Pinar del Rio, Cuba
Tourism Information
Pinar del Rio, Cuba’s westernmost province, is a land of
mogotes (round-topped hills), tobacco, valleys surrounded by
mountains and an exotic, rich flora and fauna.
It also features the Viñales Valley, a 132-square-kilometer
area that has been deemed a National Natural Monument. Its
impressive rounded mountains are called mogotes by local
residents. They date from as far back as the Jurassic period
and are covered with rich and varied vegetation. There are
also many caves of great interest to speleologists. Among
them, the Santo Tomás system stands out with its more than
45 kilometers of galleries.
Viñales practically invites visitors to stroll through its
confines, observing all the indigenous species in their
natural splendor.
Among the attractions of the province—along with some of the
best tobacco plantations in the world—are Cueva del Indio,
Abra del Ancón, Sierra del Infierno, Valle de las Dos
Hermanas, Hoyo de Jaruco and Valle de San Vicente. Caridad’s
Botanical Garden and Los Acuáticos, a rural community where
health problems are treated with restorative waters, are
also worth mentioning.
In the Rosario Mountain Range is another of Pinar del Río’s
attractions, Soroa, which has been declared a Biosphere
Reserve due to its splendid natural attributes. Here, flower
aficionados can enjoy Cuba’s largest orchid garden where 750
species—250 of them indigenously Cuban—will delight visitors
with their colors and smells.
Moreover, Soroa offers the possibility of a enjoying a
magnificent lookout, walking among rich vegetation, looking
for exotic plants and animals, walking along the Manantiales
River and swimming in its medicinal waters or bathing
beneath its waterfalls.
In Vueltabajo, tourists can see enormous tobacco plantations
and can also do something new since May 1998: they can take
the so-called Water Route and bathe in the restorative
mineral waters of the area’s springs.
Also located in the Rosario Mountain Range, the tourist
resort of Las Terrazas provides amazing landscapes, over 800
types of plant and 73 different types of birds within a
protected area hosting a wide range of endemic species.
In the surrounding area, you will discover sulfurous water
baths, the springs of the San Juan River, the ruins of
French coffee plantations and several campsites.
Other attractions include the Maspotón Hunting Lodge, the
Laguna Verde Fishing Club and the Maria la Gorda
International Diving Center, featuring eight kilometers of
fine sandy beaches. This place is named after the legendary
María, a fat woman who was brought from Venezuela by a gang
of pirates.
Offshore, a short trip leads tourists to the Levisa and
Jutia keys with their amazing variety of peaceful beaches
and abundant sites for diving, fishing, and water sports.