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Cuba, a favourite destination for visitors interested in nature
tourism, has the Vinales Valley, whose origin dates back to more
than 300 million years ago, as an attraction par excellence to enjoy
that tourist modality. According to experts, the Vinales Valley
is an exceptional scenery, in which its unique nature and the preservation
of the environment blend with the agricultural work of men and women,
especially in tobacco fields. Covering an area of 132 square kilometres,
the Vinales Valley is also the most outstanding exponent of a chalky
valley in the Antilles, and is surrounded by "mogotes",
which are hills with round tops and vertical slopes. According to
experts, the valley's flora is closely linked to its ancient past,
since it holds 17 endemic varieties that cannot be found anywhere
on Earth, including the cork palm (Microcycas calocoma), which is
considered a living fossil from the Jurassic period. The region's
fauna is highly endemic, including birds like the bee hummingbirds
(Calypte helenae), Cuban trogons or "tocororos" (Priotelus
temnurus), cartacubas (Todus multicolor), nightingales (Myadestes
elisabeth) and Cuban grassquits (Tiaris canora).
The town of Vinales, in the heart of the valley,
is a typical agricultural settlement whose main street is flanked
by galleries of columns and red-tiled houses. The socio-historical
development of the region contains elements and sites that characterize
the Cuban people with antecedents from aborigines, African slaves
and peasants. The unique features of the area's natural landscape
surround all this. In one of the "mogotes", known as "Dos
Hermanas" (Two Sisters), visitors can enjoy one of the world's
biggest outdoors natural paintings, the so-called Mural of Prehistory.
The Mural of Prehistory, which is 120 meters high and 180 meters
wide, was painted on the slope of the aforementioned hill. It is
a singular representation of the biological evolution of Sierra
de los Organos, also in western Pinar del Rio province. Experts
recall that in order to paint the mural, the vegetal layer on the
slope of Dos Hermanas had to be removed, while a score of local
residents participated in the dangerous artistic work under the
guidance of Cuban Professor Leovigildo Gonzalez (deceased). The
passage of time has failed to erase this breathtaking work of art,
which attracts thousands of visitors every year, who come to enjoy
the images of the plesiosaurus and the megalonus rodens, painted
with singular ability on the hill's slope. In addition, the Vinales
Valley has numerous caverns, among which Cueva del Indio (crossed
by the San Vicente River), Cueva de San Miguel and Cueva de Santo
Tomas stand out. The latter has been classified among the largest
caverns in Latin America, with more than 45 kilometres of galleries. |
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A large number of hotels in Pinar del Rio province
are in the Vinales Valley, where Los Jazmines Hotel offers a wide
range of options, including trails for ecotourism. Those trails
are "The Road to the Mogotes", which begins at the hotel
and leads to the depths of the valley, ending at the Mural of Prehistory;
"Unsuspected Nature", in which travelers can enjoy the
many species of birds inhabiting the region, and "The Secrets
of the Underground World", in which Cueva de Santo Tomos stands
out for its great archaeological values. The hotel's amenities include
air-conditioned rooms, sports facilities and outdoors activities.
Another hotel is La Ermita, which offers the ecological tour "Wonders
of Vinales", which consists of a walk to Sierra del Infierno
to watch the local flora and fauna, especially birds, and take a
close look of the cork palm. The hotel infrastructure of the Vinales
Valley is complemented by the Rancho San Vicente Hotel, which is
located near a spring of mineral-medicinal waters that became famous
in the 19th century.
Aside from its value as a venue promoting ecotourism
in Cuba, Vinales Valley has also been recognized as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site for the pristine natural beauty of its surroundings
and the traditional farming methods still employed by farmers today
to raise tobacco and other food crops in the valley. The quickest
way get to the town of Vinales would be to book yourself on a cheap
flight with a local airline which will take you to Playa Baracoa
Airport, the regional airport serving domestic flights west of the
capital city of Havana. |
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