Cuba - Lonely Planet [167]
North from the Cueva del Indio ( 79-62-80; admission CUC$5; 9am-5:30pm) is the prettiest part of Viñales, although the cave itself, 5.5km north of Viñales village, is a little over-populated with tourists. An ancient indigenous dwelling, it was rediscovered in 1920 and motor boats now ply the underground river through the electrically lit cave.
The Cueva de San Miguel is a smaller cave at the jaws of the Valle de San Vicente. You pay CUC$1 to enter a gaping cave that engulfs you for five minutes or so before dumping you a tad cynically in the El Palenque de los Cimarrones restaurant (Click here).
Activities
CYCLING
Despite the sometimes hilly terrain, Viñales is one of the best places in Cuba to cycle (note: there are no off-road routes). La Casa de Don Tomás usually rents bikes Click here. If they’re all out, inquire at your casa particular. Viñales residents have a habit of making marvelous two-wheeled cycling machines appear out of thin air.
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ASK A LOCAL
If you book one of the park hikes through the official visitors center up by Hotel Los Jazmines, you’ll get a better price (CUC$6 versus CUC$8) and the money will go directly into helping the park infrastructure.
Alejandro, Viñales
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HIKING
The Parque Nacional has three official hikes (four if you count the Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás) and approximately 10 more under ‘consideration.’ All of them can be arranged directly at the visitors center, the Museo Municipal, or any of the town’s tour agencies. The cost is CUC$6 to CUC$8 per person.
The Cocosolo Palmarito starts on a spur road just before La Ermita hotel and progresses for 8km past the Coco Solo and Palmarito mogotes and the Mural de la Prehistoria. There are good views here and plenty of opportunities to discover the local flora and fauna including a visit to a tobacco finca (farmhouse; ask about lunch with one of the families there). It returns you to the main road back to Viñales.
The Maravillas de Viñales trail is a 5km loop beginning 1km before El Moncada, 13km from the Dos Hermanas turn-off. This hike takes in endemic plants, orchids and the biggest ant cutter hive in Cuba (so they say).
The San Vicente/Ancón trail takes you on an 8km circuit around the more remote Valle Ancón where you can check out still functioning coffee communities in a valley surrounded by mogotes.
These are just the official hikes. There are many more unofficial treks available and asking around at your casa particular will elicit further suggestions. Try the Aquáticos walk with its incredible vistas, the Cueva de la Vaca, a cave that forms a tunnel through the mogotes and is easily accessible (1.5km) from Viñales village, and the Palmerito Valley, infamous among those in the know for its high-stakes cockfights.
SWIMMING
There is the possibility to swim in a natural pool at La Cueva de Palmerito in the Palmerito Valley. This place is hike-able from Viñales. Ask the locals for directions.
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CLIMBING IN VIñALES
You don’t need to be Reinhold Messner to recognize the unique climbing potential of Viñales, Cuba’s mini-Yosemite. Sprinkled with steep-sided mogotes (limestone monoliths) and bequeathed with whole photo-albums’ worth of stunning natural vistas, climbers from around the world have been coming here for over a decade to indulge in a sport that has yet to be officially sanctioned by the Cuban government.
Thanks to the numerous grey areas, Viñales climbing remains very much a word-of-mouth affair. There are no printed route maps and no official on-the-ground information (indeed, most state-employed tourist reps will deny all knowledge of it). If you are keen to get up onto the rock-face, your first point of reference should be the comprehensive