Pinar Del Rio
The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost province and contains one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guaniguanico, divided into the easterly Sierra del Rosario and the westerly Sierra de los Organos. These form a landscape characterised by steep sided limestone hills (called mogotes) and flat, fertile valleys. One such topographic feature, the Viñales Valley, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The northern coast opens to the great Gulf of Mexico, and is lined by the Colorados Archipelago, a string of cays and isles developed on a reef barrier. The westernmost point of Cuba, Cabo San Antonio, is located on the Guanahacabibes Peninsula, which is a National Park and a Biosphere Reserve.The province relies on tobacco farming, with Pinar del Río producing 70% of Cuba's crop, used to make the cigars that are so prized overseas. The best tobacco, used for more expensive cigar brands, is grown in the flat lands of San Juan y Martínez.
Viñales Valley, in Pinar del Río, Cuba, designated Cultural and World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and a magnificent landscape where its unparallel nature is perfectly combined with environmental protection and human action.
Soroa Fall
I drive to the close highway and then set out on the right toward Soroa, a tourist complex located in the heights of Sierra del Rosario. The road goes along very inclined sides of the hill, almost touching the top of red flamboyant trees and snow trees, thus called because it is full of white flowers in this season of the year. The tropical woods become thickest as we are getting into a natural reserve of great ecological attractions, that is why the site has been declared Reserve of the Biosphere by UNESCO. Later I visit the largest Cuban orchid garden, the guides report that hundreds of orchid types and many other kinds of plants are found at Soroa orchid garden. An unfortunate and painful love of a father is hidden behind this overwhelming vegetation and the magnificence of the landscape.
The founder of all that was a wealthy Spaniard who decided to build
in 1943 an exotic garden in honor to her late daughter who loved orchids. For him, every flower symbolized a breath of life he would have liked to give to her late daughter. Going up the road is the El Castillo de las Nubes (Cloud Castle). It is located in an amazing stone construction from which a beautiful view is seen. The sight is extended to the north all over the hill covered by palm trees and to the south along the savanna that borders the sea. On the other side of the small road the fall is found. Visitors should walk along the woods, going up hundred steps until reaching the highest part of the fall, we can see the 21-m fall of Manantiales River. After ten minutes more one can go down where a natural pool has been formed fit for swimming and from there the view of the fall is much more spectacular. The only hotel of this area is named Villa Horizontes Soroa (Phone: 85- 2122/2041) with 49 rooms arranged in bungalows around a pool and ten houses, they all gathered in the bright nature of the place.
Habana City
The striking cathedral at the heart of Habana Vieja
A consummate example of Cuban baroque style, Catedral de la Habana was constructed between 1748 and 1787. Its asymmetric towers (the right is larger than the left) continue to puzzle scholars.The interior is surprisingly modest with a neo-classical altar, paintings, and metalwork by Italian masters Bianchini and Giuseppe Perovani. Opening times can be erratic but the cathedral is regularly open for mass.
Cuba's clone of Washington's Capitol building is a glorious architectural tribute
Modeled on Washington's Capitol building, Cuba's Capitolo is every bit as impressive. From viewing Italian sculptor Angelo Zanelli's massive bronze statue inside the foyer to wandering through the curved hallways to the former House of Representatives, the building is an aesthetic delight.The seat of government is now in buildings surrounding the Plaza de la Revolución but many of the ornate anterooms still host conferences.
Originally, this interesting town square was called Plaza Nueva, meaning New Square, and was built as the military and government nerve center. You can truly get a taste for both 17th and 18th century Cuban architecture and interesting history in this town square.Attractive wooden balconies, lofty ceilings and crystal arches are distinguishing features of buildings. Years ago, this commercial hub was the location of bullfights, fiestas, processions and even executions
Impressive views of the city
Located on the top floor of the Edificio Gómez Vila, 35m (115ft) off the ground, the Cámara Oscura provides a 360-degree panoramic real-time 'moving image' of what's happening in much of La Habana Vieja.
The only one of its kind in the Americas, the Cámara Oscura was donated to Cuba by Cádiz, Spain. There are great views from the roof.
Historic plaza with scenic views
Plaza de San Francisco takes its name from the Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis, a former Franciscan monastery located in the immediate vicinity of the square. The church is now used for concerts, and the cloister of the adjacent monastery now houses a museum of holy art.
While the monastery was built at the end of sixteenth century (1580-91), the Plaza de San Francisco is more recent, dating from 1628. The plaza is known for the beautiful Fuente de los Leones (Lions Fountain), which was commissioned by Villanueva and built in 1836 by Giuseppe Gaggini.
The first known public square of Havana
Plaza de Armas (Armas Square) was not always a public place - in the 16th century, most of the plaza was occupied by the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, and its keeper, Diego Quiñones, turned it into a maneuver ground in 1584. Before this, the square was known as Plaza de la Iglesia (Church Square).
The name changed because of the frequency of military exercises. Since 1923 the official name of the plaza is that of the Cuban patriot Carlos Manuel de Céspedes.
View some of the most fascinating Havana history as you visit the Castillo el Morro (Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro). El Morro, as it’s also often called is truly one of the most important symbols in Havana.
Construction began on this castle in 1589 and finished in 1630, and was directed by Juan Bautista Antonelli, a military engineer from Italy. This great castle served as a military fort in colonial times, an effective lighthouse, and a symbol of the city. This impressive fort sits on cliffs on the opposite side fo the harbor from old Havana. Follow a trail to read names, dates and messages inscribed on sandstone cliffs from dates as far back as the 1600’s.
Matanzas
Varadero is foremost a tourist resort town, boasting more than 20 km of white sandy beaches. The first tourists visited Varadero as early as the 1870s, and for years it was considered an elite resort. In 1910 the annual rowing regatta was started; five years later the first hotel, named Varadero and later Club Nautico, was built. Tourism grew in the early 1930s as Irénée du Pont Nemours, an American millionaire, built his estate on the peninsula.As international tourism was opened up, the local population expanded with the arrival of people, some in key economic positions, from other parts of Cuba. As a consequence, Varadero has lost much of its social and cultural life and its traditions. The central park, the cinema and various cultural meeting places were neglected in favor of a hotel-centred all-inclusive-tourism and finally closed. The International Carnival, an initiative of Cubans and foreigners started in the 1980s.In addition to its most valued resource, the beach, Varadero has natural attractions such as caves and a chain of easily accessed virgin cays. There are also cultural, historical and environmental attractions in the vicinity, such as the cities of Matanzas and Cárdenas, the Zapata Peninsula and the resort of San Miguel de los Baños. Varadero, which is a free port, also possesses facilities for scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, yachting and other water sports.
Varadero Beach
Cienaga de zapata
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Trinidad
El Nicho waterfalls Sierra de Trinidad Cuba
Dozens of cascades and natural ponds, in a practically virgin
place, hidden among the mountains, to be El Nicho, a marvel of the nature.
El Nicho, located in the Guanayara Park, belonging to Guamuhaya mountainous (also known as Escambray mountainous) in Cienfuegos province, it is a paradisiac place where are combines the green of the vegetation, the rivers, the cascades and the picturesque rural towns. El Nicho is one of the most beautiful places in Cuba.
Santiago de cuba
Valle de la Prehistoria / Baconao Park
Valle de la Prehistoria, near the city of Santiago de Cuba, is a prehistoric-themed tourist attraction that features life-size models of over 200 dinosaurs and cavemen.
Located inside the Bocanao National park, Valle de la Prehistoria spreads over 11 hectares of land and is as close as it can get to a real-life Jurassic Park. The vast recreational park dedicated to science and palaeontology is split into multiple areas separated by geological epochs, and features lush vegetation, man-made waterfalls and 227 concrete statues representing 59 different species, including dinosaurs, mammoths, felines and early cavemen.
Perhaps the most spectacular statue in the whole Valle de la Prehistoria is the 12-meter-high Cro magnon welcoming tourists at the park entrance, with a giant stone axe in hand and a Flintstones-like sign post that reads “Do not hesitate! Go! Dare to discover the Jurassic Park dreamed by Spielberg himself”. According to people who visited this popular tourist attraction, it is indeed a fun way to travel back in time, and no other facility manages to recreate a prehistoric atmosphere as faithfully.
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