Pinar del Rio

Because of its near-perfect natural beauty, this province in the westernmost part of the country is also known as "the Garden of Cuba." It is 10 931,5 square km (4221 square miles) in size, has a population of around 718,000 and is famous for growing the best tobacco in the world. It was named Nueva Filipinas in 1774, but that name didn't stick. Ever since 1778, it has been Pinar del Río.

Ever since the 19th century, residents of Havana have been drawn by the natural beauty of the Vueltabajo region, and they have flocked to Portales Cave; to San Diego de los Baños, to receive the benefits of its mineral-medicinal and thermal water; and to the Valley of Viñales, to gaze at its natural beauty.

UNESCO has declared the Valley of Viñales to be a part of world culture, and it is also a national monument. It is surrounded by pin-cushion hills which contain many caves and underground rivers. The Los Jazmines and La Ermita Hotels, the Palenque de los Cimarrones (Runaway Slave Settlement), the Mural of Prehistory, Indio (Indian's) Cave, the Los Acuáticos Community, San Diego de los Baños and the town of Viñales are nearby.

Valley of Viñales: Unquestionably, this is one of the parts of Cuba that is best known internationally. In the late 1900s, UNESCO declared it to be a part of world cultural heritage.

The valley is also a national monument. Its beauty and size, 132 square km (51 square miles) make it the most outstanding example of karst valleys in Cuba. This fertile area is surrounded by hills with vertical sides and rounded tops, called mogotes (pin-cushion hills). With 140 to 400 m (between 460 and 1312 feet) high, they are the only hills of this kind in Cuba. They contain many caves, some of them created by underground rivers (which are navigable in part), which form one of the most extensive cave systems in Latin America.

Two of the four areas in the Cuban archipelago which UNESCO has declared to be world preserves of the biosphere are nearby: the Rosario Mountains, which contain enchanting Soroa and Las Terrazas, and the Guanahacabibes Peninsula. The flora and fauna in both places are of a great variety, with many endemic species.

Quiet, comfortable hotels have been built in some of the most beautiful spots in Pinar del Río, to facilitate your enjoyment of Nature. Levisa Cay has a delightful, sunny beach, and the province also offer excellent opportunities for scuba diving, hunting and fishing.

When visiting the capital of Pinar del Río Province, be sure to tour the Guayabita del Pinar Distillery, where the drink of the same name is still made by hand, following an age-old recipe; Guarch Palace, Milanés Theater and the Rumayor Cabaret. The local culture is quite an attraction.

Pinar del Río is just 174 km (108 miles) from Havana, and the two cities are linked by a good highway. The city of Pinar del Río was founded in 1774. The architecture in its historic center is eclectic, and its low houses in gentle colors, whose porches seem to form an endless gallery, have great charm. On the outskirts of the city, modern buildings break its horizontal lines.

Pinar del Río is located at the west end of the country. Two of its multiple attributes would be enough to call the attention of visitors who have just arrived in the island: El Valle de Viñales (Valley of Viñales), Cultural Landscape of Mankind; and the fact that the lands of Vueltabajo produce the best tobacco of the world.

This portion of the Cuban territory was named New Philippines by mid 1770´s, but it was given its current name in 1778 (corresponding to the oldest town). It is the only place with two Reserves of the Biosphere within provincial limits: Sierra del Rosario and the Península of Guanahacabibes.

This mountainous region and Sierra de los Órganos constitute the extensive Cordillera de Guaniguanico, which concentrates the most notable landscape and biological richness of the region. Pan de Guajaibón (699 meters above sea level) is the highest mountain of all the western region of the largest of the Antilles.

Covering an area of 132 km2 of Sierra de los Órganos; the National Park of the Valley of Viñales stands out for the appearance in its territory of impressive mountains of vertical sides and round tops covered by an abundant vegetation; these hills are known as mogotes. On the other hand, the extensive existence of caves in this region is particularly interesting, since they constitute a great attraction from the speleological point of view.

Cueva del Indio (Cave of the Indian), crossed by the San Juan River (navigable), and the cave of Juan Miguel, both of them located nearby. As well as the system of caves known as Santo Tomás, which has more than 45 kilometers of galleries buried under the close Sierra de Quemados, constitute places with an undoubtable value in a natural space that seems to have been conceived for walks on ecotouristic pathways.

One of the most interesting green routes that calls the attention of visitors is the Aquatic one, which stretches from Sierra del Infierno (settlement of a peasant community that pays tribute to water, attributing curative properties to it) up to the Valley of Dos Hermanas. Here, visitors will be able to enjoy an enormous painting made on the wall of a mogote and baptized with name of Mural of Prehistory.

The natural charms of Pinar del Río are also particularly notable in the Sierra del Rosario Reserve of the Biosphere, where you will see the orchid plantation of Soroa, the most important one in the country with 750 varieties; and the touristic resort of Las Terrazas, which constitutes with its high landscape value the first experience of sustainable tourism developed in rural areas of the country.

The Península de Guanahacabibes´ Reserve of the Biosphere is located on the west end of the province. There are here two natural reserves on the limits of its scarcely developed touristic areas: El Veral and Cabo Corrientes, as well as an International Diving Center, María la Gorda, with nearly 40 diving sites and an abundant colony of Black Coral on its bottoms. Those who enjoy these activities will find in Cayo Levisa, particularly in a place known as la Corona de San Carlos, another place with all the necessary conditions for their practice.

The Roncalli lighthouse in El Cabo de San Antonio, virtually located at the entrance of the Peninsula de Yucatán; fishing and hunting sites; and a renown beach resort with mineral-medicinal waters in San Diego de los Baños; represent more possibilities for enjoyment in Pinar del Río. In this province all visitors feel the urge to meet the extensive plantations of the best tobacco in the world and taste a unique liqueur produced here in an artistic way: Guayabita del Pinar.

Pinar del Río is located at the west end of the country. Two of its multiple attributes would be enough to call the attention of visitors who have just arrived in the island: El Valle de Viñales (Valley of Viñales), Cultural Landscape of Mankind; and the fact that the lands of Vueltabajo produce the best tobacco of the world.

This portion of the Cuban territory was named New Philippines by mid 1770´s, but it was given its current name in 1778 (corresponding to the oldest town). It is the only place with two Reserves of the Biosphere within provincial limits: Sierra del Rosario and the Península of Guanahacabibes.

This mountainous region and Sierra de los Órganos constitute the extensive Cordillera de Guaniguanico, which concentrates the most notable landscape and biological richness of the region. Pan de Guajaibón (699 meters above sea level) is the highest mountain of all the western region of the largest of the Antilles.

Covering an area of 132 km2 of Sierra de los Órganos; the National Park of the Valley of Viñales stands out for the appearance in its territory of impressive mountains of vertical sides and round tops covered by an abundant vegetation; these hills are known as mogotes. On the other hand, the extensive existence of caves in this region is particularly interesting, since they constitute a great attraction from the speleological point of view.

Cueva del Indio (Cave of the Indian), crossed by the San Juan River (navigable), and the cave of Juan Miguel, both of them located nearby. As well as the system of caves known as Santo Tomás, which has more than 45 kilometers of galleries buried under the close Sierra de Quemados, constitute places with an undoubtable value in a natural space that seems to have been conceived for walks on ecotouristic pathways.

One of the most interesting green routes that calls the attention of visitors is the Aquatic one, which stretches from Sierra del Infierno (settlement of a peasant community that pays tribute to water, attributing curative properties to it) up to the Valley of Dos Hermanas. Here, visitors will be able to enjoy an enormous painting made on the wall of a mogote and baptized with name of Mural of Prehistory.

The natural charms of Pinar del Río are also particularly notable in the Sierra del Rosario Reserve of the Biosphere, where you will see the orchid plantation of Soroa, the most important one in the country with 750 varieties; and the touristic resort of Las Terrazas, which constitutes with its high landscape value the first experience of sustainable tourism developed in rural areas of the country.

The Península de Guanahacabibes´ Reserve of the Biosphere is located on the west end of the province. There are here two natural reserves on the limits of its scarcely developed touristic areas: El Veral and Cabo Corrientes, as well as an International Diving Center, María la Gorda, with nearly 40 diving sites and an abundant colony of Black Coral on its bottoms. Those who enjoy these activities will find in Cayo Levisa, particularly in a place known as la Corona de San Carlos, another place with all the necessary conditions for their practice.

The Roncalli lighthouse in El Cabo de San Antonio, virtually located at the entrance of the Peninsula de Yucatán; fishing and hunting sites; and a renown beach resort with mineral-medicinal waters in San Diego de los Baños; represent more possibilities for enjoyment in Pinar del Río. In this province all visitors feel the urge to meet the extensive plantations of the best tobacco in the world and taste a unique liqueur produced here in an artistic way: Guayabita del Pinar.