A guide to Cuba
A guide to Cuba There are plenty of things to do in Cuba, with its cobbled city streets, verdant mountains and a local rhythm that can’t
Read moreConsidered the soul of the country, the eastern part of Cuba is dominated by verdant mountains and full of historic sites. Santiago de Cuba, the island’s first capital in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra mountains, has a rich colonial heritage and a splendid coastal fortification. It is also regarded as the cradle of the Cuban revolution. The city has a noticeable African-Caribbean flavour and is well known for its traditional Cuban music. Other towns of note include Camaguey, whose streets were laid out like a maze to foil pirate attacks, while to the very east is the sleepy colonial town of Baracoa, Cuba’s oldest settlement.
The isolated pine forests of Mayari are situated inland, high in the Sierra del Nipe, where the majestic Salto de Guayabo waterfalls thunder through the mist. In the foothills of the sierra, to the south-west of Mayari, lies the small community of Biran. Fidel Castro was born here in 1926 on the family sugarcane plantation and it is possible to visit the well-kept finca (farm) and the small on-site museum documenting his childhood.
Bustling Holguin, capital of the province of the same name, is known as the ‘city of parks’, while on the north-eastern coast, just 5km from the resort town of Guardalavaca and within the Bahia de Naranjo Natural Park, Esmeralda Beach (Playa Esmeralda) is a peaceful and idyllic setting with clear turquoise seas, powdery white sands and coral reefs.
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Santiago is Cuba's second city, and the birthplace of Afro-Cuban culture. It also has some French influence from Haitian immigrants who arrived in the 18th century. The colonial buildings are often better preserved than those in Havana and the city is famous for traditional Cuban music. The city was founded by Diego Velazquez in 1516 and was, for a time, the capital city of Cuba. A castle and fort were built to protect it from attacks by British and French pirates. Santiago de Cuba is also known as the heroic city as it has been a cradle of Cuban revolutions over the centuries, including Castro's Revolution of the 1950s.
A guide to Cuba There are plenty of things to do in Cuba, with its cobbled city streets, verdant mountains and a local rhythm that can’t
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Cox & Kings’ team of travel experts pick their favourite soundscapes, from calving glaciers to Cuban music.
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Whether it be the colossal mausoleums and elaborate graves of the great and the good or eerie cemeteries and labyrinthine catacombs holding
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Eleni Oraia writes about her trip to Cuba, an adventure she had dreamed of since the 1960's.
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