Pinar del Río

Pinar del Río is Cuba’s westernmost province and, in many ways, its most scenic. Ox-drawn plows transport you back in time amid quintessentially Cuban landscapes that attain their most dramatic beauty in Viñales Valley, with incredible limestone formations called mogotes, plus caves for exploring and a bucolic setting that Hollywood might have conceived for your camera. Here, and in the neighboring region of Vuelta Abajo, the world’s finest tobacco is grown.

Pinar del Río is dominated by a low mountain chain—the Cordillera de Guaniguanico—which forms an east–west spine through the province. The chain is divided by the Río San Diego into two mountain ranges—the Sierra del Rosario in the east and the Sierra de los Órganos in the west. The pine-forested mountains, which reach a height of 692 meters atop Pan de Guajaibón, are pimpled with mogotes, adding drama to the photogenic effect. Opportunities for ecotourism are being developed, notably at Soroa, known for its orchid garden; and Las Terrazas, a model community with a first-rate hotel (billed, euphemistically as an eco-resort) plus artists studios, nature trails, cascades, thermal pools, and the remains of 18th-century cafetales (coffee plantations) and thermal baths. Although undeveloped for tourism, Parque Nacional La Güira is great for bird-watching and for history buffs investigating the history of Che Guevara.

A slender pencil of uninhabited land—the Península de Guanahacabibes—hangs loosely off the western tip of Cuba, jutting west 50 kilometers into the Gulf of Mexico. Smothered in dense brush and cactus, the peninsula is touted as a nature reserve, while retaining a section where hunters may track down wild pig and deer. Playa María la Gorda, in Bahía de Corrientes, is a center for scuba diving. This area was inhabited at least 4,000 years ago by the Guanahatabey, the island’s initial aboriginal settlers; later the region became a last refuge for the Ciboney Indians, who retreated before the advance of the Taíno. Aboriginal sites are being unearthed.

The region is regularly mauled by hurricanes—five have torn through the province since 2002, among them Hurricanes Ivan and Charlie, in 2004, and Dennis and Wilma in 2005.

Cayo Levisa: Scintillating white-sand beaches and turquoise shallows surround Cayo Levisa; deeper waters offer fantastic diving.
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Orquideario Soroa: Hundreds of orchids species, as well as other botanicals, fill this exquisite hillside garden. (read more)

Complejo Turístico Las Terrazas: The scenic setting of this unique mountain community is home to intriguing art studios, fabulous hiking, thermal baths, and ecotourist excursions. (read more)

Cuevas de los Portales: Che Guevara used this huge cave, adorned with dripstone formations, as his headquarters during the Cuban Missile Crisis. (read more)

Parque Nacional de Viñales: Among Cuba’s most famous and fascinating landscapes, skyscraper-scale mogotes provide a magnificent backdrop for tobacco fields; there’s also great climbing and caving. (read more)

Finca El Pinar San Luis: At the tobacco farm of world-renowned farmer Alejandro Robaina, visitors gain a complete knowledge of tobacco production. (read more)

Diving at María la Gorda: Whale sharks, manta rays, and fantastic coral formations are among the highlights for divers in the Bahía de Corrientes. (read more)