Cuba - Lonely Planet [123]
Sights
The main things to see are south of the lake, including the Galería de Arte Amelia Peláez (admission CUC$1). Up the hill there’s a dramatic white marble monument to Lenin (1984) by the Soviet sculptor LE Kerbel, and west along the lake is an overgrown amphitheater and an aquarium (admission CUC$2; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun, closed Mon) with freshwater fish and crocodiles. The 1985 bronze monument to Celia Sánchez, a long-time associate of Fidel Castro who was instrumental in having Parque Lenin built, is rather hidden beyond the aquarium. A ceramics workshop is nearby.
Most of these attractions are open 9am to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday, and admission to the park itself is free. You can sometimes rent a rowboat on the Embalse Paso Sequito from a dock behind the Rodeo Nacional. A 9km narrow-gauge railway with four stops operates inside the park from 10am to 3pm Wednesday to Sunday.
A visit to Parque Lenin can be combined with a trip to ExpoCuba ( 66-42-92; admission CUC$1; 9am-5pm Wed-Sun) at Calabazar on the Carretera del Rocío in Arroyo Naranjo, 3km south of Las Ruinas restaurant. Opened in 1989, this large permanent exhibition showcases Cuba’s economic and scientific achievements in 25 pavilions based on themes such as sugar, farming, apiculture, animal science, fishing, construction, food, geology, sports and defense. Cubans visiting ExpoCuba flock to the amusement park at the center of the complex, bypassing the rather dry propaganda displays. Don Cuba ( 57-82-87), a revolving restaurant, is atop a tower. The Feria Internacional de La Habana, Cuba’s largest trade fair, is held at ExpoCuba the first week of November. Parking is available at Gate E, at the south end of the complex (CUC$1).
Across the highway from ExpoCuba is the 600-hectare Jardín Botánico Nacional ( 54-93-65; admission CUC$1; 8:30am-4:30pm Wed-Sun). The Pabellones de Exposición (1987), near the entry gate, is a series of greenhouses with cacti and tropicals, while 2km beyond is the tranquil Japanese Garden (1992). Nearby is the celebrated Restaurante El Bambú (right), where a vegetarian buffet (a rare treat in Cuba) is CUC$15. The tractor train ride around the park departs four times a day and costs CUC$3, gardens admission included. Parking costs CUC$2.
Let’s face it; you don’t come to Cuba to see elephants and lions. The Special Period was particularly tough on the island’s zoo animals, and a visit to the Parque Zoológico Nacional ( 881-8195; adult/child CUC$3/2; 9am-3:30pm Wed-Sun), on Av Zoo-Lenin in Boyeros 2km west of the Parque Lenin riding school, only bears out the fact. Though the zoo grounds are extensive and some fauna such as rhinos and hippos roam relatively free, the park is hardly the Serengeti, and many of the big game languish in cramped cages. A trolley bus tours the grounds all day (included in admission price).
Activities
In the northwestern corner of Parque Lenin is the Club Hípico Iberoamericano ( 44-10-58; 9am-5pm). Horseback riding through the park on a steed rented from the club costs CUC$12 an hour, but horses rented from boys at the nearby amusement park (undergoing major renovations at the time of writing) or at the entrance to Parque Lenin proper (you’ll be besieged) costs CUC$3 per hour, guide included. Watch out for undernourished or maltreated horses.
The Club de Golf La Habana ( 45-45-78; Carretera de Venta, Km 8, Reparto Capdevila, Boyeros; 8am-8pm) lies between Vedado and the airport. Poor signposting makes it hard to find and most taxi drivers get lost looking: ask locals for directions to the golfito or Dilpo Golf Club. Originally titled the Rover’s Athletic Club, it was established by a group of British diplomats in the 1920s and the diplomatic corps is largely the clientele today. There are nine holes with 18 tees to allow 18-hole rounds. Green fees start at CUC$20 for nine