Pinar del Rio

The westernmost of the Cuban provinces is endowed with the most diverse greenness. There are two sites of unique beauty and international renown: Vieales Valley and Soroa.

The Vinales Valley, declared a natural national monument, has an area of 132 sq. km, with massive hills and rounded knolls. Peculiar rocky formations from the Jurassic period known as "mogotes", are covered by rich hill vegetation. Caves of real speleological interest are abundant, and among them is the Santo Tomas Cave System with its 45 km of galleries. The valley is ideal for walking, hiking and watching local indigenous species. We suggest you visit the following areas:  Cueva del Indio, Abra de Ancn, Sierra del Infierno, the Dos Hermanas Valley, the San Vicente Valley, Hoyo de Jaruco, the peasant community Los Acuticos (devoted to the religious worship of water), the Botanical Garden of Caridad and the magnificent tobacco fields. Pinar del Rio's tobacco is used to produce the best brands of Habanos or Cuban cigars.

Soroa is located on the western region of the Sierra del Rosario, declared a natural reserve of the biosphere for its natural values. There you will find the Soroa Lookout Point. The Orchid Garden, the largest in Cuba, has over 700 orchid species (250 endemic). You will walk through an evergreen forest watching wonderful birds and take nice shots of its landscape. Or you can walk along the banks of the Manantiales River, with its famous waterfall, which at certain hours of the day, the sun's rays are dispersed to form a beautiful rainbow. Soroa is called The Rainbow of Cuba. You can even bathe in its mineral-medicinal and hypothermic waters.

In Sierra del Rosario, km 51 on the freeway to Pinar del Rio and only 45 minutes away from Havana, is Las Terrazas, a tourism complex. Sierra del Rosario is ecologically-oriented, with breathtaking landscape and more than 800 types of plants and 73 species of birds (many of them indigenous species). Las Terrazas is a peasant community created in the seventies as part of a comprehensive program for the development of the area, covering reforestation and preservation of soil by terrace techniques. In the area, you can enjoy baths in sulfurous and natural waters, along with flora and fauna watching.

Given its lovely natural environment and its proximity to the two most important centers on the island, Havana and Varadero, Pinar del Rio province is a great place for incentive groups interested in doing something different. The western most Cuban province has two of the country's biosphere reserves: Sierra del Rosario and the Guanabacabibes Peninsula. The soil here grows the best tobacco in the world, and Vinales Valley, a spectacular natural environment, is one of Cuba's most emblematic regions.

RESTAURANTS
Cabaret Rumayor
Cueva del Indio
Creole Cuisine
El Salto
Villa Soroa

CAR RENTAL
Havanautos
Transauto

GAS STATIONS
Isabel Rubio
Carretera Panamericana
Oro Negro

TAXIS
Transtur
Turistaxi