Cuba - Lonely Planet [169]
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WEST OF VIÑALES
El Moncada, a pioneering postrevolutionary workers’ settlement 14km west of Dos Hermanas and 1.5km off the road to Minas de Matahambre, is also the site of the Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás (admission CUC$8; 8:30am-5pm), Cuba’s largest cave system and the second-largest on the American continent. There are over 46km of galleries on eight levels, with a 1km section accessible to visitors. There’s no artificial lighting, but headlamps are provided for the 90-minute guided tour. Highlights include bats, stalagmites and stalactites, underground pools, interesting rock formations and a replica of an ancient native Indian mural. Specialists should contact the Escuela de Espeleología ( 79-31-45) for more information. The visitors center contains a small museum (admission CUC$1; 10am-10pm) with ephemera relating to Cuban scientist Antonio Núñez Jiménez. Most people visit the cave on an organized trip from Viñales (Click here).
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CAYO JUTÍAS
Pinar del Río’s most discovered ‘undiscovered’ beach is the 3km-long blanket of sand that adorns the northern coast of Cayo Jutías, a tiny mangrove-covered key situated approximately 65km northwest of Viñales and attached to the mainland by a short pedraplén (causeway). Jutías – named for its indigenous tree rats – vies with Cayo Levisa to the east for the title of the province’s most picturesque beach and, while the latter might be prettier, the former has less crowds and more tranquility.
The serenity is thanks to the lack of any permanent accommodation (unlike Levisa). The only facilities on the island are the airy oceanside Restaurante Cayo Jutías ( 11am-5pm), specializing in local seafood, and a small beach hut that rents out kayaks for CUC$1 per hour and runs snorkeling trips to an offshore reef for CUC$12. Beyond the initial arc of sand the beach continues for 3km; you can hike barefoot through the mangroves. The Cayo’s access road starts about 4km west of Santa Lucía. Four kilometers further on you’ll come to a control post at the beginning of the causeway where you’ll need to pay a CUC$5 per person entry fee. Ten minutes later the Faro de Cayo Jutías appears, a metal lighthouse built by the US in 1902. The route ends at the white Jutías beach caressed by crystal-clear water, 12.5km from the coastal highway.
Tours from Viñales (basically just transport and a snack lunch) cost CUC$22 and will give you an adequate six hours’ beach time. Otherwise you will have to make your own transport arrangements. The fastest and by far the prettiest route is via El Moncada and Minas de Matahambre through rolling pine-clad hills.
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NORTHERN PINAR DEL RÍO
Considering its relative proximity to Havana, northern Pinar del Río province is a remote and largely unexplored area. Facilities are sparse and roads are rutted on the isolated Gulf of Mexico coast, though visitors who take the time to make the journey out have reported memorable DIY adventures and famously hospitable locals.
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PUERTO ESPERANZA
Puerto Esperanza (Port of Hope), 6km north of San Cayetano and 25km north of Viñales, is a sleepy fishing village visited by yachts sailing around the country. According to town lore, the giant mango trees lining the entry road were planted by slaves in the 1800s. A long pier pointing out into the bay is decent for a jump in the ocean. Otherwise the clocks haven’t worked here since…oh…1951.
Sights & Activities
Puerto Esperanza’s sights are not the domain of guidebook listings. Rather, this is the kind of low-key, put-down-the-Lonely-Planet sort of place where it’s more fun to unravel the social life on your own. Discover some weirdly transcendental Santería ritual or take a spontaneous tour around your neighbor’s tobacco plantation in search of pungent peso cigars.
Sleeping & Eating
Villa Leonila Blanco ( 79-36-48; Hermanos Caballeros No 41; r CUC$15; ) The town has six legal casas including this one. A supernice couple rent two big rooms