; there’s also a pleasant courtyard.

No Santería museum can replicate the ethereal spiritual experience of Regla de Ocha, though the Casa Templo de Santería Yemayá (Rubén Martínez Villena No 59 btwn Simón Bolívar & Piro Guinart) has a try. Containing a Santería altar to Yemayá, Goddess of the Sea with myriad offerings of fruit, water and stones, the house is presided over by santeros (priests of the Afro-Cuban religion Santería) who’ll emerge from the back patio and surprise you with some well-rehearsed tourist spiel. On the saint’s anniversary, March 19, ceremonies are performed day and night.

Perhaps the most recognizable building in Trinidad is the withered pastel-yellow bell-tower of the former convent of San Francisco de Asís. Since 1986 the building has housed the Museo Nacional de la Lucha Contra Bandidos ( 99-41-21; Echerri No 59; admission CUC$1; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun). The displays are mostly photos, maps, weapons and other objects relating to the struggle against the various counterrevolutionary bands that took a leaf out of Fidel’s book and operated illicitly out of the Sierra del Escambray between 1960 and 1965. The fuselage of a US U-2 spy plane shot down over Cuba is also on display. You can climb the tower for good views.

It’s easy to miss the small Casa de los Mártires de Trinidad (Zerquera No 254 btwn Antonio Maceo & José Martí; guided/unguided CUC$1/free; 9am-5pm), dedicated to 72 Trinidad residents who died in the struggle against Fulgencio Batista, the campaign against the counterrevolutionaries, and the little-mentioned war in Angola.

Grass grows around the domed bell-tower and the arched doorways were bricked up long ago, but the shell of the ruined Iglesia de Santa Ana (1812) still defiantly remains. Looming like a time-worn ecclesial stencil, it looks quite ghostly after dark. Across the eponymous square that delineates Trinidad’s northeastern reaches is a former Spanish prison (1844) that has been converted into a tourist center, the Plaza Santa Ana (Camilo Cienfuegos; admission free; 11am-10pm). The complex includes an art gallery, a handicraft market, a ceramics shop, a bar and a restaurant.

Five blocks south is Taller Alfarero (Andrés Berro; admission free; 8am-noon & 2-5pm Mon-Fri), a large factory where teams of workers make trademark Trinidad ceramics from local clay using a traditional potter’s wheel. You can watch them at work and buy the finished product.

Activities

There are a couple of DIY hikes worth doing if you can take the heat and the uphill gradients. For views and a workout, walk straight up the street between the Iglesia Parroquial and the Museo Romántico (Calle Simón Bolívar) to the destroyed 18th-century Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de la Popa, part of a former Spanish military hospital situated on a hill to the north of the town (use insect repellent). From here it’s a 30-minute hike further up the hill to the radio transmitter atop 180m-high Cerro de la Vigía, which delivers broad vistas of Trinidad, Playa Ancón and the entire littoral.

Another option is to hike west out of town on the (quiet) road to Cienfuegos. Pass the ‘Welcome to Trinidad’ sign and cross a bridge over the Río Guaurabo. A track on your left now leads back under the bridge and up a narrow, poorly paved road for 5km to Ranchón El Cubano (Map; admission CUC$6.50). This pleasant spot within a protected park consists of a ranchón-style restaurant that specializes in pez gato (catfish), a fish farm, and a 2km trail to a refreshing waterfall. There are also stables here and opportunities to partake in horseback riding. If you hike to El Cubano from Trinidad, you’ll clock up a total of approximately 16km. With a stop for lunch in the ranchón, it can make an excellent day trip. Alternatively, for CUC$15 you can organize a day excursion with Cubatur Click here including motor transport.

Closer to town is the Finca de Recreo María Dolores ( 99-64-81; Carretera de Cienfuegos Km 1.5), a rustic Cubanacán hotel that runs horseback-riding trips to El Cubano (CUC$15, four hours) and boat trips down the Río Guaurabo to La Boca (CUC$5), and hosts sporadic fiestas campesinas (country fairs).

The bike ride to Playa Ancón is another great outdoor adventure. Once there you can snorkel, catch some rays or use the swimming pool or ping-pong table. The best route by far is via the small seaside village of La Boca. Click here for information about bike rental.

Courses

At Las Ruinas del Teatro Brunet (Antonio Maceo No 461 btwn Simón Bolívar & Zerquera) you can take drumming lessons (9am to 11am Saturday) and dance lessons (1pm to 4pm Saturday). Dance lessons are also available with popular local teacher Mireya Medina Rodríguez ( 99-39-94; Antonio Maceo No 472 btwn Simon Bolivar & Zerquera), who instructs everything from chachachá to rumba in her front room. Another option is the travel agent Paradiso ( 99-64-86; paradisotr@sctd.artex.cu; Casa ARTex, General Lino Pérez No 306), which offers salsa lessons from CUC$5 for 90 minutes.

Paradiso has incorporated a number of interesting courses into its cultural program including Cuban architecture (CUC$20), Afro-Cuban culture (CUC$30), artes plásticas (visual arts; CUC$30) and popular music (CUC$30). These courses last four hours and are taught by cultural specialists. They require a minimum number of six to 10 people to take place, but you can always negotiate. At the same venue there are guitar lessons for CUC$5 an hour and courses in Spanish language/Cuban culture for CUC$8 an hour.

Tours

With its sketchy public transport and steep road gradients (making cycling arduous), it’s easiest to visit Topes de Collantes via a day tour. A tour to Topes de Collantes by state taxi shouldn’t cost more than CUC$25 with the wait time; bargain hard. Cubatur ( 99-63-14; Antonio Maceo No 447; 9am-8pm), just outside the casco histórico, organizes a variety of hiking/nature trips from between CUC$23 and CUC$43 per person depending on the excursion. Also available are horseback-riding tours to Ranchón El Cubano.

Paradiso has the best-value day tour to the Valle de los Ingenios, for CUC$9 per person, and an artist-studio tour in Trinidad for CUC$10 per person.

If you’re staying in a private house, your hosts will usually know someone renting horses. Julio Muñoz, proprietor of Casa Muñoz
Click here, is a horse whisperer who specializes in the humane treatment of animals.

For diving, fishing, sailing and snorkeling tours, see Playa Ancón, Click here; any of Trinidad’s agencies Click here can organize the same excursions.

Festivals & Events

The three-day Fiestas Sanjuaneras in the last weekend in June is a local Carnaval where rum-fuelled horsemen gallop through the streets: take cover. The Semana de la Cultura Trinitaria (Trinidad Culture Week) is during the second week in January to coincide with the city’s anniversary. Semana Santa is also important in Trinidad and on Good Friday thousands of people form a procession.

ASK A LOCAL

If you choose to go horseback riding around Trinidad, be sure to check the condition of your horse and equipment first. Some of the illegal guides offer horses in a poor state of health, which is not only cruel for the horses, but dangerous for the rider too.

Julio, Trinidad

Sleeping

Trinidad has approximately 400 casas particulares and competition is hot: arriving by bus or walking the streets with luggage, you’ll be besieged by hustlers working for commissions or by the casa owners themselves. With so many beautiful homes and hospitable families renting, there’s no reason to be rushed. Take your time to shop around.

IN TOWN

Casas Particulares

Mireya Medina Rodríguez ( 99-39-94; miretrini@yahoo.es; Antonio Maceo No 472 btwn Simón Bolívar & Zerquera; r CUC$20-25; ) Right in the center of things, Mireya is a popular dance teacher who rents out one room with private bath in her well-kept colonial house. Expect excellent dinners, hospitable service and plenty of salsa in the front room.

Casa Muñoz – Julio & Rosa ( 99-36-73; www.trinidadphoto.com; José Martí No 401; r CUC$25; ) Julio is an accomplished published photographer who runs workshops and courses out of his stunning colonial home (which has been featured in National Geographic). He’s also a horse whisperer – his beautiful mare lives out back next to a slightly less attractive Russian Moskvich. There are two huge rooms here, but book early, it’s insanely popular.

Casa de Victor ( 99-64-44; Maceo btwn Piro Guinart & P Pichs Girón; r CUC$20-25; ) If Casa Muñoz is full you can keep it in the family down the road at Victor’s place, where two self-contained upstairs rooms share a couple of spacious salas, a balcony overlooking the street, and a fine terraza decorated rather ingeniously with recycled ceramic pots.

Odalis Valdivia González ( 99-33-09; Callejón Smith No 3 btwn Maceo & Av Jesús Menéndez; r CUC$20-25; ) With two independent rooms off a back patio this place is clean and relaxing with welcoming hosts.

Casa del Historiador – Liliana Zerquera Gallardo ( 99-36-34; Echerri No 54 btwn Piro Guinart & Simón Bolívar; r CUC$20-25; ) On the corner of Plaza Mayor, this place could (should) be a museum. Instead it’s the home of the octogenarian city historian whose wife lets out a couple of rooms in this classic 1808 sugar-merchant’s house. The fine accommodation is complemented by a huge rear terrace adorned with a grand terra-cotta staircase and signature Trinidadian aljibe (water-storage well).

Casa de Araceli ( 99-35-58; General Lino Pérez No 207 btwn Frank País & Miguel Calzada; r CUC$20-25; ) Had enough of the colonial splendor? Head away from the tourist frenzy to General Lino Pérez, where Araceli rents two upstairs rooms with a private entrance and a very quiet flower-bedecked terrace.

Casa Arandia ( 99-32-40; Antonio Maceo No 438 btwn Colón & Zerquera; r CUC$20-25; ) Another Trinidad dream home that comes with a loft room, a terrace and views.

‘Hospedaje Yolanda’ – Yolanda María Alvarez ( 99-30-51; yolimar56@yahoo.com; Piro Guinart No 227; r CUC$25-30) This isn’t a casa; it’s a palace! There are eight rooms for starters, though only two can be rented at one time. Dating from the 1700s, its dazzling interior makes the Museo Romántico look like a jumble sale. Take the Italian tiles, the French frescoes, the rare Mexican spiral staircase, the fabulous terrace views; the list goes on…

Hostal Colina ( 99-23-19; Antonio Maceo No 374 btwn General Lino Pérez & Colón; r CUC$25-35; ) Another place that leaves you struggling for superlatives. Although the house dates from the 1830s, it’s got a definitive modern touch, giving one the feeling of being in a plush Mexican hacienda. Two pastel-yellow rooms give out onto a patio where you can sit at the plush wooden bar and catch mangos and avocados as they fall from the trees.

Hotels

Trinidad also has four in-town hotels, one for every price bracket.

Casa de la Amistad (amistur@ceniai.inf.cu; Zerquera btwn José Martí & Frank País; r CUC$25) This hostel, run by the Instituto Cubano de la Amistad, is popular among visitors politically sympathetic to Cuba. It has six clean and well-equipped rooms with brand-new showers and TVs, plus a small eating area and patio out the back. It’s a decent budget option in the center of town.

Hotel La Ronda (Cubanacán; 99-61-33; José Martí No 238; r CUC$46; ) A boutique hotel that never really deserved its classification, the centrally located La Ronda has always struggled to compete with the scores of better-run, more comfortably attired casas particulares nearby. Aware perhaps of their predicament, state owners Cubanacán were giving this former Islazul-run crash-pad a face-lift at the time of writing. With 19 rooms and a great location there’s plenty of potential.

Motel Las Cuevas (Cubanacán; 99-61-33; s/d with breakfast CUC$80/100; ) Perched on a hill above town, Las Cuevas is more hotel than motel with bus tours being the main drive-by clientele. While the setting’s lush, the rooms – which are arranged in scattered two-storied units – are a little less memorable, as is the breakfast. Value is added with a swimming pool, well-maintained gardens, panoramic views and the murky Cueva La Maravillosa, accessible down a stairway, where you’ll see a huge tree growing out of a cavern (entry CUC$1).

Iberostar Grand Hotel (Gran Caribe; 99-60-70; cnr José Martí & General Lino Pérez; s/d CUC$141/172; ) Look out, Habaguanex! One in a trio of Spanish-run Iberostar’s Cuban hotels, the five-star Grand oozes luxury the moment you arrive in its fern-filled, tile-embellished lobby. Clearing another hurdle is the service, which is as sleek as the fittings are flash. Maintaining 36 classy rooms in a remodeled 19th-century building, the Grand shies away from the standard all-inclusive tourist tattle, preferring to press privacy, refinement and an appreciation of history (you are, after all, in Trinidad).

OUTSIDE TOWN

Villa de Recreo María Dolores (Cubanacán; Map; 99-64-10 Carretera de Cienfuegos Km 1.5; s/d CUC$59/74; ) Trinidad goes rustic with the out-of-town Recreo María Dolores, situated 1.5km west on the road to Cienfuegos and Topes de Collantes. Equipped with hotel-style rooms and cabins, the latter are the better option (try for one with a porch overlooking the Río Guaurabo). On nights when groups are present, there’s a fiesta campesina (country fair) with country-style Cuban folk dancing at 9:30pm, (free/CUC$5 for guests/nonguests, including one drink). There’s also a swimming pool, a ranchón restaurant and boat and horseback-riding tours. One kilometer west of the Recreo María Dolores is a monument to Alberto Delgado, a teacher murdered by counterrevolutionaries.

Eating

In truth, the casas particulares are Trinidad’s best restaurants. Dinners usually cost from CUC$6 to CUC$10, depending on what you eat, and they’re nearly always more accommodating for vegetarians. Nonetheless, the lure of Trinidad’s nightlife is strong and the small stash of colonial restaurants is pretty, even if the food isn’t.

PALADARES

Trinidad has three long-standing legal paladares. Innumerable hustlers will accost you around Plaza Mayor claiming otherwise. Don’t believe them.

Paladar Sol y Son ( 99-29-26; Simón Bolívar No 283 btwn Frank País & José Martí; mains CUC$8-10; noon-2pm & 7:30-11pm) All the ingredients of a fine Trinidad evening – think antiques, an elegant patio and the dulcet strains of an eloquent trovador – plus good food thrown in. Even the waiting room (yes, it gets busy) is a veritable museum piece. The house special is roast chicken and it’s worth the wait. English is spoken here.

Paladar Estela ( 99-43-29; Simón Bolívar No 557; 2-11:30pm) You can choose the dining room or pretty rear garden to take your meals in this popular place located above the Plaza Mayor (the owner also rents rooms). Cordero (lamb) served shredded is the house specialty, and the portions are large.

Paladar La Coruña (José Martí No 428; 11am-11pm) A battling third after Sol y Son and Estela. Eager-to-please and friendly staff at this no-frills paladar serve chicken and pork, and the occasional fish.

RESTAURANTS

Housed in an attractive array of colonial mansions, Trinidad’s government restaurants are full of the standard state-run foibles: average food, bored staff, and menus where most of the dishes have gone AWOL. These places are OK for an un-fancy lunch but, for a filling dinner, you might want to stick to the home cooking in your casa particular.

Restaurante Plaza Mayor ( 99-64-70; cnr Rubén Martínez Villena & Zerquera; dishes from CUC$4; 11am-10pm) The best bet courtesy of its on-off lunchtime buffet, which, for around CUC$10, ought to fill you up until dinnertime. Nighttime offerings aren’t bad either if you stick to the chicken and beef, though the atmosphere can be a little flat.

Trinidad Colonial ( 99-64-73; Antonio Maceo No 402; 11:30am-10pm) Here you’ll dine on good portions of Cuban cuisine in the elegant 19th-century Casa Bidegaray. Meals are reasonable, even if the service is a bit frosty, with smoked pork topping out at CUC$6. The store attached has a good selection of books.

Restorante Vía Reale (Rubén Martínez Villena No 74 btwn Piro Guinart & Pablo Pichs Girón; lunch CUC$4; noon-4pm) Break the chicken-and-pork grind at this Italian place with good pizza and spaghetti lunches. This is a viable vegetarian option.

Restaurante El Jigüe ( 99-64-76; cnr Rubén Martínez Villena & Piro Guinart; 11am-10pm) Stunning setting with less-than-stunning food. Bank on the house specialty, the aptly-named pollo al Jigüe; it’s baked at least, offering savory flavors distinct from the usual frito (fried).

QUICK EATS

Mesón del Regidor ( 99-65-72; Simón Bolívar No 424; 10am-10pm) A cafe-cum-restaurant with a friendly ambience and a revolving lineup of local musicians, including the town’s best trovador, Israel Moreno, who’ll drop by during the day and serenade you with a song over grilled cheese sandwiches and café con leche (coffee with milk). Savor the surprise.

Cafetería Las Begonias ( 99-64-73; cnr Antonio Maceo & Simón Bolívar; 9am-10pm; ) The day-time nexus for Trinidad’s transient backpacker crowd, meaning it’s a good font of local information and the best place in town to meet other travelers over sandwiches, espresso and ice cream. There’s a bar behind a partition wall, clean(ish) toilets in a rear courtyard, and four or five cheap – but always crowded – internet terminals.

Just across the street is an ever-popular Cremería Las Begonias (Antonio Maceo) that doubles up as a Cubatur office, and opposite from it a little old man does a flying trade in peso pizza (Simón Bolivar).

Look out for more peso food on the corner of Piro Guinart and Antonio Maceo, not far from the bus station, and also around the Camilo Cienfuegos–Paseo Agramonte–Anastasio Cárdenas intersection on the road south out of town.

GROCERIES

Mercado agropecuario (cnr Pedro Zerquera & Manuel Fajardo; 8am-6pm Mon-Sat, to noon Sun) Trinidad’s agropecuario (vegetable market) isn’t Covent Garden, but you should still be able to get basic fruits and vegetables.

Tienda Universo (José Martí) This shop, near Zerquera in the Galería Comercial Universo, is Trinidad’s best (and most expensive) grocery store. Head here for yogurt, nuts and those lifesaving cookies.

Mini Super Caracol (cnr Gustavo Izquierdo & Zerquera; 9am-9pm) This store has a decent selection of groceries and a resident hawker outside plying cigars.

Drinking

Bar Daiquirí (General Lino Pérez No 313; 24hr) Presumably Papa Hemingway never dropped by this cozy joint named after the drink he so famously popularized because the prices are extremely reasonable. Shoehorned into lively Lino Pérez, this is where locals and backpackers warm up on their way to an all-night salsa binge. There are snacks, if you’ve got the stomach.

Taberna La Cancháchara (cnr Rubén Martínez Villena & Ciro Redondo). This place is famous for its eponymous house cocktail made from rum, honey, lemon and water. Local musicians regularly drop by for off-the-cuff jam sessions and it’s not unusual for the Cancháchara-inebriated crowd to break into spontaneous dancing.

Entertainment

Casa Fischer (General Lino Pérez No 312 btwn José Martí & Francisco Codania; admission CUC$1) This is the local ARTex patio, which cranks up at 10pm with a salsa orchestra (on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) or a folklore show (Friday). If you’re early, kill time at its art gallery (free) and chat to the staff at the on-site Paradiso office about salsa lessons and other courses Click here.

Casa de la Trova (Echerri No 29; admission CUC$1; 9pm-2am) Trinidad’s spirited casa retains its earthy essence despite the high package-tourist-to-Cuban ratio. Local musicians to look out for here are Semillas del Son, Santa Palabra and the town’s best trovador, Israel Moreno.

Las Ruinas del Teatro Brunet (Antonio Maceo No 461 btwn Simón Bolívar & Zerquera; admission CUC$1) This jazzed-up ruin has an athletic Afro-Cuban show on its pleasant patio at 9:30pm nightly.

Casa de la Música ( 99-34-14; admission free) One of Trinidad’s and Cuba’s classic venues, this casa is an alfresco affair that congregates on the sweeping staircase beside the Iglesia Parroquial off Plaza Mayor. A good mix of tourists and locals take in the 10pm salsa/dance show here. Alternatively, full-on salsa concerts are held in the casa’s rear courtyard (also accessible from Juan Manuel Márquez; cover CUC$2).

Palenque de los Congos Reales (cnr Echerri & Av Jesús Menéndez; admission free) A must for rumba fans, this open patio on Trinidad’s music alley has an eclectic menu incorporating salsa, son (Cuban popular music) and trova (traditional poetic singing). The highlight, however, is the 10pm rumba drums with soulful African rhythms and energetic fire-eating dancers.

Las Ruinas de Sagarte (Av Jesús Menéndez; admission free; 24hr) Another ruin (Trinidad’s full of them) with a good house band and a high-energy, low-pressure dance scene.

Disco Ayala (admission CUC$10; 10pm-3am) It might not be the first time you’ve gone jiving in a cave, but this surreal place up by the Ermita Popa church beats all others for atmosphere and animation. While it’s mainly a place to let rip and dance J-Lo style in the semi-darkness with as many mojitos as you care to sink, this disco also puts on a decent cabaret show with a pre-Columbian Indian theme.

Cine Romelio Cornelio ( 8pm Tue-Sun) This cinema, on the southwestern side of Parque Céspedes, shows films nightly.

Estadio Rolando Rodríguez (Eliope Paz; Oct-Apr) This stadium, at the southeastern end of Frank País, hosts baseball games.

Shopping

You can shop until you almost drop in Trinidad, at least at the open-air markets that are set up all over town. If you’re looking for good souvenirs you’ve come to the right place.

Arts & Crafts Market (Av Jesús Menéndez) This excellent open-air market situated in front of the Casa de la Trova is the place to buy souvenirs, especially textiles and crochet work – just avoid the black coral and turtle-shell items that are made from endangered species and are forbidden entry into many countries.

Fondo Cubano de Bienes Culturales (Simón Bolívar No 418; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat & Sun) Just down from Plaza Mayor, this store has a good selection of Cuban handicrafts.

You can see local painters at work – and you can buy their paintings too – at various points along Calles Francisco Toro, Valdés and Muñoz.

Other shopping options:

Getting There & Away

AIR

Alberto Delgado Airport is 1km south of Trinidad, off the road to Casilda. Only Aerotaxi charters fly here.

BUS

The bus station ( 99-24-04; Piro Guinart No 224), runs provincial buses to Sancti Spíritus and Cienfuegos, though most foreigners use the more reliable Víazul service. Tickets are sold at a small window marked Taquilla Campo near the station entrance. Check the blackboard for the current schedule.

The Víazul ticket office ( 4448; 8-11:30am & 1-5pm) is further back in the station. It sells Víazul tickets to the following places (this office is well organized and you can usually book tickets a couple of days in advance).

VíAZUL DEPARTURES

The Varadero departures can deposit you in Jagüey Grande (CUC$15, three hours) with request stops in Jovellanos, Colesio and Cárdenas. The Santiago de Cuba departure goes through Sancti Spíritus (CUC$6, 1½ hours), Ciego de Ávila (CUC$9, two hours 40 minutes), Camagüey (CUC$15, five hours 20 minutes), Las Tunas (CUC$22, 7½ hours), Holguín (CUC$26, eight hours) and Bayamo (CUC$26, 10 hours). There are request stops in Jatibonico, Florida, Sibanicú, Guáimaro and Palma Soriano.

TRAIN

Train transport out of Trinidad is awful even by Cuban standards. The town hasn’t been connected to the main rail network since a hurricane in the early 1990s, meaning the only functioning line runs up the Valle de Ingenios, stopping in Iznaga (35 minutes) and terminating at Meyer (one hour 10 minutes). There are supposedly four trains a day, the most reliable leaving Trinidad at 9am and 1pm, but they often don’t run; always check ahead at the terminal ( 99-42-23) in a pink house across the train tracks on the western side of the station.

For information on train tours, Click here.

Getting Around

BICYCLE

You can hire bikes at Las Ruinas del Teatro Brunet (Antonio Maceo No 461 btwn Simón Bolívar & Zerquera; per day CUC$3) or you can ask around at your casa particular. These are fine for getting to Playa Ancón, but nowhere near adequate for the steep climbs up to Topes de Collantes.

TRINIDAD TOUR BUS

Trinidad now has a handy hop-on/hop-off minibus ( 99-64-54) similar to Havana and Viñales linking its outlying sights. It plies a route from outside the Cubatur office in Antonio Maceo to Finca Ma Dolores, Playa La Boca, Bar Las Caletas, and the three Playa Ancón hotels. It runs approximately five times a day in either direction starting at 9am and terminating at 6pm. Cost is CUC$5 for an all-day ticket.

CAR & TAXI

The rental agencies at the Playa Ancón hotels rent mopeds (CUC$27 per day); or you can try the Las Ruinas del Teatro Brunet (Antonio Maceo No 461 btwn Simón Bolívar & Zerquera).

Cubacar (Trinidad/Cubatur office 99-62-57; cnr Antonio Maceo & Zerquera; Hotel Ancón 99-65-57) rents cars for approximately CUC$70 per day.

The Servi-Cupet gas station ( 24hr), 500m south of town on the road to Casilda, has an El Rápido snack bar attached. The Oro Negro gas station is at the entrance to Trinidad from Sancti Spíritus, 1km east of Plaza Santa Ana.

Guarded parking is available in certain areas around the casco histórico. Ask at your hotel or casa particular and they can arrange it.

Trinidad has Havana-style coco-taxis; they cost approximately CUC$5 to Playa Ancón. A car costs from CUC$6 to CUC$8 both ways. State-owned taxis tend to congregate outside the Cubatur office in Antonio Maceo. A cab to Sancti Spíritus will cost approximately CUC$35.

HORSE CARTS

Horse carts (costing two pesos) leave for Casilda from Paseo Agramonte at the southern end of town.

Return to beginning of chapter

PLAYA ANCÓN & AROUND

Playa Ancón, a precious ribbon of white beach on Sancti Spíritus’ iridescent Caribbean shoreline, is usually touted – with good merit – to be the finest arc of sand on Cuba’s south coast.

While not comparable in all-round quality to the north-coast giants of Varadero, Cayo Coco and Guardalavaca, Ancón has one important trump card: Trinidad, Latin America’s sparkling colonial diamond shimmering just 12km to the north. You can get here in less than 15 minutes in a car or a leisurely 40 on a bike. Alternatively, Ancón has three all-inclusive hotels and a well-equipped marina that runs catamaran trips to a couple of nearby coral keys.

Beach bums who want to be near the water, but don’t have the money or inclination to stay at one of the resorts, might consider a private home in the seaside village of La Boca. What Ancón’s gushing tourist brochures fail to mention are the sand fleas: they’re famously ferocious at sunrise and sunset. Be warned.

The old fishing port of Casilda, 6km due south of Trinidad, is a friendly village with one paved road that was devastated during the 2005 hurricane season. On August 17 the Fiesta de Santa Elena engulfs little Casilda, with feasting, competitions, horse races and loads of rum. The road from Ancón to Casilda crosses a tidal flat, meaning abundant birdlife is visible in the early morning.

Activities

From Hotel Ancón, it’s 18km to Trinidad via Casilda, or 16km on the much nicer coastal road via La Boca. The Hotel Ancón pool is also open to nonguests and you can usually nab the ping-pong table undetected.

FISHING

The Marina Trinidad ( 99-62-05) is a few hundred meters north of Hotel Ancón. Four hours of deep-sea fishing, including transport, gear and guide, costs CUC$400 per boat (minimum six people), or a cheaper CUC$180 for bottom-fishing (from a moored boat off Cayo Blanco). Fly-fishing is also possible around the rich mangrove forests of Península de Ancón (CUC$400 for four hours, maximum six people).

SNORKELING & SCUBA DIVING

Cayo Blanco, a reef islet 25km southeast of Playa Ancón, has 22 marked scuba sites where you’ll see black coral and bountiful marine life. Diving with the Cayo Blanco International Dive Center ( 99-62-05), located at Marina Trinidad, costs CUC$30 a dive and CUC$299 for an open-water course. The Marina also runs a seven-hour snorkeling-and-beach tour to Cayo Blanco for CUC$40 per person with lunch. There are similar trips to the equally pristine Cayo Macho.

Romantic types might want to check out the sunset catamaran cruise (cruise with/without dinner CUC$28/15), which has been enthusiastically recommended. There is a minimum of eight passengers. Inquire at the marina or ask at the Cubatur office in Trinidad.

SAILING

The Windward Islands Cruising Company ( in US 1-650-343-0717, in UK 44-20-3080-1023; www.caribbean-adventure.com) charters crewed and bareboat monohulls and catamarans out of the Marina to the Jardines de la Reina. You can sail with or without guides, on a partial package or an all-inclusive tour. Interested parties should inquire using contact details on the website.

Sleeping

CASAS PARTICULARES

The small village of La Boca, a few clicks up the coast from Ancón, has about a dozen lovely casas.

‘Villa Río Mar’ – Nestor Manresa ( 99-31-08; San José No 65, La Boca; r CUC$20-25; ) There are further treats at Río Mar, where two rooms with shared bath give out onto a lovely tiled verandah. If it’s full, there’s more next door.

‘Villa Sonia’ – Sonia Santos Barrera ( 99-29-23; Av del Mar No 11, La Boca; r CUC$25-30; ) If you need an excuse to stay in La Boca, here it is. A beautiful house with a wraparound porch all to yourself, complete with polished-wood dining area, private kitchen, hammocks, rocking chairs and a thatched gazebo. Situated right opposite the (rocky) beach.

HOTELS

Ancón’s three hotels offer all-inclusive rates.

Hotel Club Amigo Costasur (Cubanacán; 99-61-74; s/d all-inclusive CUC$75/94; ) Playa Ancón’s oldest and humblest resort, this hotel is at the base of the peninsula, 9km from Casilda. For about CUC$10 more, you can upgrade to a superior room, which gives you better location and views (but not decor unfortunately). There are also 20 rooms in duplex bungalows that are better still. From here you can scuba dive and ride horses. The hotel faces a rocky shore, but a white, sandy beach is just to the right. Swimming is difficult on the shallow reef. This place is popular with Canadian package tourists.

Hotel Club Amigo Ancón (Cubanacán; 99-61-23, 99-61-27; s/d all-inclusive CUC$88/100; ) Built during Cuba’s 30-year flirtation with Soviet architectonics, the Ancón wouldn’t win any beauty contests. Indeed, this steamship-shaped seven-story concrete pile looks more than a little incongruous next to the natural beauty of Ancón beach. But, if it’s location you’re after, coupled with close proximity to the historic delights of Trinidad, the deal could cut ice. Even better, you’re just a short walk from the marina where you can fish, learn to scuba dive or enjoy a sunset cruise. Additionally, nonguests can use the facilities, which is exceptional for a resort.

Brisas Trinidad del Mar (Cubanacán; 99-65-00; s/d all-inclusive CUC$150/190; ) A kitschy attempt to recreate Trinidad in an all-inclusive resort environment, Brisas wins kudos for rejecting the monolithic architecture of Club Amigo Ancón in favor of low-rise colonial-style villas. But after barely half a decade in operation the quality of this place has begun to suffer from poor maintenance and decidedly iffy service. Though the swath of beach is stunning and the massage, sauna, gym and tennis courts handy for the sports-minded, you might be better off saving a few dollars and opting for one of the Club Amigos.

Eating & Drinking

Grill Caribe ( 99-62-41; 24hr) Other than the hotel restaurants, there’s this place on a quiet beach 2km north of Club Amigo Costasur. It specializes in seafood, such as fish and shrimp or lobster, and charges a pretty price. Strict vegetarians will be disappointed here. It’s a great sunset spot.

Bar Las Caletas, at the junction of the road to Casilda, is a local drinking place.

Getting There & Away

Bike, bus, coco-taxi or taxi – take your pick. Click here for details.

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VALLE DE LOS INGENIOS

Trinidad’s immense wealth was garnered not in the town itself, but in a verdant valley situated 8km to the east. The Valle de los Ingenios (or Valle de San Luis) still contains the ruins of dozens of 19th-century sugar mills, including warehouses, milling machinery, slave quarters, manor houses and a fully functioning steam train. Most of the mills were destroyed during the two Wars of Independence when the focus of sugar-growing in Cuba shifted west to Matanzas. Though some sugar is still grown here, the valley is more famous today for its status as a Unesco World Heritage Site. Backed by the shadowy sentinels of the Sierra del Escambray, the pastoral fields, royal palms and peeling colonial ruins are timelessly beautiful. A horseback-riding tour from Trinidad should take in most (if not all) of the following sites.

Sights & Activities

The Mirador de La Loma del Puerto is 6km east of Trinidad on the road to Sancti Spíritus. The 192m-high lookout provides the best eagle-eye view of the valley with – if you’re lucky – the steam train chugging through its midst. There’s also a bar.

The valley’s main focal point is the Manaca Iznaga (admission CUC$1), 16km northeast of Trinidad. Founded in 1750, the estate was purchased in 1795 by the dastardly Pedro Iznaga, who became one of the wealthiest men in Cuba by the unscrupulous business of slave trafficking. The 44m-high tower next to the hacienda was used to watch the slaves, and the bell in front of the house served to summon them. Today you can climb to the top of the tower for pretty views, followed by a reasonable lunch (from noon to 2:30pm) in the restaurant-bar in Iznaga’s former colonial mansion. Don’t miss the huge sugar press out back.

Three kilometers beyond the Manaca Iznaga, on the valley’s inland road, is the Casa Guachinango, an old hacienda built by Don Mariano Borrell toward the end of the 18th century (now a restaurant). The Río Ay is just below, and the surrounding landscape is wonderful. To get to Casa Guachinango, take the paved road to the right just beyond the second bridge as you come from Manaca Iznaga. The Meyer train stops right beside the house every morning, and you can walk back to Iznaga from Guachinango along the railway line in less than an hour.

Seven kilometers east of the Manaca Iznaga turn-off, then 2km south, is the Sitio Guáimaro, the former estate of Don Mariano Borrell. The seven stone arches on the facade lead to frescoed rooms, now a restaurant.

Getting There & Away

There are two train options – both equally unreliable. The tourist steam train goes at the speed of Thomas the Tank Engine, but it’s a sublime journey when it’s running through an impossibly green valley full of munching cows and slender bridges. The train is pulled by the indomitable and classic engine No 52204, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Company of Philadelphia in August 1919. Organized as an excursion (CUC$10), passengers pay for their own lunch separately at the Manaca Iznaga where they can visit the Manaca Iznaga and the famous bell-tower. Cubatur ( 99-63-14; Antonio Maceo No 447; 9am-8pm) in Trinidad will know when the next tourist train trip is scheduled and if it’s working. Tour desks at the Ancón hotels sell the same train tour for CUC$17, including bus transfers to Trinidad. For details of the daily local train from Trinidad Click here.

Horseback tours can be arranged at the travel agencies in Trinidad or Playa Ancón, or contract a horse and guide privately in Trinidad for CUC$15 per six hours.

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TOPES DE COLLANTES

Elevation 771m

The crenellated, 90km-long Sierra del Escam-bray is Cuba’s second-largest mountain range and it straddles the borders of three provinces: Sancti Spíritus, Cienfuegos and Villa Clara. Though not particularly high (the loftiest point, Pico de San Juan, measures just 1156m), the mountain slopes are rich in flora and surprisingly isolated. In late 1958 Che Guevara set up camp in these hills on his way to Santa Clara and, less than three years later, CIA-sponsored counterrevolutionary groups operated their own cat-and-mouse guerrilla campaign from the same vantage point.

Though not strictly a national park, Topes is, nonetheless, a heavily protected area. The umbrella park, comprising 200 sq km, overlays four smaller parks – Parque Altiplano, Parque Codina, Parque Guanayara and Parque El Cubano (Click here) – while a fifth enclave, El Nicho in Cienfuegos province, is also administered by park authority Gaviota.

The park takes its name from its largest settlement, an ugly health resort founded in 1937 by dictator Fulgencio Batista to placate his sick wife, for whom he built a quaint rural cottage. The architecture went downhill thereafter with the construction of a grotesque tuberculosis sanatorium (now the Kurhotel) begun in the late ’30s but not opened until 1954.

TOCORORO

In the forested mountains of rural Cuba, there are few birds as striking or emblematic as the tocororo.

Endemic to the island, the tocororo – or Cuban trogon, to give it its scientific name – is a medium-sized black-and-white bird with a bright red belly and a blueish-green patch between the wings. Other distinctive features include a sharp serrated bill and a sweeping concave tail.

Easy to spot if you know where to look, the bird is widely distributed throughout Cuba in heavily forested areas, especially near rivers and streams. The unusual name is derived from its distinctive call which sounds out: to-co-ro-ro.

Long venerated for its striking plumage, the tocororo was chosen as Cuba’s national bird due to its coloring (which replicates the red, white and blue of the Cuban flag) and its apparent resistance to captivity. Nationalistically minded Cubans will tell you that tocororos are instinctively libertarian, and if you cage one, it will quickly die.

Topes de Collantes has three hotels open to foreigners, plus excellent guided and unguided hiking. Its jungle-like forests harboring vines, lichens, mosses, ferns and eye-catching epiphytes are akin to a giant outdoor biological classroom.

The Carpeta Central information office ( 54-02-31; 8am-5pm), near the sundial at the entrance to Topes de Collantes, is the best place to procure maps, guides and trail info.

Sights

Believe it or not, Topes de Collantes’ monstrous sanitarium once harbored a treasure trove of Cuban art boasting works by Cuban masters such as Tomás Sánchez and Rubén Torres Llorca. Raiding the old collection in 2008, inspired provincial officials opened Museo de Arte Cubano Contemporáneo ( 54-02-31; admission CUC$3), an infinitely more attractive museum that displays over 70 works in six salas (rooms) spread over three floors.

Coffee has been grown in these mountains for over two centuries and in the small rustic Casa Museo del Café ( 54-02-31) you can fill in the gaps on its boom-bust history while sipping the aromatic local brew (called Cristal Mountain). Just up the road there is the Jardín de Variedades de Café, a short hike around 25 different varieties of coffee plant.

Activities

HIKING

The Blue Riband hike, and the one most easily accessed on foot from the hotels, is to the 62m Salto del Caburní (entry CUC$6.50), cascading over rocks into cool swimming holes before plunging into a chasm where macho locals dare each other to jump. At the height of the dry season (March to May) you may be disappointed by these falls. The entry fee is collected at the toll gate to Villa Caburní, just down the hill from the Kurhotel near the Carpeta Central (it’s a long approach on foot). Allow an hour down and an hour and a half back up for this 2.5km hike. Some slopes are steep and can be slippery after rain.

The 1km Sendero Los Helechos (entry free), billed rather ambitiously as an eco-walk, is basically just a shortcut between the Kurhotel and the Hotel Los Helechos. Look out for snow-white mariposas and multiple species of fern along the route.

Parque La Represa on the Río Vega Grande, just downhill from La Batata trail entry, contains 300 species of trees and ferns, including the largest caoba (mahogany) tree in Cuba. You can take it all in on the 1km Sendero Jardín del Gigante (entry CUC$7). The small restaurant at the entrance to the Jardín is in a villa built by Fulgencio Batista’s wife, whose love for the area inspired her husband to build the Topes resort.

The 6km out and back trail to La Batata (entry CUC$3), a large cave containing an underground river, starts at a parking sign just downhill from Casa Museo del Café. When you reach another highway, go around the right side of the concrete embankment and down the hill. Keep straight or right after this point (avoid trails to the left). Allow an hour each way. It’s possible to swim in the cave’s pools.

ASK A LOCAL

Topes has the most extensive trail network in Cuba. You can actually cobble together about 50km worth of trails here from Lago Hanabanilla all the way down to Parque El Cubano to make one long five- to six-day hike. At present this trek is only undertaken by foreigners who prebook trips overseas, but ask at the Carpeta to see if this situation has changed.

Humberto, Trinidad

The Vegas Grandes (entry CUC$5) trail begins at the apartment blocks known as Reparto El Chorrito on the southern side of Topes de Collantes, near the entrance to the resort as you arrive from Trinidad. Allow a bit less than an hour each way to cover the 2km to the waterfall. It’s possible to continue to the Salto del Caburní, though consider hiring a guide.

Another destination is Hacienda Codina (entry CUC$5). The 3.5km jeep track begins on a hilltop 2.5km down the road toward Cienfuegos and Manicaragua, 1km before the point at which these roads divide. There’s a shorter trail to the hacienda from below Hotel Los Helechos that links for part of the way with La Batata, but you’ll need a guide to use it. At the hacienda itself there’s a 1.2km circular trail through orchid and bamboo gardens and past the Cueva del Altar. Also here are mud baths, a restaurant and a scenic viewpoint.

The least accessible but infinitely most rewarding hike from Topes de Collantes is the 2.5km (5km return) Sendero ‘Centinelas del Río Melodioso’ (entry CUC$5) in the Parque Guanayara, situated 15km from the Carpeta Central along a series of rough and heavily rutted tracks. For logistical reasons this excursion is best organized with a guide from the Carpeta, or as part of an organized tour from Trinidad with Cubatur (CUC$43 with lunch). The trail itself begins in cool, moist coffee plantations and descends steeply to the El Rocio waterfall, where you can strip off and have a bracing shower. Following the course of the Río Melodioso (Melodic River), you pass another inviting waterfall and swimming pool before emerging into the salubrious gardens of the riverside Casa La Gallega, a traditional rural hacienda where a light lunch can be organized and camping is sometimes permitted in the lush grounds.

CANYONING

Topes is the only place in Cuba where you can participate in the burgeoning sport of canyoning, but there are limitations and you’d be wise to do your homework first. The up-and-coming scene focuses on four main rivers, the Calburni, Vegas Grandes, Cabagan and Gruta Nengoa, where canyoners travel spectacularly downstream with ropes, wetsuits, helmets and harnesses. The highlight of the trip is a 200m series of vertical cascades over Salto Vegas Grandes. One experienced Canadian outfit offering excursions is Canyoning Quebec (www.canyoning-quebec.com), which runs eight-day trips into the Sierra del Escambray. There are currently no organized tours in-country and no equipment available for hire. At the time of writing there was at least one Gaviota parks guide who was a qualified canyon guide. Ask at the Carpeta Central information office (opposite) for more up-to-date information.

Sleeping & Eating

Hotel Los Helechos (Gaviota; 54-02-31; s/d CUC$40/50; ) For years the Achilles heel of the Gaviota chain, Los Helechos has recently undergone extensive refurbishments to pull it out of its 1970s stupor. Never 100% at home in its verdant natural surroundings, the clumsy chocolate-box building with its wicker furnishings and holiday camp–style villas still looks a bit awkward. Not helping matters is the unattractive indoor pool, poky steam baths (if they’re working), journeyman restaurant, and kitschy local disco (in a natural park of all places!). The saving grace is the restaurant’s delicious homebaked bread – surely the best in Cuba.

Villa Caburní (Gaviota; 54-01-80; s/d CUC$40/50; ) This place is a veritable rural gem that offers one- or two-story Swiss-style chalets with kitchenettes and private baths in a small park next to the Kurhotel.

Kurhotel Escambray (Gaviota; 54-02-31; s/d CUC$40/50) Doing a good impersonation of the ‘mental institution’ in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, this eight-story architectural monster dreamt up by Batista in the 1930s would be an eyesore anywhere, let alone in a jaw-droppingly beautiful natural park. Judging by the grotesque Stalinist design of the exterior, the wily Cuban dictator must have sensed that the Russians were already on the way. Conceived originally as a sanitarium, the complex still serves as a therapeutic treatment center and you can book in for a session if you’re up to donning the obligatory tracksuit. The rest of the building acts as a very scary-looking hotel.

Restaurante Mi Retiro (Carretera de Trinidad), situated 3km back down the road to Trinidad, does fair-to-middling comida criolla to the sound of the occasional traveling ‘minstrel.’ Three other eating options exist on the trails: the Hacienda Codina, Restaurante La Represa and Casa La Gallega (in Parque Guanayara). El Mirador (Map; Carretera de Trinidad) is a simple bar with a stunning view halfway up the ascent road from Trinidad.

Getting There & Away

It’s very difficult to get here without a car and harder still to get around to the various trailheads. Your best bet is a taxi (CUC$25 return with a two- to three-hour wait), an excursion from Trinidad or a hire car.

The road between Trinidad and Topes de Collantes is paved, but it’s very steep. When wet, it becomes slippery and should be driven with caution. There’s also a spectacular 44km road that continues right over the mountains from Topes de Collantes to Manicaragua via Jibacoa (occasionally closed, so check in Trinidad before setting out). It’s also possible to drive to and from Cienfuegos via San Blas on a partly paved, partly gravel road (4WD only).

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NORTHERN SANCTI SPÍRITUS

For every 1000 tourists that visit Trinidad, a small handful gets to see the province’s narrow northern corridor that runs between Remedios, in Villa Clara, and Morón, in Ciego de Ávila. For the minority who do pass through there’s a trio of worthwhile stop-offs plus an excellent Islazul hotel.

The Museo Nacional Camilo Cienfuegos (admission CUC$1; 8am-4pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun), at Yaguajay, 36km southeast of Caibarién, was opened in 1989 and is eerily reminiscent of the Che Guevara monument in Santa Clara. Camilo fought a crucial battle in this town on the eve of the Revolution’s triumph, taking control of a local military barracks (now the Hospital Docente General opposite the museum). The museum is directly below a modernist plaza embellished with a 5m-high statue of El Señor de la Vanguardia (The Man at the Vanguard). It contains an interesting expose of Cienfuegos’ life intermingled with facts and mementos from the revolutionary struggle. A replica of the small tank ‘Dragon I,’ converted from a tractor for use in the battle, stands in front of the hospital.

The Sierra de Jatibonico is a range of hills that runs across the entire north of the province and offers great views over toward the Bahía de Buenavista. Guided hikes can be organized at Villa San José del Lago. Highlights include a three-hour excursion along the Río Jatibonico, the 1km La Solapa de Genaro hike through tropical savannah to the ruins of a slave wall, and the 800m Cueva de Valdés walk through semideciduous woodland to the cave.

PARQUE NACIONAL CAGUANES

Northern Sancti Spíritus province is one of Cuba’s most heavily protected areas dominated by the 313-sq-km Buenavista Unesco Biosphere Reserve, also a Ramsar Convention Site (important wetlands area).

The nucleus of this reserve is the rarely mentioned (in tourist literature) Parque Nacional Caguanes, made up of the sinuous Caguanes Peninsula, the Guayabera swamps and 10 tiny islets known collectively as Cayos de Piedra.

The park is unique for its unusual karst formations; there are over 75 caves here and a pristine ecosystem that guards manatees, flamingos and the world’s only freshwater cave sponge.

Indigenous people once frequented this area; so far 263 pictographs have been discovered in 40 different archaeological sites. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries hunters and charcoal burners made sporadic incursions, but they showed little long-term interest and these days the human population is minimal.

Strict conservation measures mean public access is limited, but not impossible. There is a basic visitors center and eco-station on the coast due north of Yaguajay but, rather than just turn up, your best bet is to check details first at the Villa San José del Lago (opposite).

The one advertised excursion is Las Maravillas que Atesora Caguanes, which incorporates a path to the Humboldt and Los Chivos caves and a boat trip around the Cayos de Piedra.

Refreshingly, the park has logged some landmark successes in environmental regeneration in recent years. Pollution in the Bahía de Buenavista bay from inefficient sugar mills had driven numerous bird species away from Caguanes by the late 1990s, but the closure of the mills in 2002, coupled with sustained environmental efforts on the part of park authorities, has seen many species start to return.

Sleeping & Eating

Villa San José del Lago ( 55-61-08; Antonio Guiteras, Mayajigua; s/d CUC$25/32; ) This novel spa, once popular with vacationing Americans, is situated just outside Mayajigua in northern Sancti Spíritus province. The tiny rooms set in a variety of two-story villas nestle beside a small palm-fringed lake (with pedal boats and resident flamingos). The complex is famous for its thermal waters first utilized by injured slaves in the 19th century but now mainly the preserve of holidaying Cubans. The 67 rooms are no-frills, but the setting, wedged between the Sierra Jatibonico and Parque Nacional Caguanes, is magnificent and makes a good base for some of Cuba’s lesser-known excursions. There’s a restaurant and snack bar on-site.


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