Page 139 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

CUBA REGION B Y REGION  137

WESTERN CUBA

Pinar del Río • Isla de la Juventud • Cayo Largo del Sur

The western region of mainland Cuba is
characterized by swathes of cultivated
fields and, at times, extraordinarily beautiful
scenery. The main attraction here is the Viñales
Valley, where unusual limestone outcrops (called mogotes) loom
over lush fields of tobacco. Off the coast, scattered islands with stunning
white beaches offer a peaceful refuge from the bustle of Havana.

According to the inhabitants of Santiago, tall enough to create a breathtaking
Pinar del Río and Artemisa provinces are landscape. Palm trees mingle with pine
the least “revolutionary” parts of Cuba. trees, and delicate wild orchids thrive
They form the island’s most rural region, where the conditions are right. These low
populated by white farmers who have mountains provide excellent walking
never been known for their warlike territory. The Sierra del Rosario is now a
passion, although western Cuba was the UNESCO world biosphere reserve, as is the
scene of several battles against the Guanahacabibes peninsula in the far west.
Spanish in the late 1800s, and in 1958 In both areas, the emphasis is placed on
there was a revolutionary front here. conservation-conscious ecotourism.
This part of Cuba was colonized in the Ecotourism is less of a priority on Cayo
16th and 17th centuries by Europeans Largo, a long-established island resort with
mainly from the Canary Islands. Historically, lovely sea and sand, and numerous hotels.
Pinar has preferred to concentrate its efforts This island forms part of the Archipiélago
on producing what they claim is the best de los Canarreos, in the Caribbean Sea,
tobacco in the world. Tobacco fields are which is made up of 350 cayos or keys.
scattered among the Sierra del Rosario All of these are uninhabited apart from
and Sierra de los Órganos ranges, which Cayo Largo and Isla de la Juventud (Isle
are barely 600 m (1,970 ft) above sea level of Youth), a large island with a rich history
– not high enough to be mountains yet and second-best dive spot in Cuba.

Soroa waterfall on a sunny day at Pinar del Rio
Thatched hut and mogote typical of Valle de Viñales

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