Northern Oriente

Victoria de las Tunas >>

Puerto Padre >>

San Isidoro de Holguín >>

Gibara >>

Guardalavaca >>

Banes >>

Cayo Saetía >>

Parque Nacional La Mensura >>

Traditionally, the whole of the country east of Camagüey is known simply as the “Oriente”, a region that in many ways represents the soul of Cuba, awash with historic sites, propaganda billboards and political passions. Running the length of the area’s north coast, the three provinces that make up the northern Oriente – Las Tunas, Holguín and Guantánamo – form a landscape of panoramic pine-scented and palm-studded mountains, all fringed by flatlands where lonely railroads thrust through the vast swathes of sugarcane. Home to some of the country’s most striking peaks and beaches from the flat-topped El Yunque to the stunning protected coves at Guardalavaca, Maguana and Saetía, the Northern Oriente also boasts some of Cuba’s quirkiest towns – namely Baracoa, Gibara and Banes.

The smallest and most westerly of the three provinces is Las Tunas, often overlooked by visitors, though its unassuming and friendly provincial capital, Victoria de las Tunas, is not without charm. Nearby, the picturesque coastal town of Puerto Padre has a couple of congenial beaches close by.

By contrast, larger and livelier Holguín province has a variety of attractions. Chequered with parks, the busy and crowded provincial capital, San Isidoro de Holguín, manages to be modern and cosmopolitan whilst retaining the feel of its colonial past, with several handsome old buildings, museums and antique churches. The once mighty nineteenth-century port of Gibara, presiding over the north coast, also has vestiges of its former glory visible in a few fine buildings and an old fort, while the gently undulating hills around town are honeycombed with underground caves that are perfect for independent exploration. Holguín’s biggest attraction is the popular Guardalavaca beach resort, while the province’s ancient historical pedigree can be seen in the remnants of pre-Columbian Taíno culture in and around the little village of Banes. Further east, the exclusive beach resort of Cayo Saetía is a paradise of white sands and glistening seas, an idyllic place to relax. Inland, where rugged terrain dominates the landscape, the cool pine forests, waterfalls and lakes of Mayarí are unmatched for isolated serenity, while the sugar-farm country further south is home to Fidel Castro’s prosaic birthplace at Birán.

Of the three provinces, the best known is undoubtedly Guantánamo, with the notorious US naval base at Caimanera. Although Guantánamo town is largely unspectacular, it forms a useful jumping-off point for the seaside settlement of Baracoa, one of Cuba’s most beautiful and enjoyable destinations. Sealed off from the rest of the island by a truly awe-inspiring range of rainforested mountains – which are fantastic for trekking – Baracoa’s small-town charm is immensely welcoming.

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GIBARA

Highlights

1 Gibara This picture-perfect coastal town is the ideal base for trips to the geologically rich Cavernas de Panadernos, one of the region’s treasures.

2 Playa Guardalavaca With over 1.5km of sugar-like sand, this beach is the crown jewel of Northern Oriente’s coastline.

3 Cayo Saetía White sands and coral reef against a backdrop of savannah wilds – complete with roaming ostrich and zebra – make for a fantastic juxtaposition.

4 Villa Pinares de Mayarí Waterfalls, lakes and pine forests create an idyllic haven of calm at this hotel, cupped by mountains and the centre of the ultimate nature retreat.

5 Baracoa This vibrant small town set on Cuba’s southeastern tip is surrounded by some of the country’s most breathtaking mountains, rainforest and countryside.

6 Guantánamo’s musical heritage Search for Haitian heritage and the musical tradition of changüí in Guantánamo.

7 El Yunque The easily scaled El Yunque is as famous for its mention in the 1492 log of Christopher Columbus as its rare orchids and ferns.

< Back to Northern Oriente

Victoria de las Tunas

VICTORIA DE LAS TUNAS seems to have been built to a traditional Cuban recipe for a quiet town: take one central plaza, a small main hotel, a Revolution square and a thriving market, add a pinch of culture and bake in the sun for two hundred years. The result is a pleasant but slow-moving town where the faster pace of life elsewhere in the world seems but a rumour. The town’s hub is Parque Vicente García, a small but comfortable central plaza hemmed by trees and cacti, which holds a number of attractions.

FESTIVALS IN VICTORIA DE LAS TUNAS

There’s not much nightlife or entertainment to speak of in Las Tunas except during the summer, when the annual El Cucalambé music festival is held over three days in June. Based in the grounds of the otherwise unremarkable Hotel El Cornito ( tel_icon 31 34 5015), about 7km out of town, the festival features live folk and salsa in a lively atmosphere awash with beer and food stalls. Other events include rodeos, which take place in August and December at Hotel El Cornito, while fireworks and parades are held every September 26 to commemorate Major General Vicente García. The city also celebrates its carnival and semana de la cultura in September with music, poetry and art events.

Museo Provincial Mayor General Vicente García

Parque Vicente García • Tues–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 8am–noon • $1CUC • tel_icon 31 34 8201.

On the east side of Parque Vicente García, the Museo Provincial Mayor General Vicente García is housed in a distinguished duck-blue-and-white colonial building adorned with an elegant clock face. The city history detailed within includes a worthy – though brief – record of slavery, as well as two rooms featuring art and clocks.

Plaza Martiana de las Tunas

Opposite the southeastern corner of Parque Vicente García is the Plaza Martiana de las Tunas, a modern art monument to José Martí made up of six white man-sized spikes, one embossed with a bust of Martí by Cuba’s most famous sculptor, Rita Longa. The whole plaza forms an ingenious gigantic sundial that illuminates the bust each May 19 to commemorate the hero’s death in 1895.

RITA LONGA

Cuba’s most famous sculptor, Rita Longa, considered Las Tunas her second home and two of her works adorn the city. As well as the José Martí monument in Plaza Martiana de las Tunas, there’s the non-functioning Fuente de las Antillas fountain, across the street from the Museo Memorial Mártires de Barbados, a reclining female body in the shape of Cuba, which has been much emulated by the island’s contemporary artists. East of the centre, the small Galería Taller Rita Longa, Lucas Ortíz e/ Villalón (Tues–Sun 8am–noon & 1.30–4pm, Sun 8am–noon; free; tel_icon 31 34 2969), stages temporary sculpture exhibitions and displays works by Longa and other notable artists such as Flora Fong and Sergio Martínez in rotating exhibitions.

Museo Memorial Mártires de Barbados

Lucas Ortíz no.344 • Tues–Sun 11am–7pm • Free

The most arresting museum in Las Tunas is the small but poignant Museo Memorial Mártires de Barbados, just west of Parque Vicente García. It commemorates the horrific plane crash on October 6, 1976, that wiped out the national junior fencing team. When it was later revealed that an anti-Castro terrorist linked to the CIA had planted the bomb, the incident was popularly seen as a direct attack on Cuban revolutionary youth and achievement. The museum itself is located in the tiny former home of one of the three team members from Las Tunas, and has some affecting memorabilia like photographs of weeping crowds in Havana and the victims’ fencing trophies.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: VICTORIA DE LAS TUNAS

By plane The Hermanos Almejeira airport is some 3km north of Victoria de las Tunas. Taxis charge $2–3CUC to get into town.

Destinations Havana (4 weekly; 1hr).

By bus Víazul buses ( tel_icon 31 36 4295) plying the Carretera Central between Holguín and Camagüey pull in at the terminal ( 31 34 3060), located about 250m south of the centre on Francisco Varona. From here you can get a bicitaxi into town. The provincial bus station is about 2.5km northeast of town on Avenida Cienfuegos; bicitaxis and horse-drawn carriages wait here to whisk you into the centre ($2CUC).

Destinations Havana (9 daily; 11hr); Puerto Padre (several daily; 1hr); Santiago (5 daily; 3–5hr 30min).

By train The train station is Avenida Camilo Cienfuegos, about 2.5km northeast of town.

Destinations Camagüey (daily; 12hr 45min); Ciego de Ávila (2 weekly; 4hr); Guantánamo (every other day; 6hr); Havana (daily; 12hr); Holguín (daily; 1hr 40min); Santiago (daily; 8hr).

INFORMATION

Infotur The office at Francisco Varona no.298 e/ Angel Guardia y Lucas Ortiz (Mon–Fri 8.15am–4.15pm, plus alternate Saturdays 8.15am–4.15pm; tel_icon 31 37 2717) offers limited information, though the staff are helpful.

Services CADECA casa de cambio is at Angel Guardia e/ Francisco Varona y Francisco Vega (Mon–Sat 8.30am–4pm, Sun 8.30–11.30am). Telepunto, Francisco Vegas no.237 e/ Lucas Ortiz y Vincente García (daily 8.30am–7pm), has internet access ($6CUC/hr), phones and phonecards.

ACCOMMODATION

Casa de Esperanza Fresco Avenida Frank País no.62 e/ Villalón y R López tel_icon 31 34 5630. Run by the gregarious Esperanza, this is a comfortable, quiet room with en-suite bathroom and its own independent entrance. Off-street parking available. $25CUC

Hotel Cadillac Angel Guardia s/n tel_icon 31 37 2791, email_icon jose.daniel@hoteltu.co.cu. This Art Deco-style hotel is a welcome addition to the Las Tunas accommodation scene. The eight rooms are furnished in chocolate and cream fabrics and come with TVs, fridges and a/c. The 24hr bar is the city’s social hotspot. $70CUC

EATING AND DRINKING

La Bodeguita Francisco Varona no.303 e/ Vicente García y Lucas Ortiz (no phone). The main convertible-peso state option in town, this inexpensive central restaurant has mediocre fried chicken, pasta dishes and fish and shellfish. Daily noon–3pm & 7–11pm.

La Romana Francisco Varona no.331 e/ Lucas Ortiz and L Cruz tel_icon 31 34 7755. This Italian-run paladar makes a very welcome addition to the Las Tunas’ dining scene, and is by far the best place to eat in town. Owner Franco, from Rome, uses Authentic Italian parmesan and pecorino to rustle up pasta and pesto, carbonara, a delicious lasagne and hearty salads. Mains $3.50–4.50CUC. Daily noon–11pm.

Taberna Don Juan Francisco Varona no.225 (no phone). Near Parque Vicente García, overlooking the main road and Plaza Martiana, and offering decent comida criolla and excellent local beer, priced in national pesos. Daily noon–midnight.

< Back to Northern Oriente

Puerto Padre

Although Las Tunas has just 70km of coastline – a small stretch compared with neighbouring provinces – there are still some pleasant spots. The attractive little seaside town of Puerto Padre, 56km northeast of Las Tunas, is a worthwhile diversion on the coastal road through the province. Here, a clutch of colonial buildings, including a church with a handsome spire, spreads along a spacious boulevard that heads down to a malecón.

Fuerte de la Loma

Tues–Sat 9.30am–4.30pm, Sun 8.30am–11.30am • $1CUC

Puerto Padre’s chief attraction is a small, crumbling and quietly impressive stone fort, Fuerte de la Loma, on the town’s main boulevard. Built by the Spanish in 1875, with a circular tower on two of its four corners linking its once solid walls, it offers pleasant views of the coast from its batteries.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: PUERTO PADRE

By bus Services from Las Tunas (departing from the Avenida Cienfuegos terminal) arrive in the town centre daily.

By taxi A taxi to Puerto Padre will cost $40–50CUC from Las Tunas.

< Back to Northern Oriente

San Isidoro de Holguín

Nestled in a valley surrounded by hills, 72km east of Las Tunas, the provincial capital of SAN ISIDORO DE HOLGUÍN – or Holguín for short – is a thriving industrial town balancing quieter backstreets with a busier central district of handsome colonial buildings, bicycles and horn-blasting cars. Despite having the bustling air of a large metropolis, Holguín’s centre is compact enough to explore on foot and has a couple of fine eighteenth-century churches and some small-scale museums which will keep you quietly absorbed for a day. The city is also spotted with numerous elegant plazas; these open spaces, ideal for people-watching, are central to the Holguín lifestyle, and in the evenings it seems that the whole city turns out just to sit, chat and watch their children play in one or other of them.

Brief history

The area around Holguín was once densely populated by indigenous Taíno, but the Spanish had wiped them out by 1545, after Captain García Holguín, early colonizer and veteran of the conquest of Mexico, established his cattle ranch around La Loma de la Cruz. Although a small settlement remained after his death, a town wasn’t fully established here for 150 years, and it was only officially named on April 4, 1720 – San Isidoro’s Day – with a commemorative Mass held in the cathedral.

Being an inland town with no port, Holguín was destined to be overshadowed in importance by coastal Gibara. In spite of its rather grand blueprint, laid out in accordance with Spanish colonial city planning laws, it developed slowly. But by the nineteenth century an economy based on sugar production and fruit-growing, as well as a little tobacco cultivation, was established and the town grew accordingly. As with other parts of Oriente, Holguín province saw plenty of action during the Wars of Independence. Shortly after the start of the Ten Years’ War, on October 30, 1868, the city was captured by General Julio Grave de Peralta’s force of Mambises, who lost Holguín to the Spanish on December 6. The tides turned again four years later on December 19, 1872, when the city was recaptured by General Máximo Gómez and Holguín-born General Calixto García. After independence, the province was largely dominated by US corporations and Holguín chugged along much the same as it always had. Since the Revolution, however, it has become more of an industrial city, with several factories and engineering plants, and was designated provincial capital when the province was created in 1975.

Parque Calixto García

Most of Holguín’s sights spread out from the central Parque Calixto García, an expanse of ornamental pink and green marble. In the park’s centre, a square marble column is topped by a statue of war hero Calixto García leaning upon his sword. A bushy rim of trees lines the park’s outer edge and the benches beneath are packed with old men relaxing in the shade, the more garrulous of whom will gladly fill you in on the entire history of the province.

Museo Provincial de Holguín

Calle Frexes e/ Maceo y Libertad • Tues–Sat 8am–noon & 12.30–4.30pm, Sun 8am–noon • $1CUC, photos $5CUC

Presiding over the northeastern side of Parque Calixto García is the Museo Provincial de Holguín, where a number of worthwhile exhibits are displayed in one of the town’s most impressive buildings. The handsome ochre edifice was built between 1860 and 1868 as both the private house and business premises of Francisco Roldán y Rodríguez, a wealthy Spanish merchant. He never managed to move in, however; while the great house awaited the finishing touches, the first War of Independence broke out and, with Rodríguez’s blessing, the Spanish army in Holguín hastily holed up here, capitalizing on its fortress-like proportions. The measure paid off and throughout the siege of the city the Mambises, unable to capture the building, had to content themselves with yelling “Parrots, parrots, climb out of your cage” at the yellow-and-red-clad Spanish soldiers as they peeked from the windows. The house has since been known as La Periquera or “the parrot cage”.

The primary reason to come here is actually the building, as the historical miscellanea on display are rather sparse. The best section is the small set of pre-Columbian artefacts discovered in and around Holguín, including bone fragments of necklaces and pieces of clay pots. Most impressive is a polished, olive-coloured Taíno axe, known as the Axe of Holguín, which was discovered in 1860 in the hills surrounding the city. Carved with a grimacing, crowned male figure, it was most likely used for religious ceremonies.

Museo Carlos de la Torre

Maceo no.129 • Tues–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 9am–noon • $1CUC, photos $5CUC

A block south of Parque Calixto García is the Museo Carlos de la Torre, chiefly worth visiting for the nineteenth-century building in which it’s set. A fanciful lime, forest green, mustard and custard-yellow confection with a pillared portico and an entrance portal, it is exquisitely tiled in bright ceramic squares of lacquered aqua and rose, complementing the richly patterned floor inside. Exhibits include some second-rate taxidermy, though conchologists might be interested in the large collection of colourful Baracoa polymita snails.

Iglesia San José

Libertad e/ Agramonte y Arias • Irregular hours, but usually open mornings

Three blocks north of Parque Calixto García, fronting the shady, cobbled Plaza Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (currently under restoration), is the Iglesia San José. With a single weatherbeaten clocktower rising above stone arches and topped with a domed turret, the church is easily the most attractive spot in town. Contrasting with many Cuban churches, the ornate Baroque interior is vibrant and welcoming. The rest of the church leans towards more traditional Catholic decor, with effigies of saints huddled above the altars.

Catedral de San Isidoro

Libertad e/ Luz Caballero y Aricochea • Mon 5.30–6.45pm, Tues & Fri 7am–noon & 3–5.30pm, Wed–Thurs 7am–noon & 3–6.45pm, Sat–Sun 7am–noon & 7–8.45pm • Free

The Catedral de San Isidoro de Holguín, named after the city’s patron saint, lords it over the stately Parque Julio Grave de Peralta (also known as Parque de los Flores), a couple of blocks south of Parque Calixto García. Surrounded by a walled patio, the stalwart but simple cathedral, with two turrets and a red-tiled roof, glows in the Caribbean sun. The original church on this site, completed in 1720, was one of the first buildings in Holguín; a humble affair built from palm trees, it lasted ten years until a sturdier structure was erected in 1730. The current building was finished in 1815 with some parts, like the twin towers, added later. Built as a parish church, and also used as the city crypt, it was only elevated to cathedral status in 1979, which accounts for its straightforward design and small size.

Monumento al Ernesto Che Guevara

Avenida de los Libertadores • Take a bicitaxi or taxi from the centre for $1–2CUC

Some 1.5kn east of town, via Avenida de los Libertadores, the Monumento al Guerrillero Heróico Ernesto Che Guevara is an impressive three-part sculpture with panels showing a silhouette of Guevara approaching, striding forward and receding. Executed in sombre stone, it’s an eye-catching and accomplished piece of work, its triptych of images said to allude to, respectively, his revolutionary influence, presence and lasting legacy.

Loma de la Cruz

Metered taxis to the summit from downtown cost $3–4CUC

Rising above Holguín, the Loma de la Cruz, or Hill of the Cross, is the largest of the hills that form a natural border to the north of the city. A steep, 458-step stairway starts from the northern end of Maceo and heads up to the summit, where you’ll find a faithful replica of the hefty wooden cross erected on May 3, 1790, by Friar Antonio de Algerías, following the Spanish tradition of the Romería de la Cruz (Pilgrimage of the Cross). This custom commemorates the day that, according to legend, St Elena, mother of Constantine the Great, rediscovered the original cross of Christ’s crucifixion. Every May 3, a Mass is held for the faithful – who until the construction of the staircase in 1950 had to toil up the hill the long way round – along with a low-key week-long festival in town, where locals gather nightly around beer stalls and food stands set up around the centre.

The hill was also used by the Spanish as a lookout during the Wars of Independence, and a bijou fort on the plateau set back from the cross remains as evidence. You can appreciate why they chose this point when you gaze down at the town’s rigid grid below, and the panorama of lush green land on one side and dry countryside on the other, with parched and dusty hillocks visible in the distance. A small café takes advantage of the magnificent views, and there’s also a restaurant up here.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: SAN ISIDORO DE HOLGUÍN

BY PLANE

Airport International ( tel_icon 24 47 4525) and domestic flights ( 24 47 4583) land at the Aeropuerto Frank País about 14km south of town, from where metered taxis will run you to the centre for about $10CUC.

Airlines Cubana, Martí esq. Libertad ( tel_icon 24 47 4630).

Destinations Havana (2–3 daily; 1hr 45min).

BY BUS OR COLECTIVO

Valiares Terminal de Omnibus Local buses and interprovincial colectivos pull into the Valiares terminal ( tel_icon 24 48 1170), to the east of the centre in front of the Calixto García stadium car park on Avenida de los Libertadores.

Estación José María Víazul buses arrive at the Astro Estación José María, at Carretera Central e/ Independencia y 20 de Mayo, about 1km west from the centre; horse-drawn carriages, bicitaxis and taxis ($3CUC) wait to ferry you into town.

Destinations Banes (daily; 2hr 30min); Gibara (1 daily; 1hr); Havana (4 daily; 12hr); Santa Clara (3 daily; 5hr); Santiago de Cuba (3 daily; 3hr 20min).

Conectando Cuba Daily services to and from Havana and Santiago (with stops at main cities) arrive and depart outside Hotel Pernik.

BY TRAIN

Terminal de Ferrocaril Vidal The terminal is at Pita no.3 e/ Libertad y Maceo ( tel_icon 24 42 2331), 1km south of the town centre, and is served by taxis ($3CUC) and bicitaxis.

Destinations Guantánamo (every other day; 6hr); Havana (every other day; 14hr); Las Tunas (daily; 2hr 30min).

GETTING AROUND

Car rental Havanautos has a desk at the airport (daily 8am–8pm; tel_icon 24 46 8412), and another at Edificio Pico de Cristal, Libertad esq. Martí (Mon–Sat 9am–5pm; 24 46 8559).

Scooter rental Restaurante 1720, Frexes no 290 esq. Miró (daily 8am–5pm; tel_icon 24 46 8150) rents out scooters for $25CUC per day.

By taxi Cubataxi is at Maceo no.79 e/ Garayalde y Cuba ( tel_icon 24 47 3155).

INFORMATION, TRAVEL AGENCIES AND TOURS

Infotur The best port of call for tourist information is Infotur in the Edificio Pico Cristal, at Libertad esq. Martí (Mon–Fri 8am–noon & 12.30–4.30pm, plus every other Sat; tel_icon 24 42 5013, email_icon infotur@holguin.infotur.cu), where you can book tours and pick up leaflets on local attractions.

Events information A listings board outside the Fondo Bienes Cultural Centre, at no.196 Frexes, details weekly cultural and arts events in Holguín.

Festivals Holguín’s carnival takes place over the third weekend in August, while the Fiesta de la Cultura Iberoamericana in October celebrates the arrival of Christopher Columbus to Cuba with a host of cultural events ( web_icon casadeiberoamerica.cult.cu/fcia/index.php).

Cubatur With offices inside Salon 1720, Frexes 190 e/ Miró y Holguín (Mon–Fri 1–5pm; tel_icon 24 42 1679) and La Begonia, Maceo 176 e/ Frexes y Martí (Mon–Sat 8am–noon), Cubatur is a full service tour operator, and runs buses to Guardalavaca, departing at 8am and returning at 5pm (July & Aug Sat & Sun; $5CUC return).

Gaviota Based at no.220 Frexes (usually Mon–Sat 8am–5pm; tel_icon 24 42 1602), Gaviota organizes overnight excursions from Guardalavaca to Pinares de Mayarí and Salto El Guayabo ($71CUC per person).

ACCOMMODATION

While the three state hotels catering for tourists are sound options, they’re all slightly out of town, which is a drag if you don’t have your own transport. A more central option is any one of the numerous well-appointed casas particulares. Bear in mind that the taxi drivers who pick up from the bus station are fairly mercenary, and even if you direct them to your chosen casa particular they may still try to charge you a proprietor’s commission – the more unscrupulous will attempt to drive you to a casa particular of their own choosing. To avoid any hassle, book in advance and ask the owners to come and collect you themselves.

HOTELS

Hotel El Bosque Ave Jorge Dimitrov Reparto Pedro Díaz Coello tel_icon 24 48 1012, email_icon bosque@bosque.holguin.info.cu. Although not very modern, the self-contained blocks set in leafy grounds, with two or three rooms apiece, are well maintained. Some rooms have refrigerators, while two restaurants, a bar and a pool flesh out the attractive package. Located on the outskirts of town, 2km east of the centre. $45CUC

Hotel Pernik Ave. Jorge Dimitrov tel_icon 24 48 1011, web_icon islazul.cu. A bulky, imposing hotel near the Plaza de la Revolución, a good 30min walk from the town centre; taxis wait outside to ferry you in. It’s a bit grim and overpriced, and with half-hearted service, but there are usually rooms available which are clean and good-sized, with satellite TV. The choice rooms are the five decorated by different contemporary artists. $45CUC

author_pick Mirador de Mayabe Alturas de Mayabe tel_icon 24 42 2160. Some 8km south of town, this is Holguín’s most picturesque hotel. The clean and comfortable rooms are grouped in tile-roofed, pale yellow chalets connected by flowerbeds tangled with verdant vines and creepers (rooms 11–17 are larger and newer). There’s a lobby bar with panoramic views over the valley and swinging wooden love seats, two restaurants and an invitingly large pool from which to admire the amazing view of the plain below. Rates include breakfast. $45CUC

CASAS PARTICULARES

Casa de Ana Berta Carballido Aguilera 163 e/ Narciso López y G. Feria tel_icon 24 46 5675, email_icon mariana6412@gmail.com. One double room in a bright, airy house, with a bathroom, fridge, pleasant patio and a private entrance. English, Portuguese and Italian spoken. $20CUC

author_pick Casa de Bárbara Merino Nieves Mártires no.31 e/ Agramonte y Garayalde tel_icon 24 42 3805, email_icon rosellsoler@cristal.hlg.slc.cu. Two excellent double rooms, each with a/c and its own bathroom and TV; one has a small kitchen. Use of a sunny terrace and very friendly and helpful owner make this one of the best casas particulares in town. $25CUC

Casa de Dr Mariela Bosch Barroso Rastro no.41 e/ Agramonte y Garayalde tel_icon 24 45 2109, email_icon rfrutosrojas@gmail.com. One enormous self-contained apartment with a picturesque terrace, spacious living room and leafy garden kitchen. Ideal for a family, with one double bed and one single. $25CUC

Casa de Isabel Sera Galves Narciso López no.142 e/ Aguilera y Frexes tel_icon 24 42 2529. Two sizeable double rooms with fridges in a handsome and grand colonial house, with a patio, a pretty garden shaded by coconut palms and a mini-Che museum. The disadvantage is that both rooms share a single bathroom, though each one does have a basin. $25CUC

Casa de Yodalis Trasobares Rastro no.37 e/ Agramonte y Garayalde tel_icon 24 42 5229, email_icon trasobares@cristalhlg.sld.cu. Three pleasantly decorated a/c rooms: the one in the main house has its own lavishly tiled bathroom, while the others are on the second floor accessed by an independent entrance. There’s a beautiful crazy-paved patio out the back where you can take home-cooked meals. $20CUC

Casa Yennys Osorio Leyva Mártires no 53 (altos) e/ Arias y Agramonte tel_icon 05 53 55 7241 (mobile). A spacious top-floor room with an en-suite bathroom, fridge and sink, and a terrace with sofas for admiring the cityscape and sunbathing. The super friendly owner Yennys is good fun and knows a lot about the city, its nightlife and its attractions. $25CUC

Villa Liba Maceo no.46 esq. 18 tel_icon 24 42 3823. Two a/c rooms with TVs in an airy 1950s apartment near the Loma de la Cruz steps. Each simply furnished room has its own bathroom, plus there’s a sun-trap patio for eating. Jorge, of Lebanese descent, cooks Lebanese and vegetarian food and his wife, Mariela, gives deeply relaxing massages and teaches yoga and Reiki. Garage parking available. $25CUC

EATING

CAFÉS

La Begonia Maceo 176 e/ Frexes y Martí tel_icon 24 42 7354. Overlooking Parque Calixto García from beneath a canopy of begonias, this reasonably priced open-air café serves up unexciting but decent sandwiches ($3CUC), beers ($2CUC) and Nestlé ice cream (from $1.50CUC). Note that this is a popular hangout for jineteros. Daily 8am–2am.

Sodería El Framboyan Maceo e/ Frexes y Aguilera. With a mind-boggling list of sundaes and other delicious confections, this open-air ice-cream parlour offers a range of exotic flavours including orange-pineapple, almond, hazelnut and chocolate ripple alongside the standard strawberry and chocolate. Prices start at around $1CUC for a cone. Daily noon–7pm.

STATE RESTAURANTS

La Boguedita de Holguín Aguilera no.249 esq. Mártires. A pleasant, if dingy, national-peso restaurant specializing in grilled pork, with a bar area where trovadores play in the evenings. The cheap prices (the equivalent of $2–3CUC for mains) and friendly atmosphere more than compensate for the fact that most of the menu options are usually unavailable. Daily noon–10.45pm.

Loma de la Cruz La Loma de la Cruz. Good-value open-air restaurant at the top of the hill (to the left of the summit), featuring comida criolla dishes and al dente pasta for $2.50–8CUC. Friendly and unpretentious, with superb views over the city, this is a much better spot to pause for a drink than the nearby café. Daily noon–10.45pm.

Salon 1720 Frexes 190 e/ Miró y Holguín tel_icon 24 46 8150. With splendid decor and attentive service, this is one of Holguín’s better state dining experiences and, surprisingly, everything on the menu actually appears to be available. You can relax over a mojito in the rooftop bar beforehand and eat either in the smart dining rooms or in the central courtyard. Options include onion soup, beef medallions or lamb chops with tamarind sauce accompanied by perfect mashed potato and lightly cooked vegetables. Expect to pay $6–11CUC for a main course, $22CUC for lobster. Daily noon–10.30pm, bar closed Mon.

PALADARS

1910 Mártires no.143 e/ Aricochea y Cables, tel_icon 24 42 3994, web_icon 1910restaurantebar.com. A hugely popular paladar inside a columned colonial home. While the standard, national Cuban criollo menu has been stretched to include grilled octopus in garlic sauce and shrimps with caramelized pineapple, and the food is delicious and beautifully presented, the service is unacceptably slow (mains $90–200CUP). Daily noon–midnight.

Delicias Cubanas Dositeo Aguilera no.78 e/ Agramonte y Garayalde tel_icon 24 46 4397. A little off the beaten track but frequented by those in the know, and insanely popular at weekends. It offers standard comida criolla fare, carefully cooked and in generous portions. Try its ropa vieja, or the slices of pork in Creole sauce. Rounds of boniato chips go down a treat, too. Mains $4–12CUC. Daily noon–midnight.

author_pick San José Agramonte no.188 e/ Maceo y Libertad tel_icon 24 42 4877. The most professional and best paladar in Holguín. Succulent fish and tender meats (such as roast lamb or smoked pork in pineapple sauce) are cooked to order from the small kitchen on display at the back of a narrow alfresco courtyard. There’s air-conditioned cool in the interior dining room but it lacks the comfortable ambience of the outside space. Mains $5.20–9CUC. Daily 11am–11pm.

La Ternura José Antonio Cardet no.293 (altos) e/ Cables y Angel Guerra tel_icon 24 42 1223. Small, cosy paladar serving chicken, lamb, fish and pork prepared in a variety of styles. It’s also a good choice for veggies with an omelette menu. Mains $1–4CUC. Daily noon–midnight.

NIGHTLIFE AND ENTERTAINMENT

BARS, CLUBS AND LIVE MUSIC VENUES

Cabaret Nocturno Carretera Central Vía Las Tunas, Km 2 tel_icon 24 42 9345. Saturday is the big night here, with young Holguineros descending to see the cabaret, hear the singers, compete in dancing competitions and dance to Fiesta Kaliente’s techno sounds. It’s a totally authentic night out as there are few foreigners. Entry $8CUC for visitors. Mon & Wed–Sun 9pm–2am.

author_pick Casa de la Música Frexes esq. Libertad tel_icon 24 42 9561. Slick nightspot with four busy salons hosting great salsa and jazz bands, and a 24hr open-air bar flanking the building on Libertad. Of the four salons, the darkly atmospheric Santa Palabra ($3CUC) has nightly live music and a Wed–Sat dance matinee ($10CUP), while the Terraza Bucanero ($1CUC, free before 8pm) is a lively beer-only rooftop bar, playing disco, up-tempo salsa and reggaeton. Santa Palabra daily 10pm–3am, plus Wed–Sat 4–7pm; Terraza Bucanero daily 2pm–1am.

Casa de la Trova Maceo no.174 e/ Frexes y Martí (no phone). A mixed crowd of cross-generational foreigners and Cubans fills the big wooden dancefloor for exuberant salsa and traditional trova sessions, with live bands playing daytimes and evenings ($1CUC). There’s a $10CUC charge on Sundays 2–8pm. Daily 2–6pm & 9pm–2am.

Piano Bar Mártires esq. Frexes (no phone). Night owls in search of more mellow entertainment should head to this sultry late-night piano bar with an original 1950s counter. Free. Daily 8pm–4am.

Salon 1720 Calle Frexes 190 e/ Miró y Holguín tel_icon 24 46 8150. The restaurant’s well-stocked bar, on a romantic lantern-lit roof terrace, is the city’s top choice for moonlight cocktails. Tues–Sun noon–12.30am.

Salón Benny Moré Luz Caballero esq. Maceo (no phone). A new Artex space with a large alfresco stage in the round surrounded by comfy plastic rattan sofas, and an eclectic lineup of live music. It’s also a popular off-street bar during the afternoon. Entry $1CUC at night. Tues–Sun 1–6pm & 9pm–2am.

Las Tres Lucias Mártires e/ Frexes y Aguilera (no phone). Appealing little national-peso café with a cinematic theme. Film posters and black-and-white stills hang on the walls, and the name itself is a reference to the Humberto Solás film. Movies are shown on some evenings. Daily 7am–1am.

CINEMA, THEATRE AND ACTIVITIES

La Bolera Calle Habana e/ Maceo y Libertad tel_icon 24 46 8812 ($1CUC per game). A 10min walk from the centre, this is a popular bowling alley that has clowns and magic shows for kids on Sunday mornings. Daily 10am–1am.

Cine Martí Calle Frexes e/ Maceo y Libertad (no phone). This small, intimate venue on Parque Calixto García screens Cuban and international films. Tickets are $2CUP.

Estadio Calixto García tel_icon 24 462014. Baseball games at Holguín’s stadium, 1km east of town, take place between December and May; tickets are $3CUC. Mon & Sat 8.15pm, Wed, Thurs & Fri 1pm.

Teatro Eddy Suñol Calle Martí e/ Maceo y Libertad tel_icon 24 45 4930. On the north side of Parque Calixto García, this recently restored chocolate-coloured Art Deco theatre puts on plays, ballet and musical entertainment.

SHOPPING

La Cohoba Plaza de la Marqueta tel_icon 24 46 8697. Offers a fine selection of rum, cigars and coffee. Mon–Sat 9am–4.45pm, Sun 9am–noon.

Egrem Maceo esq. Martí on Parque Calixto García tel_icon 24 45 3135. An official music shop selling CDs, guitars and strings, maracas and other Cuban musical instruments. Staff are friendly and helpful. Daily 8am–8pm.

La Luz de Yara Maceo esq. Frexes tel_icon 24 46 8526. The largest supermarket in town – which isn’t saying much, but drinks, biscuits and other snacks are available. Mon–Sat 8.30am–7.30pm, Sun 8.30am–1.30pm.

Pedro Rojena Libertad no.193, e/ Frexes y Martí (no phone). Sells a selection of T-shirts, tapes, CDs, postcards, stationery and socialist-themed books in English, French and Spanish. More importantly, it has the Guia de Carreteras, the indispensable Cuban road map book for drivers. Mon–Fri 9am–4.45pm, Sat 9am–4.15pm, Sun 9am–noon.

COLUMBUS AND GIBARA

The name “Gibara” comes from the word giba, or hump, and refers to the Silla de Gibara, a hill which, seen from the sea, looks like a horse’s saddle. Gibarans swear this is the one Christopher Columbus mentioned in his log when approaching Cuban shores, but although he did first land in Holguín province, the hill he wrote about is generally taken to be El Yunque in Baracoa. The spot where Columbus first disembarked in Cuba on October 28, 1492, is Playa Blanca, about 20km east of Gibara, in the Bahía de Bariay; it’s marked today by a small monument on the hillside near the pretty, pale-sand beach.

Plaza Calixto García

An enjoyable place for a wander, Gibara’s streets fan out from the dainty Plaza Calixto García. Rimmed with large Inbondeiro African oak trees imported from Angola in the 1970s, the plaza is dominated by the Iglesia de San Fulgencio, a mid nineteenth-century church built in a medley of styles. In the centre of the square is the marble Statue of Liberty, erected to commemorate the rebel army’s triumphant entrance into town on July 25, 1898, during the second War of Independence. Sculpted in Italy, the statue is smaller and less austere than her North American counterpart and bears the winsome face of Aurora Peréz Desdín, a local woman considered so captivating that the town supplied the sculptor with her photograph so that he might preserve her beauty forever. The aubergine-and-yellow building on the c/ Independencia side of the square is a cigar factory, where a peek inside reveals workers industriously rolling away.

Museo Historia Natural

Luz Caballero 21 e/ Independencia y Sartorio • Mon 1–5pm, Tues–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 8am–noon & 1–5pm, Sun 9am–noon • $1CUC, guide $5CUC, photos $5CUC

Even the smallest Cuban town has a moth-eaten collection of stuffed animals, and Gibara is no exception, although its Museo Historia Natural, which borders Plaza Calixto García, is worth a peek, not least for its pièce de résistance of Cuban grotesque: a long-dead hermaphrodite chicken which was once both rooster and hen.

Museo de Artes Decorativas

Independencia no.19 • Mon–Wed 8am–noon & 1–5pm, Thurs–Sun same hours plus 8–10pm • $1CUC

Before it was closed thanks to damage wreaked by Hurricane Ike in 2008, Gibara’s best museum was the Museo de Artes Decorativas, set in a sumptuous building built in the nineteenth century as the private residence of José Beola, a wealthy local merchant. When it eventually reopens, you should be able to admire the quietly splendid interior with its narrow staircase sweeping upstairs to the fine, though small, collection of paintings and colonial furniture. The delicately coloured stained-glass windows are original to the house and the biggest in the province.

Cavernas de Panadernos

On the outskirts of Gibara, about 2km from the centre, the town’s most rewarding feature are the Cavernas de Panadernos, one of 29 caves in the area. Formed from glacial movement during the ice age, the caves have gradually flooded and drained to form a labyrinth of mineral galleries. The caves are home to a sizeable colony of bats that hover above you as you pass from gallery to gallery and whose presence adds to the generally eerie air.

In all, there are several galleries stretching 11km under the Gibara hillside, though you probably won’t go the whole distance. There’s much to be seen in the most accessible chambers, however, including red pictographs and the largest collection of red petroglyphs in Cuba. Heading further underground, you’re rewarded with a magnificent lake glinting in the Tolkienesque gloom.

You can walk to the Cavernas de Panadernos from Gibara, but you’ll need a guide, who will provide lanterns and helmets. Nature specialist José Corella knows the caves inside out and has buckets of information on them to boot. He works at the Oficina de Monumentos Technicos, at no.7 Calle Sartorio, next to the old theatre ( tel_icon 24 84 5107, email_icon gibara@baibrama.cult.cu); prices are negotiable.

GIBARA’S FESTIVALS

Despite being off the tourist trail, Gibara is notable for its film festival, the biennial Festival de Cine Pobre ( web_icon festivalcinepobre.com), which celebrates low-budget fringe movies. Held in April, it’s based at the town’s cute Cine Jiba.

During Gibara’s annual Semana de la Cultura, which takes place in mid-January, cultural, music and dance events enliven the town, while in late January, the three-day Cine de la Cueva festival sees the subterranean movie nights held in the Panadernos Caves.

ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION: GIBARA

By bus or truck Buses to Gibara leave the Valiares depot in Holguín around 7am daily and take an hour; you can catch a private camión truck from the same place for about $10CUP.

By taxi An unmetered taxi will cost $25–30CUC from Holguín to Gibara, depending on the number of passengers and how hard you bargain.

Services BPA, at Indpendencia no.26 (Mon–Sat 8am–3pm), offers cash withdrawals on Visa and MasterCard and exchange facilities. The Post Office is at Independencia no.17, just off Parque Calixto García (Mon–Sat 8am–8pm).

ACCOMMODATION

Los Hermanos Calle Céspedes no.13 e/ Luz Caballero y J. Peralta tel_icon 24 84 4542, email_icon odalisgonzalezgurri@gmail.com. Three rooms set alongside a sunny courtyard in a very handsome colonial home. All rooms have their own bath but only one is in the old colonial section of the house. $25CUC

Hostal La Muralla Calle Joaquin Agüero no.77 tel_icon 24 84 4848. Mariela Barciela runs an excellent and efficient casa particular with two comfortable and quiet rooms that open out onto the back patio, where meals are served and there’s a communal TV. It’s one and a half blocks from the main Calle Independencia. $25CUC

Hotel Encanto Ordoño J. Peralta e/ D Mármol y Independencia tel_icon 24 84 4448, email_icon direccion@hotelordono.co.cu. This enormous tangerine and papaya coloured building has been recently restored and reopened. Furnished in dusky blue, grey and chocolate fabrics, the super-smart rooms have TVs and plush bathrooms with rain showers. The suite is a feast, with a gloriously kitsch Cuban meringue cake imitation on the bedroom ceiling and a bathroom painted with a charming rural scene. There are two terraces with outstanding views. Rates include breakfast. Rooms $74CUC, suite $104CUC

La Terraza de Ileana Calle Donato Marmol no.51A tel_icon 24 84 4977. One large room in a third-floor apartment with its own bathroom, kitchen with cooking facilities, sitting room and private terrace, plusa second bedroom off the main living room of the house with a tiny terrace and table. Bonuses include the shared back terrace with hill views, and a lovely host, Ileana Rámirez Ramos. $25CUC

EATING AND DRINKING

El Faro Parque de las Madres tel_icon 24 84 4596. Also known as La Concha, this state restaurant is cavernous and a little unloved. Although there’s not much to recommend in the rather substandard fried-chicken-and-fries fare (mains $2.25–5.65CUC), it does boast a sea view and a cracking sound system. Daily 10am–10pm.

Los Hermanos Calle Céspedes no.13 e/ Luz Caballero y Peralta tel_icon 24 84 4542. A paladar doubling as a casa particular, with a couple of tables set around a sunny, attractive courtyard. Service and food are both excellent, with satisfying portions of comida criolla and some seafood, all served with imagination and flair for $9–13CUC. Daily lunch and dinner.

Paladar El Curujey J. Peralta no.48 e/ J. Mora y Céspedes tel_icon 05 314 1785 (mobile). Professionally run by Dairon Teruca, this new paladar on the top terrace of a private home offers sea views and tasty seafood – lobster, crab and octopus for $7–10CUC, plus one of the best flan de leches in Cuba. Daily 11am–late.

NIGHTLIFE AND ENTERTAINMENT

Batería de Fernando VII bar Independencia Final. Set in the diminutive pale yellow fort next to La Concha beach, this bar has singing and dancing shows on and live music. Entry is $10CUP. Shows Mon, Wed & Fri 2pm, concerts Fri, Sat & Sun 10pm.

El Colonial Centro Cultural Luz Caballero no.23A e/ Sartorio y Independencia tel_icon 24 84 4471. This leafy courtyard space spends most of its life as a bar but at weekends there’s live music alongside the palm trees and fountain. Entry $10CUP. Daily 9am–7pm, shows Sat & Sun 5pm.

Cine Jiba Luz Caballero no.17 e/Sartorio y Independencia facing Parque Calixto García tel_icon 24 84 4629. The town’s cinema has a large screen and a sala de video, and shows a mixture of Cuban and international films.

Mirador del Gibara Los Caneyes (no phone). For the best view over the town, head up to this hilltop bar near the fort. A regular hangout for locals, it has a certain ramshackle charm. Daily 24hr.

< Back to Northern Oriente

Guardalavaca

Despite being the province’s main tourist resort, GUARDALAVACA, on the north coast 72km northeast from Holguín, retains a charmingly homespun air. The area’s name pays tribute to a buccaneer past – Guardalavaca meaning “keep the cow safe”, which is thought to refer to the need to protect livestock and valuables from marauding pirates who once used the area as a refuge point. The lively Playa Guardalavaca and Playa Las Brisas have one plush hotel complex each (with a third and a nearby golf course in the planning); the two exclusive satellite resorts to the west, Playa Esmeralda and Playa Pesquero (which incorporates the nearby Playa Turquesa) are popular with those seeking luxury and solitude. Surrounded by hilly countryside and shining fields of sugar cane, the town of Guardalavaca, which backs onto its namesake resort, is little more than a clutch of houses, many now turned casas particulares.

Should you tire of sunning yourself on the beach, the surrounding area has enough sights to keep you busy for a few days, many of them reachable via tours organized by the hotels. About 6km south in the Maniabon hills, a fascinating Taíno burial ground incorporates the Museo de Chorro de Maíta and Aldea Taína, a re-creation of a Taíno village that really brings the lost culture to life. Close to Playa Esmeralda, at the Bahía de Naranjo, an offshore aquarium offers an entertaining day out, though one of the most rewarding pastimes in Guardalavaca is to rent a bicycle or moped and head off into the dazzling countryside to enjoy stunning views over hills and sea; you can also do this on horseback with a guide.

Playa Guardalavaca

Snorkelling equipment $10CUC/3hr • Club Amigo Atlántico day-pass $25CUC

A 1500m-long stretch of sugar-white sand dappled with light streaming through abundant foliage, Playa Guardalavaca is a delight. A shady boulevard of palms, tamarind and sea grape trees runs along the centre of the beach. One of the most refreshing aspects of Playa Guardalavaca is that the beach is well used by Cubans as well as tourists, giving it a certain vitality with a lack of hustle. Midway along, a restaurant serves simple snacks and drinks, and there are stands renting out snorkelling equipment so you can explore the coral reef offshore.

ACTIVITIES IN PLAYA GUARDALAVACA

Midway between Las Brisas hotel and Club Amigo Atlántico, next to the Los Flamboyanes mini-complex, is a hire point for state-run horseriding, where rides cost $10/hr. However, thanks to Raúl Castro’s new economic reforms, private horseriding is now available from Daniel Avila Hernández (daily 10–5pm; mobile tel_icon 05 33 89287) and his crew, who are stationed opposite the Las Brisas hotel entrance and have eight horses in beautiful condition. Trips include rides to the beach, into the countryside and up into the mountains, and prices run from $8CUC/hr.

Playa Guardalavaca is also a good place to go diving; local marine attractions include parrotfish and barracuda as well as black coral. The Sol Río de Luna y Mares complex and the Paradisus Río de Oro resort on Playa Esmeralda share the Sea Lovers dive centre ( tel_icon 24 43 0132), which offers regular dives ($35CUC), night dives and courses ($335–365CUC). The Blue World diving centre in front of the Blau Costa Verde on Playa Pesquero also offers dives ($35CUC) and various ACUC courses.

Playa Las Brisas

Las Brisas day-pass $30CUC

A chain of large natural boulders divides Playa Guardalavaca from the relatively small Playa Las Brisas to the east. The beach here fronts the Las Brisas hotel, and non-guests are not permitted to access it via the hotel unless they purchase a day-pass. About midway between the two hotels on the opposite side of the road behind the beach, the Los Flamboyanes Centro Comercial comprises a few shops selling beach accessories, snacks and postcards, a Casa del Habano and an El Rápido fast-food outlet. A second mini-complex a few metres away has a more upmarket version of the same.

Playa Esmeralda

Paradisus del Oro day-pass around $150CUC; Sol Río de Luna y Mares day-pass $63CUC

Some 5km west from Guardalavaca along the Holguín road, picture-perfect Playa Esmeralda (also known as Estero Ciego) boasts clear blue water, powdery sand speckled with thatched sunshades and two luxury hotels hidden from view by thoughtfully planted bushes and shrubs. If you want unashamed hassle-free luxury, where the intrusion of local culture is kept to a bare minimum, this is the place for you. To access the beach, non-guests have to buy a day pass that covers facilities, meals and drinks.

Playa Pesquero and Playa Turquesa

Hotel day-passes $48–65CUC

Fifteen kilometres west of Playa Guardalavaca, the three state-of-the-art hotels on Playa Pesquero and one on the exquisite Playa Turquesa, 3km away, represent Guardalavaca’s most recent development. Lined with gnarled and twisted sea grape trees and thatch umbrellas providing much-needed shade, Playa Pesquero is a 1.2km-long horseshoe-shaped bay of sparkling sand. The quieter Playa Turquesa (also known as Playa Yuraguanal) is one of the most beautiful in the region. Bordered by mangrove forest at its eastern boundary, the shallow bay has a small coral reef a short swim offshore, while a strip of dense forest between Riu Playa Turquesa and the beach makes it feel like an undiscovered paradise.

There are no facilities outside of the hotels; both beaches can be accessed from the road, but you’ll have to buy a day-pass if you want to use the hotel facilities.

Museo El Chorro de Maíta

Tues–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 9am–1pm • $2CUC, photos $5CUC

Some 6km southeast of the Playa Guardalavaca hotel strip in the Maniabon hills, the fascinating Museo El Chorro de Maíta is a must-see for anyone interested in pre-Columbian history. A shallow pit in the middle of the museum holds 108 Taíno skeletons (mostly original, some reproductions) buried on this site between the 1490s and the 1540s, and uncovered in 1986. The most interesting aspect of the burial pit is that one of the skeletons was found to be a young male European buried in a Christian position with his arms folded across his chest. While no records exist to support this theory, it’s thought that the European had been living in harmony with the Taíno community.

Cabinets around the walls of the museum display fragments of earthenware pots along with shell and ceramic jewellery, while arrows positioned in the grave indicate where these were found. The area around the museum has more indigenous remains than any other part of Cuba, with villagers still unearthing artefacts and remnants of jewellery today.

Aldea Taína

Daily 9am–4.30pm • $5CUC

Just across the road from the Museo de Chorro de Maíta is the Aldea Taína, an evocative reconstruction of a Taíno village, offering valuable insight into an extinguished culture and bringing to life many of the artefacts seen in museums around the country. The painstakingly authentic little settlement features houses made from royal palm trees populated by life-sized models of Taínos posed cooking and preparing food or attending to community rituals. Of particular note is the group inside one of the houses watching the medicine man attempt to cure a patient, and another group outside depicted in a ceremonial dance. The Taíno-themed restaurant is also pretty decent.

Acuario Cayo Naranjo

Daily 7am–4pm, marine show noon–1pm • Local hotels offer a package covering bus transfers, boat passage and dolphin and sea-lion show for $50CUC; a 20min swim with dolphins is $58CUC extra • tel_icon 24 43 0132

Some 6km west of Guardalavaca beach, the Acuario Cayo Naranjo complex is built on stilts about 250m offshore in the shallows of the Bahía de Naranjo. Although calling itself an aquarium, it’s really more of a tourist centre cum marine zoo, as its smattering of sea creatures in tanks are overshadowed by giddier attractions: yacht and speedboat “seafari” excursions around the bay, a saccharine dolphin and sea-lion show, and the chance to swim with a few of the dolphins themselves.

ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION: GUARDALAVACA

By plane Flights for visitors on package holidays land at Holguín’s Aeropuerto Frank País, from where special buses ferry guests to the resorts.

By taxi or colectivo There’s no public transport from Holguín to Guardalavaca, but a metered taxi will take you there for $30CUC ($40CUC from the airport) one-way. Alternatively, colectivo shared taxis also run this route and leave throughout the day until about 5pm, costing $10–15CUC per person (depending on how full the car is). State and private taxis from Gibara are $40CUC, and from Cayo Saetía $120CUC.

By tourist bus Cubatur in Holguín runs buses to Guardalavaca, departing at 8am and returning at 5pm (July & Aug Sat & Sun; $5CUC return).

Tourist information Each hotel has its own excursions officer who arranges trips to the local sights and can supply some information in the absence of formal tourist offices.

Services You can cash travellers’ cheques at all the hotels and at the Banco Financiero Internacional (Mon–Fri 9am–3pm; last day of month 9am–noon), in the back section of the Centro Comercial Los Flamboyanes, where you can also get advances on credit cards. For medical matters, there’s Clínica Internacional (24hr; tel_icon 24 43 0312), part of the Islazul cabaña complex set behind the Guardalavaca beach. Club Amigo-Atlantico also has an on-site pharmacy.

EXCURSIONS FROM GUARDALAVACA

While you can get to most sites independently, it is usually easier to go on a tour. All excursions from Guardalavaca are organized by Cubatur ( tel_icon 24 43 0171), Havanatur ( 24 43 0406), Viajes Cubanacán ( 24 43 0226) and Gaviota Tours ( 24 43 0907, ext 120), all of which have representatives in each hotel and a central office behind the Centro Comercial Los Flamboyanes.

Cayo Saetía A day-trip by catamaran to one of the most unusual resorts in the country. Enjoy the white-sand beach and take a safari through the surrounding woodland and savannahs to see zebras, ostriches and the like roaming freely. $79CUC.

Havana You are flown to Havana for a one-night whistle-stop tour of La Habana Vieja and Vedado, with some free time for shopping. A night at Tropicana cabaret can be included. $356CUC, $422CUC with Tropicana.

Holguín A half-day jaunt to the provincial capital, including a visit to a cigar factory to see cigars being handmade, a trip up the Loma de la Cruz hill, lunch and free time to explore the town centre. Although you could just as easily rent a car to get to Holguín, the tour is the only way to visit the cigar factory. $59CUC.

Santiago de Cuba A full day-trip to Cuba’s second-biggest city. The bus ride there and back takes you through some of the region’s most scenic countryside, and the trip includes visits to the Santa Ifigenia cemetery, the Castillo el Morro and a cigar factory. $69–99CUC.

GETTING AROUND

By car All the hotels have car rental desks, or you can visit Cubacar or Havanautos (both tel_icon 24 43 0389), in adjacent offices next door to Las Brisas hotel in Playa Guardalavaca.

By moped You can rent mopeds ($13–25CUC/24hr) outside Paradisus Ro de Oro hotel at Playa Esmeralda, from Club Amigo Atlántico and Las Brisas hotels in Playa Guardalavaca, or the Maritím at Playa Pesquero (all open daily 9am–5pm).

By tourist bus The Guardalavaca Bus Tour is a hop-on-hop-off service that covers a wide loop travelling from Playa Guardalavaca west to Playa Pesquero and inland to the Chorro de Maíta museum. It runs from 9am to 5pm, and tickets cost $5CUC.

By bicycle All the local hotels offer bicycles free of charge, an excellent way to get around.

By horse-drawn carriage Carriage rides are available around the Guardalavaca beach area from $15CUC/hr.

ACCOMMODATION

As a prime resort, Guardalavaca’s beachside accommodation consists of all-inclusive hotels, mostly at the top end of the price range; the exception are the excellent Las Brisas and the lacklustre Club Amigo Atlántico. It’s worth checking with Gaviota and Cubatur tour operators in Holguín before booking directly with one of the all-inclusive hotels, as they offer discounted weekend promotional offers when occupancy is low. The many casas particulares in Guardalavaca town are a less expensive alternative.

PLAYA GUARDALAVACA

Club Amigo Atlántico Guardalavaca tel_icon 24 43 0180, email_icon rpublic@clubamigo.gvc.tur.cu. Although quite old and dated, this free-form complex of guestrooms, pools, bars and restaurants is a friendly and unpretentious resort. Of the various accommodation options, the premium “Villa” section is easily the most appealing, with cool, airy pastel-painted houses with balconies and simple but attractive furnishings; the “Tropical” and “Standard” areas offer plain but decent rooms – some with a sea view – strung along shadowy corridors, while the best-avoided “Bungalow” section seems stuck in a 1970s time warp. Standard $72CUC; Tropical $78CUC; bungalow $86CUC; villa $158CUC

GUARDALAVACA MAIN ROAD

Casa Carlos Edificio 15, Apt 1, Av Guardalavaca tel_icon 53 55 7265. A totally independent, smart and well-equipped one-bedroom apartment with large living room-diner and kitchen. $35CUC

Casa Odelsa Ricardo Caballero Av Guardalavaca, Edificio 11, Apto 2, 2nd floor tel_icon 24 43 0485. One compact room in a spotless apartment run by the friendly Odelsa and her husband, Luis. It has a/c, fridge, TV and DVD; the bathroom is just outside the room past the kitchen. Odelsa serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner. $35CUC

Villa Bely Carretera a Guardalavaca tel_icon 05 26 14192 (mobile), web_icon villabely.orgfree.com. This large, spacious house is set back off the main Guardalavaca road and is accessed by turning right just before the bridge when arriving in Guardalavaca. Owners Mircelia and Asbel offer a huge first-floor apartment with kitchen and dining area (although no cooking facilities) plus a terrace. Although further from the beach than those in the edificios on the main road, this is a quieter spot. $30CUC

PLAYA LAS BRISAS

Las Brisas tel_icon 24 43 0218, web_icon hotelescubanacan.com. This plush resort has four restaurants, two snack bars, a beauty salon, massage parlour, kids’ camp and watersports, as well as mercifully restrained variety-show-style entertainment. There’s a choice between rooms and suites within the hotel block or more privacy in newer bungalow-style rooms, although all are equally luxurious. $228CUC

PLAYA ESMERALDA

Paradisus Río de Oro tel_icon 24 43 0090, web_icon melia.com. One of the best hotels in Cuba, aimed at those seeking top-of-the-line Caribbean-style luxury. The attractive two-storey villas in muted colours are set among gardens brimming with fragrant tropical plant life. Rooms are attractive, with minibar, cable TV and large, smart bathrooms, including two with disabled access. The hotel boasts four excellent à la carte restaurants, including a Japanese one serving a range of sushi, as well as an airy buffet restaurant. Four beaches, three private, are within easy reach. There’s a spa with a sauna as well. $540CUC

Sol Río de Luna y Mares tel_icon 24 43 0060, web_icon melia.com. This complex comprises two hotels joined together to operate as one. The more attractive “Luna” section offers spacious, light accommodation in three-storey blocks arranged around a central pool, while “Mares” features spacious rooms grouped in a single block. There are two buffet restaurants, four à la carte restaurants, four bars and two pools. Facilities include tennis, sauna, gym and various watersports equipment, although some of this could do with replacing. $300CUC

PLAYA PESQUERO AND PLAYA TURQUESA

Blau Costa Verde tel_icon 24 433 510, web_icon blau-hotels-cuba.com. A large, sinuous pool forms the centrepiece of this hotel, comprised of two-storey hacienda-style blocks scattered around pleasant grounds. Rooms are expansive with huge beds, large bathrooms, attractive balconies and a decent array of mod cons. $170CUC

Playa Costa Verde tel_icon 24 43 3520, web_icon gaviota-grupo.com. Popular with scuba enthusiasts, with smart if slightly sterile rooms in small blocks. There’s quite a sociable atmosphere, partly due to the range of entertainment, including outdoor jacuzzis, pool tables, table football, ping-pong and a disco. The beach is a few minutes’ walk away over a wooden bridge spanning a mangrove lagoon. $230CUC

Playa Pesquero tel_icon 24 433 530, email_icon jefe.ventas@ppesquero.tur.cu. This huge complex, offering the ultimate in get-away-from-it-all luxury, is one of the biggest hotels in Cuba. With a large selection of restaurants, a vast swimming pool, its own mini shopping mall, sports facilities and activities for all ages, this is a good option for families. The cool, stylish rooms, furnished with natural materials, are set in two-storey blocks; each has its own balcony with flower-filled window boxes and wicker furniture. $280CUC

Riu Turquesa tel_icon 24 43 3540, web_icon riu.com. The only hotel on the exquisite Playa Turquesa, with extensive gardens in which the original forest habitat has been preserved. Attractions include elegant rooms, seven restaurants including Mexican and Mediterranean, and circular swimming pools arranged in a descending series and fed by a cascade of water. The proliferation of stairs may prove tiresome for anyone with mobility issues. $200CUC

EATING, DRINKING AND NIGHTLIFE

Most visitors to the area eat most meals at their hotel restaurants, but there are a couple of alternatives. Similarly, bars and nightlife are largely confined to the hotels, where entertainment teams host nightly stage shows in which they urge guests to take part in boisterous slapstick sketches and dances. If you’ve bought a day-pass to any of the all-inclusives, you can stay on for dinner and evening shenanigans.

Aldea Taína (no phone). Decorated with designs found on the walls of Taíno caves, the restaurant of the museum village serves Taíno foods including herb teas, sweet potato and cassava bread. The recommended dish is the ajiaco, a tasty potato, maize and meat stew for $10CUC. Daily 9am–4.30pm.

El Ancla Playa Guardalavaca tel_icon 24 43 0381. Some 100m west of Club Amigo along the beach, this wind-swept cabin-like state-run restaurant offers standard comida criolla and seafood (mains $6.45–25.90CUC) and is a good place for a drink after walking along the beach. Daily 11am–10pm.

El Rápido Los Flamboyanes complex (no phone). Close to the Atlántico complex, and serving pizzas, hot dogs and sandwiches. Daily, 24hr.

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Banes

A mix of characterful wooden houses, dishevelled Art Deco beauties and rather more anonymous concrete buildings, the sleepy town of BANES lies 31km southeast of Guardalavaca. Refreshingly untouristy, it’s known for its museum of pre-Columbian artefacts and for its association with the two titans of twentieth century Cuban history – Fidel Castro and Fulgencio Batista. Castro married his first wife in Banes, and Cuba’s elected president-turned dictator was born here in 1901.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad

The Art Deco-style Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad sits on the edge of a central park with a neat domed bandstand. This is where, on October 10, 1948, Fidel Castro married his first wife, Mirta Diaz-Balart, sister of a university friend and daughter of the mayor of Banes. The couple divorced in 1954, the bride’s conservative family allegedly disapproving of the young Castro, already known as a firebrand at the university. Although the church interior is fairly prosaic in itself, it’s mildly interesting for the historical connection. To go inside, you’ll need to ask at the priest’s house next door, another handsome Art Deco building.

Museo Indocubano Bani

Avenida General Marreo no.305 • Tues–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 8am–noon • $1CUC including guided tour in Spanish or English, photos $5CUC

Banes’ most substantial attraction is the Museo Indocubano Bani, one of the few museums in Cuba exclusively devoted to pre-Columbian Cuban history. While many of the fragments and representational sketches of indigenous communities are similar to exhibits in larger museums in the country, it also has a unique gathering of jewellery gleaned from the Holguín region. Only a tiny selection of the 22,000 pieces owned by the museum are on display; these include the first skeleton found at Chorro de Maíta as well as its pièce de résistance, a tiny but stunning gold (replica) idol.

Casa de la Cultura

General Marreo no.327 • Daily 8am–10pm • Free • tel_icon 24 80 2111

On the opposite side of General Marreo from the Museo Indocubano Bani, the elegant Casa de la Cultura is one of Banes’s most outstanding buildings, with a black-and-white marble-tiled floor, pale pink and gold walls and a sunny courtyard at the back. As the town’s theatre and music hall it has regular performances of traditional music and dance, and players are generally unfazed if you pass by to admire the building and catch snippets of their rehearsals during the daytime.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: BANES

By camiones and colectivo Services from Guardalavaca, Holguín, Mayarí and Santiago arrive at the bus station on Calle Los Angeles esq Tráfico.

By taxi Taxis from Guardalavaca cost around $30CUC.

By workers’ bus Many travellers also use the workers’ transport from Guardalavaca to Holguín but you’d need a bit of Spanish to negotiate this one.

By car The road from Banes to Mayarí is in an appalling state, but it is passable in a normal hire car if you drive carefully.

ACCOMMODATION, EATING AND DRINKING

Casa Las Delicias Augusto Blanca no.1107 e/ Bruno Meriño y Bayamo, Reparto Cardenas tel_icon 24 80 2905. Jorge and Caridad offer a spotless, large room with its own bathroom, a small kitchen and a covered terrace. The friendly couple also runs a paladar (daily noon–midnight), in an additional private dining room with a bar, offering seafood as well as spaghetti and chicken dishes ($5–12CUC). $25CUC

Cafétería Las Palmas General Marreo no.730 tel_icon 24 80 2803. A thatched restaurant and bar that dishes up indifferent pizza, spaghetti, sandwiches and the ubiquitous fried chicken ($2.80–4.85CUC). Restaurant daily 1–2pm and 6–11pm; bar daily 24hr.

El Latino Av Martí s/n tel_icon 24 80 2298. Just down the road from the church, this is the smartest convertible peso establishment in town, serving up comida criolla and tortillas ($2.30–4.5CUC5) in air-conditioned surrounds. Daily 7am–11pm.

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Cayo Saetía

Hidden away on the east side of the Bahía de Nipe near the village of Felton, and connected to the mainland by a drawbridge, picture-postcard, isolated Cayo Saetía is the most bizarre – and exclusive – resort in the country. A one-time private game reserve and beach catering to government party officials, it was opened up to the public during the 1990s, yet still retains its air of exclusivity. It’s run by Gaviota, the army-owned tourist group, which may explain the vaguely military aura, notably in the ranks of jeeps and other vehicles stationed across the island. Oddly, Cayo Saetía’s beauty is not diminished by the pale orange smog drifting across the bay from grimy Nicaro, a distinctly uneventful town wreathed in plumes of smoke from an electricity plant.

Cayo Saetía beach

Daily 9am–5pm • $10CUC

Cayo Saetía’s northern coast offers scoops of practically deserted soft white sand, hemmed in by a buttery yellow rockface and sliding into the bay’s sparkling turquoise green waters. Close to shore, the island’s shelf makes for perfect snorkelling, with a wealth of brightly coloured sea life, while further out a coral reef offers even better pickings. If you want the beach to yourself, arrive early, as an invasion of tourists on catamaran trips from Playa Guardalavaca arrives from noon onwards. The beach is some 8km from the hotel.

Cayo Saetía safari park

Cayo Saetía’s 42 square kilometres of woodland and savannahs (unique in Cuba) are home to the most exotic collection of animals in the country – a menagerie of imported zebra, antelope, deer, wild boar and even three ostriches, all freely galloping about. It’s as close as Cuba gets to a safari park and guests are driven off-piste in a jeep safari through the lush grounds, to admire and photograph the creatures – just before sunset is the ideal time.

ARRIVAL AND ACTIVITIES: CAYO SAETÍA

By car Most people arrive in a hire car; from the main-road turn-off to Cayo Saetía, it’s around 21km to the hotel, passing the small town of Felton. The road is mildly bumpy but a 4WD isn’t necessary.

Taxis A metered taxi from Guardalavaca costs $120CUC one-way. Private taxis are not allowed to pass the drawbridge, but the guards there can arrange for onward transport (8km) to the hotel.

Activities Jeep safari tours ($9CUC/1–1.5hr) take you through the grounds and can be arranged from the hotel or at the beach restaurant. The latter also offers reasonably priced horseriding ($6CUC), snorkelling expeditions ($5CUC), day-trips around the cay by speedboat ($6CUC) and catamaran safaris ($15–40CUC). Pedalo and kayak usage is free for all visitors.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING

Cayo Saetía tel_icon 24 24 51 6900, web_icon gaviota-grupo.com. Spread about a grassy compound on a knoll overlooking the sea is this twelve-room lodge, which offers eight comfortable double cabins, three superior rooms and one suite. Rooms are spacious and comfortable but spartan. The lodge’s restaurant cooks up exotic meats such as antelope ($6–12CUC). Cabins $65CUC, superior rooms $90CUC, suite $100CUC

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Parque Nacional La Mensura

Some 45km southwest of Cayo Saetía, the ground swells and erupts into the livid green Sierra de Cristal mountains in which lies the Parque Nacional La Mensura. High above the cloud line here, the beautiful Pinares de Mayarí pine forest here is a great place for some hiking or relaxation, or a stay at the Villa Pinares de Mayarí. The forest is reached from the nondescript little town of Mayarí, 26km to the north, from where you head south towards the Carretera Pinares and take the right-hand track where the road forks, past tiny Las Coloradas; from Holguín, it’s a 2.5-hour drive. Though passable in a rental car, the road is steep and poorly maintained so requires masterful driving, and during the wet season it’s advisable to check in advance if it’s passable.

The drive up the hill to the forest affords crisp views over the Bahía de Nipe and the terracotta nickel mines to the east, near Nicaro. This lofty region is also Cuba’s main producer of coffee, with stretches of coffee plants visible along the way. At the top of the hill the sharp incline evens out into a plateau, where the lush green grass cool air form a scene that’s more alpine than Caribbean.

CASTRO AND BIRÁN

A vast area of swaying cane and working plantations, the whole swathe of land southwest from Bahía de Nipe and west of the Pinares de Mayarí is given over to sugar. There’s nothing here for the casual visitor, though true Castro devotees may wish to make a pilgrimage to the tiny community of Birán, 44km southwest of Mayarí, near which, at the Finca Las Manacas plantation, Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926. He spent part of his youth here, until he was sent to school in Santiago, and he still owns the farm. Home to the former school, post office, bar, butcher’s, cock-fighting arena and a hotel, the tidy and well-maintained farm also holds the Sitio Histórico de Birán museum (Tues–Sun 9am–3pm, closed if raining; $10CUC, photos $5CUC), with a collection of photographs, clothes, Fidel’s childhood bed and a 1918 Ford. Near the entrance are the well-tended graves of Fidel’s father Angel Castro and mother Lina Ruz.

Finding the finca is something of a challenge: from Holguín follow the road east to Cueto, then turn south onto the road to Loynaz Hechevarría; turn east at the sign to Birán and carry on a further 2km north.

Saltón de Guayabo

Viewpoint daily 8am–4pm • $5CUC including guided treks

You can take a dip in the wide and tranquil La Presa lake near the Villa Pinares de Mayarí hotel, but there’s more exhilarating swimming to be had at the foot of the majestic Saltón de Guayabo waterfall, a definite must-see if you are in the area. If you drive for about ten minutes back down the hill towards Mayarí, a steep and narrow dirt track on the left will get you to a viewpoint, which provides a splendid vista over a misty and pine tree-covered mountainside, parted here by the two turbulent cascades that comprise the Saltón de Guayabo, thundering down to a pool below. At 104m, the larger of the two is the highest waterfall in Cuba. Guided treks (1–2hr) along the nature trail to the foot of the falls can also be arranged at the viewpoint.

ACCOMMODATION: PARQUE NACIONAL LA MENSURA

Villa Pinares de Mayarí Pinares de Mayarí tel_icon 24 50 3308, email_icon comercial@vpinares.co.cu. Comprising several huge chalet-style villas with quaint rooms richly inlaid with wood, this hotel makes a perfect base for exploring the nearby wilds and is decidedly picturesque in itself, with a small pool and a central dining room boasting a beamed ceiling, like some giant’s cabin. The friendly staff are extremely accommodating, and guided walks are available into the pine-scented mountains. Call ahead as it sometimes closes in slow periods. $40CUC

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Guantánamo town

Even though the provincial capital of GUANTÁNAMO is only on the tourist map because of its proximity to the US Guantánamo naval station, 22km southeast, the base plays a very small part in the everyday life of the town itself. For the most part, this is a slow-paced place marked by a few ornate buildings, attractive but largely featureless streets and an easy-going populace. Most visitors bypass it altogether, and those who don’t tend to use it simply as a stepping-stone to the naval base and attractions further afield. However, it’s worth visiting the Casa del Changüí, where changüí genre (a country music which predates son) is nurtured and performed, or taking in a performance by the Tumba Francesa Pompadour, an Afro–Haitian cultural and dance group.

THE US AT GUANTÁNAMO

Described by Fidel Castro as the dagger in the side of Cuban sovereignty, the US naval base at Guantánamo is approximately 118 square kilometres of leased North American territory, armed to the teeth and planted on Cuba’s southeastern coast.

The history of the naval base here dates back to Cuba’s nominal victory in the Wars of Independence with Spain, whereupon the US government immediately began to erode Cuba’s autonomy. Under the terms of the 1901 Platt Amendment, the US ordered Cuba to sell or lease land necessary for a naval station, declaring without irony that it was “to enable the United States to maintain the independence of Cuba”. Its primary aim, however, was to protect the nascent Panama Canal from any naval attacks. An annual rent was set at two thousand gold coins, and the base was born. In 1934 the Treaty of Reciprocity repealed the Platt Amendment but did not alter the conditions surrounding the lease; and as it’s stipulated that the lease cannot be terminated without both parties’ consent, it seems unlikely that Cuba will regain sovereignty of the land under its present regime. Famously, Fidel Castro has not cashed a single rent cheque from the US government, preferring to preserve them for posterity in a locked desk drawer.

GITMO DEVELOPS

Although the US quickly broke off all relations with the Cuban government after the Revolution, they were less speedy to give up their territory. Known as “Gitmo” by US servicemen, Guantánamo base is like an American theme park inside, with stateside cars zooming along perfectly paved roads bordered by shops and suburban houses. From the 1970s until the mid-1990s, such material riches gave the base an El Dorado lustre that lured many a dissident Cuban to brave the heavily mined perimeter or chance the choppy waters to reach this ersatz chunk of North America in the hope of gaining US citizenship as a political asylum seeker. US immigration policy was changed in 1994 and now Cubans who make it into the base usually find themselves making a swift exit back onto Cuban soil via the nearest gate.

CAMP DELTA AND THE WAR ON TERROR

The base’s history took another twist in December 2001 with the decision of the Bush administration to detain Islamic militants captured as part of the “War on Terror”. Prisoners were initially kept in the makeshift Camp X-Ray but in April 2002 were transferred to Camp Delta, a larger, permanent site, which comprises several detention camps, manned by six hundred soldiers as part of the Joint Task Force Guantánamo. Controversy immediately arose around the circumstances under which the men were held. Because they were classed as “illegal combatants” rather than prisoners of war, the US military felt they did not have to uphold the Geneva Convention and that the detainees could be held indefinitely without charge. Some 779 people (including a number of children) representing forty different nationalities have to date been held here, many without access to any court, legal counsel or family visits.

Since 2002, images of shackled detainees in orange jumpsuits – along with reports of numerous suicide attempts and persistent allegations of abuse and torture of prisoners – have provoked international condemnation, including the accusation that the detainees are being held unlawfully. While the majority of them have not been charged, those who have were tried in the Guantánamo Military Commissions to determine whether their crimes warrant further detention. No one has been convicted by a trial in a US court of law. To date, more than 570 prisoners have been released.

THE FUTURE OF THE BASE

A decision in June 2004 by the US Supreme Court ruled that the detainees should come under the jurisdiction of US courts and that the policy of holding prisoners indefinitely without the right to judicial review was unlawful. Rather than address these charges, the Bush administration passed the Military Commissions Act 2006, which overrode the main objections. In January 2009, as part of a broader aim to restore the international reputation of the US’s justice system and foreign policies, President Obama suspended the Guantánamo Military Commissions and vowed that the detainee camp would be closed by January 2010. This promise remains unfulfilled.

Parque Martí

Guantánamo town fans out around the central Parque Martí, a small concrete square neatly bordered by intricately trimmed evergreens with hooped gateways. On its north side is the Parroquía Santa Catalina de Riccis, a pretty ochre church built in 1863, while one block north, the Palacio de Salcines is an eclectic neo-Rococo building with shuttered windows, cherubs over the door and, on its high spire, an outstretched figure with bugle in hand, which has become the symbol of the city. The art museum and gallery inside were closed indefinitely for renovation at the time of writing.

Museo Provincial

Martí no.804 • Mon–Fri 8am–4.30pm, Sat 8am–noon • $1CUC, guide $1CUC

One block behind Parque Martí is the humble Museo Provincial. Built on an old prison site, it displays some fearsome padlocks and bolts alongside archaeological remains and stuffed animals and birds. Much more interesting is the room devoted to the joint USSR and Cuban space flight, which sent the first Cuban (and, indeed, Latin American) astronaut – Arnaldo Tamayo Ménendez – into space in September 1980. A peek inside the actual capsule used in their descent back to earth is the museum’s highlight.

Plaza del Mercado

Los Maceos esq. Prado

A couple of blocks northeast of Parque Martí, one of the most intriguing buildings in Guantánamo town is the quite fantastical agricultural marketplace, Plaza del Mercado, with its big pink dome and crown-like roof bearing statues of regal long-necked geese at each corner. It was designed by Guantánamo’s most famous architect, Leticio Salcines, who along with the Palacio Salcines, designed three hundred buildings in the town. Closed for repairs at the time of writing, it’s due to reopen in 2014.

Casa del Changüí

Serafín Sánchez e/ Narcisco López y Jesús del Sol • Performances Fri, Sat & Sun 8pm • $3CUC • tel_icon 21 32 4178

The Casa del Changüí cultural and nightlife venue is a great place to catch live shows by changüí groups, with performances by the likes of Tumbao de Monte, Universales del Son, Morenos de Changui and Estrellas Campesinas in an alfresco courtyard decorated with colourful murals. Changüi emerged from the Guantánamo countryside as campesino music in the late nineteenth century, and is played by an ensemble that incorporates the Cuban tres – the only melodic instrument in the genre – the marímbula and a metal guayo as well as maracas and bongo drums.

Tumba Francesa Pompadour

Serafín Sánchez 715 e/ Narcisco López y Jesús del Sol • Performances Tues, Wed, Thurs & Fri 9.30am • $5CUC • tel_icon 21 381 669

Formed following the migration of French landowners, slaves and free slaves from Haiti to Cuba after the 1791 Haitian Revolution, the Tumba Francesa Pompadour is an Afro–Cuban–Haitian society and dance group who perform traditional dances at their base here in Guantánamo town. Sundays are often booked out with large tourist groups but all visitors are welcome.

GUANTANAMERA

Synonymous with the beleaguered history of the US naval base, Guantánamo province is an enduring legacy of the struggle between the US and Cuba. In name at least, it’s one of the best-known places in Cuba: many a Cuban and a fair few visitors can sing the first bars of the immortal song Guantanamera – written by Joseito Fernández in the 1940s as a tribute to the women of Guantánamo. Made internationally famous by North American folk singer Pete Seeger during the 1970s, it has become something of a Cuban anthem and a firm – if somewhat hackneyed – favourite of tourist-bar troubadours the country over, a fitting fate for the song which includes words from José Martí’s most famous work, Versos Sencillos (“simple verses”).

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: GUANTÁNAMO TOWN

By plane Mariana Grajales Airport ( tel_icon 21 355 912) is 12km southeast of town. Taxis into town cost $6–8CUC.

Destinations Havana (2 weekly; 2hr 10min).

By train The town’s train station ( tel_icon 21 32 55 18) is centrally located in a squat Art Deco folly on Pedro A. Pérez.

Destinations Havana (every other day; 16hr); Holguín (every other day; 6hr); Matanzas (every other day; 14hr); Santa Clara (every other day; 11hr 30min); Las Tunas (every other day; 5hr).

By bus Víazul services ( tel_icon 21 32 57 80) arrive at the Astro Terminal de Omnibus( 21 32 5588) on Carretera Santiago, 2.5km out of town; you can walk or catch a bicitaxi into the centre, but as it’s so remote you may want to organize a taxi or pickup in advance.

Destinations Baracoa (daily; 3hr 10min; Santiago de Cuba (daily; 1hr 30min).

By Conectando Cuba bus Services for Baracoa depart Guantánamo town on Tues, Thurs and Saturday at 9.30am $10CUC.

INFORMATION, TRAVEL AGENTS AND TOURS

Infotur The helpful office at Calle García s/n e/ E Giro y F Crombet (Mon–Sat 8.30am–5pm; tel_icon 21 35 1993) offers a weekly events list, internet ($6CUC/hr), and can arrange permits to Caimanera with three working days’ notice.

Islazul Based at Aguilera s/n e/ Calixto García y Maceo (Mon–Fri 10am–noon & 3–5pm; tel_icon 21 32 7197), Islazul can secure permits to visit Caimanera.

Havanatur at Aguilera s/n e/ Calixto García y Los Maceo (Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 2–4pm; tel_icon 21 32 6365) offers the Guajira Guantanamera excursion ($56CUC per person, min four people) visiting the stone zoo, taking a train to Jamaica, touring a sugar mill and a city tour that includes a visit to the Tumba Francesa and Casa del Changüí.

ACCOMMODATION

Casa de Amelia Hernández Roger Sol no.664 e/ Paseo y N López tel_icon 21 35 1766. A two-bedroom apartment with an independent entrance in a friendly household close to the Casa del Changüí. Rates include breakfast. $20CUC

Casa de Lissett Foster Lara Pedro A. Pérez 761 e/ Jesús del Sol y Prado tel_icon 21 32 5970, email_icon lisset128@gmail.com. Three clean and comfortable double rooms with a/c and private bathrooms in a large, airy, modern apartment with a roof terrace and balcony overlooking the street, a stone’s throw from Parque Martí. $25CUC

Casa de Osmaida Carlos Manuel 811 e/ Prado y Aguilera tel_icon 21 32 5193. One large spacious room with a kitchen and patio doors, and a smaller internal room in this helpful household, four blocks from Parque Martí. Parking available. $20CUC

Hotel Martí Calixto García esquina Aguilera 820 tel_icon 21 32 9500. The only state-run accommodation in town, this new small, 21-room hotel with its smart wooden desks, TVs and comfortable beds is a good central option. Those wanting a bit of grandeur should opt for room 206, with its three balconies. The top-floor bar and terrace opens Fri, Sat and Sun from 8.30pm. Rates include breakfast. $56CUC

EATING

La Fuente (no phone). This kiosk next to the Casa del Chocolate, behind the church on Parque Martí sells chocolates, bonbons and delicious turrones de coco (coconut sweets) – in national pesos. Daily 8am–3pm & 4–11pm.

Sabor Melian Av Camilo Cienfuegos e/ Pedro A Pérez y Martí tel_icon 21 32 4422. One of only three paladars in the city, this off-centre, friendly, candy-pink restaurant offers a large criollo menu in moneda nacional but with limited availability. Daily 11am–11pm.

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Around Guantánamo

Many visitors come to the Guantánamo area just to see the US base, but although you can get to the lookout point in Caimanera with a little groundwork, there really isn’t a lot to see, as you cannot enter the base itself – or barely see it at all from Cuban territory. Venturing into the countryside around Guantánamo town is more rewarding, with bizarre contrasts between lush valleys and the weird desert scenery of sun-bleached barren trees. Just north of town is the offbeat Zoológico de Piedras, a “zoo” entirely populated by sculpted stone animals.

Caimanera

A taxi from town costs $25CUC, and you will need a guide and permit

Bordered by salt flats that score the ground with deep cracks and lend a haunting wildness, CAIMANERA, 23km south of Guantánamo, takes its name from the giant caiman lizards that used to roam here, although today it’s far more notable as the closest point in Cuba to the US naval base. Prior to the Revolution, Caimanera was the site of carousing between the naval-base officers and the townswomen: its main streets were lined with bars, and rampant prostitution, gambling and drugs were the order of the day. Little evidence of that remains in today’s sleepy and parochial town.

The village is a restricted area, with the ground between it and the base one of the most heavily mined areas in the world, though the US removed their mines in 1999. This hasn’t stopped many Cubans from braving it in the slim hope of reaching foreign soil and escaping to America. Visitors, meanwhile, have to have a permit to enter. The village is entered via a checkpoint at which guards scrutinize your passport and permit before waving you through; note that taking pictures en route is not permitted.

The lookout in the grounds of the Caimanera hotel has a view over the bay and mountains to the base – though even with binoculars you only see a sliver of it. Inside the hotel is a small museum (opened on demand), with a history of the base, a floor model and photos.

CAIMANERA PERMITS

To visit Caimanera for the day or stay at the hotel, you’ll need a permit, available free from travel agencies in Guantánamo town or by emailing email_icon infogtmo@enetcu in advance. Unless staying at the hotel, visitors must also be accompanied by a guide, which will cost $10CUC and can also be arranged by the Guantánamo travel agencies. The permit is for a fixed date of entry so if, for any reason, you are late arriving to pick up your permit, you will have to apply for a further one.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING: CAIMANERA

Hotel Caimanera tel_icon 21 49 9414. The most unusual hotel in Cuba, facing the watchtowers and the US naval base. The rooms and restaurant are adequate for a one-night stay, though think twice about a bay view, as the 24hr revolving searchlights are a tortuous experience. There’s a pool to while away the hours once you’ve finished scoping out the base. Rates include breakfast. $23CUC

Zoológico de Piedras

Altos de Boquerón, Km 27 Carretera a Yateras • Daily 9am–6pm • $1CUC • Taxis from Guantánamo cost $20–25CUC

Roughly 20km north of Guantánamo, in the foothills of the Sierra Cristal and set in a private coffee farm, the whimsical and slightly surreal sculpture park known as the Zoológico de Piedras was created in 1977 by local artist Angel Iñigo Blanco, who carved the stone in situ. Cool and fresh, dotted with lime and breadfruit trees, hanging vines and coffee plants, the park centres on a path that weaves around the mountainside, with stone animals peeking out from the undergrowth at every turn. Slightly cartoonish in form, the creatures bear little relationship to their real-life counterparts: a giant tortoise towers over a hippo the size of a modest guinea pig. Needless to say, it’s a hit with children.

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Baracoa

In the eyes of many visitors, the countryside around BARACOA is quite simply the most beautiful in Cuba. Set on the coast at Cuba’s southeast tip and protected by a deep curve of mountains, the town’s isolation has so far managed to protect it from some of the more pernicious effects of tourism that have crept into other areas of the island. Self-contained and secluded, Baracoa vibrates with an energy that is surprising for such a small place, and has become a must on the traveller’s circuit. It’s also home to a uniquely mixed population, with many locals of Haitian and Jamaican origin – the result of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century immigration.

Just wandering around is one of the town’s greatest pleasures. The quaint central streets are lined with tiny, pastel-coloured colonial houses with wedding-cake trim, and modern development is confined to the outskirts and the Malecón, where new apartment blocks were built after the Revolution. All the sites of interest are within easy walking distance of one another, radiating out from the Parque Independencia on Antonio Maceo, where, under the shade of the wide laurel trees, generations of Baracoans gather around rickety tables to play chess and dominoes.

Brief history

Baracoa – Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa – was the first town to be established in Cuba, founded by Diego de Velázquez in August 1511 on a spot christened Porto Santo in 1492 by Christopher Columbus who, as legend has it, planted a cross in the soil. The early conquistadors never quite succeeded in exterminating the indigenous population, and today Baracoa is the only place in Cuba where descendants of the Taíno can still be found. Their legacy is also present in the food and transport and several myths and legends habitually told to visitors.

BARACOA

BARACOA’S FORTS

As a defence against marauding pirates in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the Captain of Baracoa, one Pedro Oviedo, ordered the fortifications of three forts in Baracoa between 1739 and 1742. Castillo Seburuco, which overlooks the town and El Yunque from the northern hills, has been converted into a hotel, while the Malecón is sealed by La Punta, now a restaurant, a door in its western wall that leads down a flight of stairs to the tiny Playa La Punta, a good spot for a quiet dip (daily 9am–5pm). East of the centre, past the shops and the triangular Parque Maceo – complete with bust – is Fuerte Matachín (Mon–Sat 8am–noon & 2–6pm, Sun 8am–noon; $1CUC), a well-preserved structure with the original cannons ranged along its walls. The cool interior now houses the town museum, with a good collection of delicately striped polymitas snail shells, some Amerindian relics and a history of the town’s most celebrated characters.

Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

Parque Independencia • Tues–Sat 8am–noon & 4–7pm, Sun 8am–noon • Mass at 9am

On the east side of Parque Independencia – opposite a bronze bust of Taíno hero Hatuey by Cuba’s most famous sculptor, Rita Longa – stands the Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, built in 1807 on the site of a sixteenth-century church and fully restored between 2010 and 2012. This unobtrusive structure houses one of the most important religious relics in the whole of Latin America, the antique La Cruz de la Parra, supposedly the antique cross brought from Spain and planted in the sands of the harbour beach by Christopher Columbus. It’s undeniably of the period, having been carbon-dated to around 30 years before the arrival of Columbus, but as the wood is also from the tree Cocoloba Diversifolia, indigenous to Cuba, the truth of the legend is doubtful. It was in front of this cross that the celebrated defender of the Indians, Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, gave his first Mass in 1510. Originally 2m tall, the cross was gradually worn down by time and souvenir hunters to its present modest height of 1m, at which point it was encased in silver for its protection. It now stands in a glass case to the left of the main church door, on an ornate silver base donated by a French marquis at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Parque Martí

A block north of Parque Independencia towards the sea, Parque Martí, more a collection of benches and trees than a park, is the town’s busiest square, crowded with shops and stalls selling snacks and drinks, notably Prú, the local speciality.

Museo Arqueológico Cueva Paraíso

Loma Paraíso • Daily 8am–5pm • $3CUC ($2CUC if bought at Infotur), English- or Spanish-speaking guide $1CUC

A steep climb up the thickly forested Loma Paraíso brings you to Las Cuevas del Paraíso, a series of caves once used by the Taíno for ceremonies and funeral chambers that are now home to Baracoa’s fascinating Museo Arqueológico Cueva Paraíso. Archeologists have unearthed a treasure-trove of pre-Columbian artefacts, in the caves themselves and the surrounding countryside, that pertain to the successive indigenous groups who made the region their home: the Guanahatabey occupied the area from about 3000 to 1000 BC, the Siboney from approximately 1000 BC until 1100 AD, and the Taíno who supplanted them until the arrival of the Spanish in the fifteenth century.

The most interesting exhibits are undoubtedly the human remains in the funerary chamber. The skeletons are displayed as they were found, in the traditional foetal position, and all the specimens’ skulls are badly misshapen. It is thought likely that the Taíno tied heavy weights to babies’ heads, flattening the forehead by pushing the bone down horizontally and extending the back of the skull. The malformed bodies were buried with esferolitas, small round stones used to indicate the person’s age and social standing – the esferolitas found here indicate that this was the resting place for important and wealthy people.

The Malecón

A walk along the Malecón, a ragged collection of the backsides of houses and ugly apartment blocks, is something of a disappointment, not least because the area was ravaged by hurricanes in 2008. To the west is the town’s Plaza de la Revolución, surely the smallest in Cuba, decorated only with one revolutionary poster.

Playa Boca de Miel

At the eastern end of the Malecón, accessed by the stone stairs to the right of an imposing stone statue of Christopher Columbus, is the main town beach, Playa Boca de Miel, a boisterous hangout mobbed in summer by vacationing schoolchildren. People walk their dogs along the multicoloured shingle near town, but the brilliant jade, grey and crimson of the stones fade into sand a little further along, making for a decent swimming spot. The best place for a paddle, however, lies beyond the clump of trees at the far eastern end of the beach, in the gentle Río de Miel, which has its own legend.

THE RIVER OF HONEY

Many years ago, a Taíno maiden with honey-coloured hair used to bathe daily in the waters of the Río de Miel. One day a young sailor steered his ship down the river and spotted her. Captivated by her beauty, he instantly fell in love and for a while the happy couple frolicked daily in the river. However, as the day of the sailor’s departure approached, the young girl became increasingly depressed and would sit in the river crying until her tears swelled its banks. Impressed by this demonstration of her love, the sailor decided to stay in Baracoa and marry her, from which grew the saying that if you swim in the Río de Miel, you will never leave Baracoa, or that if you do you will always return.

Boca de Miel

Beyond the reaches of Playa Boca de Miel, there’s an unaffected and intimate view of Baracoan life at the hamlet of Boca de Miel, comprising little more than a handful of simple, single-storey homes and, further on, the pale-sand beach at Playa Blanca. At the easternmost edge of Playa Boca de Miel, where the river reaches the sea, turn towards the river and follow the path down to the picturesque though rickety wooden bridge. Take the path to the left of the bridge and head up the hill. Here, there’s a control post for the Mayajara protected area where you must pay $2CUC to visit Playa Blanca on the other side of a little grove of trees. The tiny hoop of coarse, blondish sand makes a good spot to relax for an afternoon, though you should be very mindful of the vigorous undertow if you go swimming. There are no facilities here, so be sure to take a supply of water; locals will offer to prepare you fried fish and water coconuts.

Mayajara protected area

Daily 8.30am–5.30pm • Guided walks $5–15CUC

Just outside Boca de Miel village, and accessed from the guardpost close to Playa Blanca, the Mayajara protected area is riddled with caves and petroglyphs, but best known for its incredible 500m-long Balcón Arqueológico, an extensive elevated limestone balcony accessed by ladders sturdy and rickety. The views through the palms to the ocean are outstanding.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: BARACOA

By plane The Aeropuerto Gustavo Rizo ( tel_icon 21 64 5376) is near the Porto Santo hotel, on the west side of the bay 4km from the centre. Taxis into town cost $2–3CUC.

Airlines The Cubana office is at Martí no.181 (Mon, Wed, Fri 8am–noon & 12.30–4pm; tel_icon 21 64 5374).

Destinations Havana (4 weekly; 2hr 30min).

By Víazul bus Demand for Víazul tickets to and from Baracoa always outstrips supply, especially in the summer, so make sure you book yours well in advance, preferably before you arrive. If you don’t you could find yourself queuing early in the morning for a first-come-first-served distribution of remaining spaces and may end up waiting several days to leave. Víazul buses pull up at the Astro bus terminal ( tel_icon 21 64 3880), west on the Malecón; it’s a short walk down Maceo to the centre, or you can take a bicitaxi for $1–2CUC.

Destinations Guantánamo (1 daily; 3hr 10min); Santiago (1 daily; 4hr 45min).

By private bus Cubanacán’s Conectando Cuba runs to Guantánamo ($10CUC) and Santiago ($15CUC) on Mon, Wed, Fri at noon from Parque Martí; tickets are sold at Infotur and Cubatur. Gaviota Tours, inside La Habanera hotel (daily 8am–6pm; tel_icon 21 64 4115) and at Cafeteria El Parque (daily 8am–noon & 2–6pm; 21 64 5164), runs a new service to Holguín, departing at 8.30am on Sat ($30CUC). Cubatur has a bus to Holguín, departing on Tues and Sun at 7.30am ($30CUC), and to Guardalavaca, departing Fri at 7.30am ($35CUC).

By car Driving is an infinitely preferable manner of arrival, since half the pleasure of a visit to Baracoa is the view en route through the mountains on the La Farola road. Note that the only gas station on the coastal road between Mayarí and Baracoa is at Moa.

By truck The private peso trucks that arrive from over the mountains via La Farola drop off on Maceo.

LA FAROLA

Before the Revolution, Baracoa was only accessible by sea, but the opening of the La Farola road in 1965 changed all that, providing a direct link with Guantánamo 120km away, and allowing a flood of cars to pour into the previously little-visited town. Considered one of the triumphs of the Revolution, the road was actually started by Batista’s regime, but was temporarily abandoned when he refused to pay a fair wage to the workers, and work was only resumed in the 1960s. Today, La Farola makes for an amazing trip through the knife-sharp peaks of the Cuchillas de Baracoa mountains. However the route should only be attempted in daylight, as the steep banks bordering the road in places, combined with a cracked and broken road surface, make it extremely dangerous in the dark. In 2013, work was due to start on repaving the coastal road to Moa; once this is complete, La Farola will be closed to fix the bridges that are sinking.

GETTING AROUND

On foot The best way to get around Baracoa is on foot, as most of the places you’ll want to see are within easy reach of the centre. There’s little point relying on public transport – buses are scarce and always jam-packed.

By bicitaxi or unmetered taxi If travelling further afield, you can catch a bicitaxi from anywhere in town, or an unmetered taxi from behind the church.

By metered taxi Call Cubataxi ( tel_icon 21 64 3737).

By car and moped For car rental, try Cubacar, Martí no. 202 e/ Céspedes y Coroneles Galanao (Mon–Sat 8am–5pm; tel_icon 21 64 5225). Víacar/Transgaviota is based at Hotel Porto Santo (Mon–Sat 8am–5pm; 21 64 5137), at the airport (Sun 9am–1pm & 2–6pm) and at Cafetería El Parque Maceo s/n esq. Rafael Trejo (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm & 2–6pm; 21 64 1671), from where you can also rent mopeds from $24CUC a day.

INFORMATION

Infotur The very helpful office at Maceo no.129A e/Frank País y Maraví (Mon–Sat 8.30am–noon & 1–5pm; tel_icon 21 64 1781) has general information about the area such as tours, hikes, museums and entertainment, and sells Conectando Cuba tickets.

Cubatur The office at Maceo no.147 (Mon–Sat 8am–noon & 2–6pm, Sun 8.30am–noon; tel_icon 21 64 5306) is manned by the extremely helpful Eric, who can book plane, Víazul and Conectando Cuba tickets.

Festivals The Semana de la Cultura is held in the last week of March, and the even bigger celebration of the Fiesta de las Aguas takes place between August 10/12 and 15.

ACCOMMODATION

HOTELS

El Castillo Calixto García tel_icon 21 64 5165. Perched high on a hill overlooking the town, this former military post is now an intimate, comfortable and very welcoming hotel. Glossy tiles and wood finishes give the rooms a unique charm, while the handsome pool patio with views over the bay is the best place in town to sip mojitos. Very popular and often fully booked, making a reservation essential. $60CUC

La Habanera Maceo 126 esq. Frank País tel_icon 21 64 5273. Right in the centre of town, with a pretty pink exterior and an airy reception filled with comfy sofas. The ten rooms, arranged around a courtyard, are clean and comfortable with TV, a/c and private bathrooms. Guests can use El Castillo’s pool. $40CUC

Hostal 1511 Ciro Frias tel_icon 21 64 5700. A charming, small hotel which has been kitted out in brand new furniture. Its main attraction, however, is its lovely veranda. Rooms are comfortable, but standard ones don’t have a view. Guests can use El Castillo’s pool. $40CUC

La Rusa Máximo Gómez no.161 tel_icon 21 64 3011. Named after its much-esteemed Russian former owner, Magdelana Robiskiai, who settled in Baracoa before the Revolution, this small and squat hotel sits on the Malecón. The rooms are modest but adequate and complemented by a friendly atmosphere. Guests can use El Castillo’s pool. $30CUC

CASAS PARTICULARES AND HOSTALES

Casa Colonial Lucy Céspedes 29 e/ Maceo y Rubert López tel_icon 21 64 3548, email_icon astrasol36@gmail.com. Two spacious, comfortable rooms, each with two double beds, a/c, fridge, private bathroom and an independent entrance. The attractive house, with seaview terrace, and its friendly owners (who offer excellent meals) make this a top choice. English, German and Italian spoken, and massage, salsa lessons and a private guide can be organized. $30CUC

Casa de Dorkis Torres Dominguez Flor Crombet no.58 (altos) e/ 24 de febrero y Coliseo tel_icon 21 64 3451, email_icon dorkistd72@yahoo.es. Two modern, en-suite a/c rooms with minibar, fridge and sea view in a friendly household. A terrace next to one of the bedrooms on which to eat the delicious home-cooked meals seals the deal. $25CUC

Casa de Elvira Calderin Frank País no.19 e/ Martí y Maceo tel_icon 21 64 5869. This spacious, central property has three pleasant, airy rooms with a/c and private bathroom, and a courtyard out back. Meals are available and Elivira is building more rooms on the top terrace and a further open terrace for eating, yoga and dance. Massage and salsa classes offered. $25CUC

Casa de Nelia y Yaquelin Mariana Grajales no.11 and no 11 (altos) e/ Calixto García y Julio Mella tel_icon 21 64 2412. Two smallish a/c rooms on the ground floor of a friendly house. Up top, off the terrace, Yaquelin and Adrián have also created a spacious, semi-independent apartment with two bedrooms, a large living room and use of kitchen. A huge sun terrace with uninterrupted views of El Yunque was under construction in 2013. Rooms $25CUC; apartment $30CUC

author_pick Casa de Nilson Flor Crombet no.143 e/ Ciro Frías y Pelayo Cuervo tel_icon 21 64 3123. Fantastic, spacious apartment close to the centre of town, with two beds (one double, one single) and use of a kitchen. The attractive roof terrace with decorated wooden carvings of Cuban birds, Paladar La Terraza, where the amicable owners serve up traditional Baracoan meals, makes this one of the best choices in town. $30CUC

Casa de Norge y Nelida Sevila Flor Crombet no.265A e/ Glicerio Blanco y Abel Díaz tel_icon 21 64 3218, email_icon cnorge@rocketmail.com. A royal blue house with a double room and dining room accessed by an independent entrance. There’s a small balcony for sunning out back, and Norge is a charming host. $20CUC

Finca La Esperanza tel_icon 01 5218 0735 (cell). On the banks of the beautiful River Toa, 4km from town, this rustic hostal is a delightful spot for those wanting to escape the city. There are sixteen beds across six rooms, with two shared bathrooms, and a bar and restaurant. Rates include breakfast. $16CUC

EATING AND DRINKING

After the monotonous cuisine in much of the rest of Cuba, food in Baracoa is ambrosial in comparison, drawing on a rich local heritage and the region’s plentiful supply of coconuts. Tuna, red snapper and swordfish fried in coconut oil are all favourite dishes, and there is an abundance of lobster, as well as a few vegetarian specials. Local specialities include cucurucho, a deceptively filling concoction of coconut, orange, guava and lots of sugar sold in a palm-leaf wrap on the hillside roads leading into the town. Other treats for the sweet-toothed include locally produced chocolate and the soft drink Prú, a fermented blend of sugar and secret spices that’s something of an acquired taste and is widely available from oferta stands.

STATE RESTAURANTS AND CAFÉS

Casa del Cacao Maceo no.129 tel_icon 21 64 2125. Just along from the Casa del Chocolate, this new convertible peso café-cum-museum is a lot less dour than the national peso chocolate house, with displays of chocolate growing and collecting instruments. Prices are higher (ask for the menu to avoid overcharging) although you can purchase fat, chocolately cakes from the window in moneda nacional. The bar out back stays open late for drinks and bonbons. Restaurant daily 7am–11pm, bar daily 11pm–late.

author_pick Casa del Chocolate Maceo no.121 tel_icon 21 64 1553. This quaint little national-peso café sells chocolate-related dishes and drinks. What’s on offer is the luck of the draw, though chocolate ice cream, a blancmange-style chocolate pudding and drinking chocolate crop up regularly. Prices rarely exceed the equivalent of $2CUC but you will need $CUP currency to pay. Knock on the door hard; it’s usually open but is kept locked to preserve the ferocious a/c. Daily 7am–11pm.

La Punta Ave. de los Mártires, at the west end of the Malecón tel_icon 21 64 1480. An elegant restaurant in the grounds of La Punta fort, cooled by sea breezes and serving traditional Cuban and Baracoan food, some spaghetti dishes and the house speciality of fish cooked with crab and shrimp ($8.95CUC). Mon–Thurs 10am–10pm, Fri–Sun 10am–midnight.

PALADARS

La Casona Martí no.114 esq. Maraví tel_icon 21 64 1122. This brand new no-frills paladar in an emerald green colonial building is as unassuming as they come – they even ask what music you’d like to hear while you dine. The generous servings of fried chicken or platters of shrimps or octopus in tomato sauce or coconut milk come accompanied by soup, rice, salad and chatinos (fried plantain strips), and cost $7–8CUC. Daily 11am–midnight.

author_pick El Poeta Maceo no.159 esq. Ciro Frías tel_icon 21 64 3017. A smorgasbord of local delicacies, deliciously cooked and beautifully served in gourds and cacao pods. The fish in a thick coating of coconut sauce is outstanding, and the coconut ice cream, served with cacao beans to suck on and a local banana delicacy, is delightful. Owner Pablo’s presentation is no cover up for mediocre food; it’s all moreish and delicious, and priced at $10–15CUC. Daily noon–midnight.

Restaurant Al’s Calixto García no.158A e/ Céspedes y Coroneles Galano tel_icon 05 29 03651 (mobile), email_icon choco.al.65@yahoo.es. Owner Al has great position with his high terrace overlooking the town and the sea, and he serves up barbecued food with panache. In addition to fish in coconut sauce, try octopus in its own ink or chicken fricassee ($6–15CUC). Daily noon–10pm.

La Rosa Nautica 1 de Abril no.185 (altos) tel_icon 21 64 5764. On the road out of town towards the airport, this is Baracoa’s only fine dining restaurant, and offers a somewhat mixed experience. While too far from town for most, it does boast an elegant setting and impeccable service, as well as a large surf and turf menu and a separate kebab menu ($5.50–15CUC). Opt for chorizo and pork and steer clear of the shrimps and beef; and note that the brochette Alerón comes with six huge kebabs – enough for two. Daily noon–midnight.

ENTERTAINMENT AND NIGHTLIFE

Casa de la Cultura Maceo no.124 e/ Frank País y Maraví tel_icon 21 64 2364. A haven of jaded charm, with live music and dancing on the patio nightly, plus regular rumba shows. Things tend to get going around 9pm. Free. Daily 9pm–1am.

author_pick Casa de la Trova Victorino Rodríguez no.149B e/ Ciro Frias y Pelayo Cuevo (no phone). Concerts take place in this tiny room opposite Parque Independencia, after which the chairs are pushed back to the wall and exuberant dancers spill onto the pavement. A lively, unaffected atmosphere makes for one of the most vibrant and authentic nights out in town. Entry $1CUC. Daily 5pm–midnight.

El Castillo Calixto García tel_icon 21 64 5165. Overlooking El Yunque and the Porto Santo bay, the poolside bar of this hotel is one of the most attractive options in town for twilight cocktails. Daily 1pm–midnight.

Paraíso Calle Maceo (no phone). On the one hand, there’s nothing intrinsically Cuban about this popular disco-cum-karaoke club opposite the park, but watching Baracoans belt out their favourite pop song or lord it over the dancefloor takes you to the heart of the country’s determination to have fun. Entry $5CUC. Tues–Sun 10.30pm–2am, closed Tues & Wed in low season.

El Patio Maceo esq. Maraví (no phone). Nightly traditional music shows at 9pm draw a crowd, while the bar does a fine trade in expertly prepared mojitos. Entrance is free. Daily 9am–midnight.

El Ranchón Loma Paraíso tel_icon 21 64 3268. Up on Paradise Hill behind Baracoa and reached by a stone staircase, this large, open-sided bar and club is popular with local youngsters as well as tourists. Disco music plays nightly and food is available. Entry $5CUC per couple. Daily 9pm–2am.

La Terraza Calle Maceo no.120 (no phone). This appealing rooftop terrace is a good spot for a quiet early-evening drink, while later in the evening it heats up as crowds of Baracoans and foreigners alike pile in for the comedy and traditional music and dance shows, followed by a disco. Entry $2CUC. Daily 8pm–2/3am.

SHOPPING

Yumurí Maceo no.149 tel_icon 21 64 2212. This small supermarket is useful for everyday supplies. Mon–Sat 8.30am–7.30pm, Sun 8.30am–3pm.

La Primada Martí opposite the park esq. Ciro Frías (no phone). Convertible-peso store selling food, clothes, toiletries and small electrics. Mon–Sat 8.30am–4.30pm, Sun 8.30am–noon.

Calle de las Tradiciones Calle Maraví y Maceo. An artisans’ market operates here daily in this tiny plaza.

TOURS AROUND BARACOA

With an abundance of verdant countryside, exploring the surrounding area is one of the pleasures of a visit to the Baracoa region. Without your own car, the only option is to take a guided tour, which can be arranged at the Cubatur office at Maceo no.147 (Mon–Sat 8am–noon & 2–6pm, Sun 8.30am–noon; tel_icon 21 64 5306). The prices quoted here are for guide and transport only; note that some trips only run with a minimum number of people.

Boca de Yumurí Though its tranquil nature has been damaged somewhat by tourism, Boca de Yumurí still offers splendid views and swimming spots. This excursion includes a boat ride and a tour of the local cocoa plantation, which cannot be visited any other way. $22CUC per person.

Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt These lush rainforests, curving and swelling into hills above coastline tangled with mangroves, cover some 700 square kilometres of land and sea and were deservedly designated a UNESCO biosphere and national park in 2001. Views are fantastic and access to secluded beaches and surrounding countryside easy. Guided tours take you through some of the most beautiful scenery on hillside hikes or boat trips around the coast. $24CUC, minimum four people.

Playa Duaba Only 6km outside of Baracoa, Playa Duaba is set on an estuary. The beach itself is a scrubby grey, but is pleasant enough for a swim. The tour includes a short guided walk, while lunch at the Finca Duaba is an optional extra. This tour is offered with the Río Toa tour as a full-day excursion for $20CUC per person.

Playa Maguana A daily bus leaves for the beach from outside the Cubatur office at 10am, returning at 4.30pm. You need to reserve at least half an hour before departure. $5CUC per person; minimum five people.

Río Toa Reached through some gently undulating rainforest filled with a cornucopia of cocoa trees, one of the country’s longest rivers lies 10km northwest of Baracoa. Wide and deep, the Río Toa is one of the most pleasant places to swim in, although you should choose your spot carefully and watch out for a fairly brisk current. Return is by boat. $20CUC per person.

Saltadero A visit to the picturesque waterfall at Saltadero, 10km west of the town, makes for a relaxing day-trip. Secluded by a rugged rock face, the 35m waterfall cascades down into a natural swimming pool. The route down to the pool is fairly slippery, so wear shoes with some grip. $6CUC per person.

El Yunque Nestling in lush rainforest is the hallmark of Baracoa’s landscape, El Yunque. The area is rich with banana and coconut trees, while the views are astounding. If you are striking out alone, start your climb at the Campismo El Yunque. Entrance and guided tour costs $16CUC per person and includes an obligatory guide.

El Yunque

The walk to the summit starts near Campismo El Yunque, 3km off the Moa road • Entrance is $13CUC, $10CUC if bought at Infotur • Guided excursions can be arranged by the Cubatur office

As square as a slab of butter, 575m El Yunque, 10km west of Baracoa and streaked in mist, seems to float above the other mountains in the Sagua Baracoa range. Christopher Columbus noted its conspicuousness: his journal entry of November 27, 1492, mentions a “high square mountain which seemed to be an island” seen on his approach to shore – no other mountain fits the description as well. El Yunque is the remnant of a huge plateau that dominated the region in its primordial past. Isolated for millions of years, its square summit has evolved unique species of ferns and palms, and much of the forest is still virgin, a haven for rare plants including orchids and bright red epiphytes. The energetic though not unduly strenuous hike to the summit should take about two hours.

ACCOMMODATION: EL YUNQUE

Campismo El Yunque tel_icon 21 64 5262, office at Calle Martí 225, Baracoa 21 64 2776. The boxy concrete cabins sleeping up to six here are scattered across a beautiful grove of palm trees near the River Duaba and starting point for climbing El Yunque. It’s a perfect escape, but you’d need your own transport. Five cabins are reserved for tourists. Cabins $14CUC

Playa Maguana

Some 25km northwest of Baracoa along the road to Moa, Playa Maguana is an attractive, narrow beach with golden sand, some seaweed, plenty of shade and a reef for snorkelling. Partly bordered by with the spindly though leafy Coco thrinas palm, indigenous to the area, its popular with locals as well as visitors, and is less exclusive than many in Cuba. At the far end of the beach, Villa Maguana sits in its own private cove. Take care of valuables while swimming at Maguana, as there have been reports of bags being taken.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING: PLAYA MAGUANA

Playa Maguana now offers a handful of new paladars, on or just off the beach, while pop-up places also open during the summer months. Alternatively, beach fishermen often approach sunbathers and will offer to cook freshly caught fish with rice and banana, served with rum-laced milk coconuts, for $5–8CUC.

Beach bar (no phone). Set back from the water, Playa Maguana’s beach bar sells drinks and some snacks like fried chicken and spaghetti for $3–6CUC. Daily 10am–6pm.

Paladar El Pulpo tel_icon 05 22 78598 (mobile). One of several paladars on the beach; this one stays open all year serving seafood ($5–6CUC) and a few plates of pasta. Daily 10am–6pm.

author_pick Villa Maguana Playa Maguana tel_icon 21 64 1204 or 1205. The only beach accommodation in the area, this is a little idyll, with plenty of privacy and sixteen comfortable double rooms, tastefully decorated and housed in a series of tall, smart, rustic cabins overlooking a little hoop of semi-private beach. There are two restaurants and a beach bar to boot. Well worth at least a night’s stay. $83CUC

Boca de Yumurí

Thirty kilometres east of Baracoa, past the Bahía de Mata – a tranquil bay with a slim, shingled beach and a splendid view of the mountains – is the little fishing village of BOCA DE YUMURÍ, standing at the mouth of the eponymous river. Known as a place to find the highly prized polyimita snails, the rather bland, brown-sand beach is also lined with houses whose owners will offer to cook you inexpensive meals of fish, rice and bananas. The village has suffered somewhat from the more pernicious effects of tourism and it’s more than likely that you’ll be besieged with jineteros trying to steer you towards their restaurant of choice and flog you shells from your moment of arrival. Avoid all but the most insistent and head to the end of the beach and a wooden jetty from where you can catch a raft taxi ($2CUC) further upstream, where the river is clearer and better for swimming and banked by a high rock face.

THE POLYMITA SNAIL

Along the Boca de Yumurí beach you may spot the brightly coloured shells of the polymita snail. According to local Amerindian legend, there was once a man who wanted to give his beloved a gift. As he had nothing of his own to give, he set out to capture the colours of the universe: he took the green of the mountains, the red of the earth, the pink of the flowers, the white of the foam of the sea, the yellow of the sun and the black of the night sky. He then set all the colours into the shells of the snails and presented them to his love. Each snail is unique, ornately decorated in delicate stripes and consequently quite sought-after – the Duchess of Windsor in the 1950s, for instance, had a pair encrusted with gold studs and made into earrings. Such caprices have severely depleted the snails’ numbers, and although locals still sell them, buying is not recommended, and a local campaign has started to raise awareness of the danger the sale of shells poses for the species – and it is now prohibited to buy them.

Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt

Park office • Daily 8am–4pm • $1CUC; boat trips $5CUC

Some 56km north out of Baracoa on the Moa road, with an office right on the carretera where you pay your entry fee, the Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt stretches across more than 32,000 hectares of mountainous rainforest and sea. Its forests are home to the world’s smallest bird, bat, frog and male scorpion, and the park also includes the stunning, discus-shaped Taco Bay, fringed by beautiful coconut palms and hemmed in by dense mangrove and frequented by an elusive cluster of manatees. The best time to spot these unusual mammals (also known as sea cows) is November to January via a two-hour boat trip across the bay to the mangroves.

WALKS IN PARQUE NACIONAL ALEJANDRO DE HUMBOLDT

There are several guided walks on offer in the Humboldt national park that allow you to experience the peculiar plants and wildlife of the region. The El Recreo (3hr) and Sendero Balcón de Iberia (5hr) trails can be booked at the park gate or through travel agencies in Baracoa, and cost $10 per person, or $24CUC per person with transport from Baracoa included. Exclusive walks, which can only be booked in the National Park HQ in Baracoa at Calle Martí s/n, opposite the stadium bus stop (Mon–Fri 8am–noon & 2–5pm; no phone), include Sendero El Copal (4hr), Sendero Riveras del Jiguaní (5hr), which includes a boat ride, Sendero Loma de Piedra (6hr) and Sendero Cascada La Jaragua (5hr); all of these cost $18–32CUC per person including transport from Baracoa. A new agroecoturismo route involving living from the earth like a campesino, and making honey and local crafts, costs $10 per person. Another new option, the 22km, three-day Ruta Humboldt, was about to be launched at the time of writing, and costs $35CUC per person per day including food and transport.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING: PARQUE NACIONAL ALEJANDRO DE HUMBOLDT

Park dormitories email_icon sergiosg@gu.rimed.cu. The park runs a site next to Taco Bay, where the basic dormitories have ten bunk beds and two shared bathrooms with cold water. Simple food is offered at $2CUC per person. Beds $8CUC

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Northern Oriente

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Victoria de las Tunas

FESTIVALS IN VICTORIA DE LAS TUNAS

Museo Provincial Mayor General Vicente García

Plaza Martiana de las Tunas

RITA LONGA

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INFORMATION

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EATING AND DRINKING

Puerto Padre

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San Isidoro de Holguín

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Museo Provincial de Holguín

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GETTING AROUND

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Gibara

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Guardalavaca

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Banes

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ACCOMMODATION, EATING AND DRINKING

Cayo Saetía