VALLE DE LOS INGENIOS

East of Trinidad, the Carretera de Sancti Spíritus drops spectacularly into the Valley of the Sugar Mills, known more correctly as the Valle de San Luis and declared a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site. It is named for the many sugar mills, or ingenios (43 at its peak), that sprang up over the centuries to grind the cane produced by the valley’s remarkably fertile soil. The valley was the most important sugar-producing region into the 19th century, when the development of the central plantation system elsewhere in Cuba sounded a death knell for the valley’s relatively primitive factories.

Many of the mills and estate houses remain, albeit mostly in ruin. Several historic sites are signed from the main highway. Most notable is Sitio Histórico Guaímaro, which boasts fabulous but much-deteriorated wall murals. It is slated to become a museum on sugarcane; restoration was underway at last visit. Guaímaro is about 600 meters off the highway (you’ll need to ask directions) via a dirt road that continues for another five kilometers (to be attempted in dry season only) to Sitio Histórico San Isidro, which is hidden behind trees at a 90-degree bend, beyond which you find yourself amid the canefields. The ruins of San Isidro feature a three-story campanile.

Sitio Histórico San Pedro is a rural village of tumbledown wattle-and-daub huts with a couple of restored colonial homes. It’s not worth the 11-kilometer drive via badly potholed road.

You gain a good vantage over the valley from the Mirador del Valle de los Ingenios, about five kilometers east of Trinidad. There’s a snack bar and bar.

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Torre de Manaca-Iznaga

The quaint village of Iznaga is a picture-perfect gem with a prim little railway station. The village, 14 kilometers east of Trinidad, is most famous for Hacienda Iznaga (tel. 0419/7241; daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; CUC1), built 1835–45 by Alejo María del Carmen e Iznaga, once one of the wealthiest sugar planters in Cuba. The hacienda features a 43.5-meter-tall tower that according to legend was built as a wager. Alejo was to build a tower while his brother Pedro dug a well. The winner would be whoever went highest or deepest (no well has been found). It has seven levels, each smaller than the one beneath. You can ascend the 136 steps with the custodio (a tip is appreciated).

The restored hacienda is now a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the valley. A traditional guarapería at the rear serves fresh-squeezed cane juice.

Lacework is a local specialty sold at the base of the tower.

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Horseback Riding

You can go horseback riding at Casa Guachinango (no tel.; daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m.), three kilometers north of Iznaga; a one-hour ride leads to mineral springs good for bathing. This 200-year-old hacienda-turned-restaurant boasts a beautiful setting above the Río Ay. You can also milk cows and be shown how to extract honey from beehives. Lunches using homegrown organic vegetables are served.

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Getting There

A local commuter train departs Trinidad for Meyer via the Valle de los Ingenios at 5 a.m., 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5:20 p.m. (CUC10). It stops at Iznaga and Guachinango. Trains depart Meyer for Trinidad at 6:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2:40 p.m., and 6:40 p.m.

A 1907 steam train also runs an excursion from Trinidad to Guachinango daily at 9:30 a.m., with a lunch stop at Iznaga (CUC10; you pay for lunch separately). Tour agencies in Trinidad make reservations.