Page 242 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

240  CUBA REGION B Y REGION

Exploring the Parque Baconao

It is possible to explore the park by car or taxi in a day,
although accommodation is available. Heading east from
Santiago, along Avenida Raúl Pujol, you will pass the zoo
(Parque Zoológico), and, nearby, the Arbol de la Paz
(Tree of Peace), a ceiba tree beneath which the Spanish
signed the surrender agreement in 1898. The entrance to
Parque Baconao is not far beyond the confines of the city.
Most of the attractions are suitable for families and can
be reached by car, but the peak of the Gran Piedra and
the easternmost beaches are only accessible on foot. A strelitzia in flower at the Jardín Avenida
del Paraíso
Paraíso, with its many species
of orchid and multicoloured
strelitzias (flowers more
commonly known as bird of
paradise), a flight of 459 steps
leads up to the top of the Gran
Piedra (1,234 m/4,048 ft above
sea level). This gigantic, 25-m
(82-ft) monolith rests on the
crater of an extinct volcano.
It is best to make the climb
in the morning, because the
afternoon can bring foggy
weather and you may not see
far into the distance. However,
on clear days the view is simply
The spectacular view from the Gran Piedra superb: it stretches from the
mountains to the coast, and
P Granjita Siboney } Gran Piedra even as far as Haiti.
Carretera Siboney km 13.5. Tel (22) Jardín Botánico: Open 7am–6pm
399 168. Open 9am–5pm daily. daily. & E Cafetal La Isabelica
& 8 Note: fee for photography Heading west from Granjita Carretera de la Gran Piedra km 14.
may apply. Siboney, you come to a turn- Open 8:30am–5pm daily. & 8 -
By the roadside 16 km (10 miles) off to Gran Piedra: this 12-km There are numerous old coffee
east of Santiago, this is the farm (7-mile) road with hairpin bends plantations around the Gran
rented by Abel Santamaría in provides one of the best Piedra, all of which were
1953 as a base of operations in panoramas in Cuba with views granted World Heritage Site
the run-up to the assault on of the intense green of the status by UNESCO. Almost all of
the Moncada barracks. It was tropical and mountain forests. the plantations are in ruins, but
from here, on 26 July, that the Beyond the Jardín Avenida del one exception is the Cafetal La
young rebels drove into
Santiago to launch the attack.
Their attempt failed and
Granjita Siboney itself was later
attacked by Batista’s men. The
(reconstructed) bullet holes
can be seen around the door.
Granjita Siboney is now a
museum with the uniforms
and some of the weapons that
the revolutionaries wore and
carried that day. Next door is
the Generación del Centenario
gallery, with paintings
honouring the rebels who
died during the attack on the
barracks, as well as photographs,
documents and the car Castro
used in the attack. Granjita Siboney farm, showing the signs of the July 1953 attack
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp262–3 and p275

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