Cuba - Lonely Planet [250]
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ASK A LOCAL
Topes has the most extensive trail network in Cuba. You can actually cobble together about 50km worth of trails here from Lago Hanabanilla all the way down to Parque El Cubano to make one long five- to six-day hike. At present this trek is only undertaken by foreigners who prebook trips overseas, but ask at the Carpeta to see if this situation has changed.
Humberto, Trinidad
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The Vegas Grandes (entry CUC$5) trail begins at the apartment blocks known as Reparto El Chorrito on the southern side of Topes de Collantes, near the entrance to the resort as you arrive from Trinidad. Allow a bit less than an hour each way to cover the 2km to the waterfall. It’s possible to continue to the Salto del Caburní, though consider hiring a guide.
Another destination is Hacienda Codina (entry CUC$5). The 3.5km jeep track begins on a hilltop 2.5km down the road toward Cienfuegos and Manicaragua, 1km before the point at which these roads divide. There’s a shorter trail to the hacienda from below Hotel Los Helechos that links for part of the way with La Batata, but you’ll need a guide to use it. At the hacienda itself there’s a 1.2km circular trail through orchid and bamboo gardens and past the Cueva del Altar. Also here are mud baths, a restaurant and a scenic viewpoint.
The least accessible but infinitely most rewarding hike from Topes de Collantes is the 2.5km (5km return) Sendero ‘Centinelas del Río Melodioso’ (entry CUC$5) in the Parque Guanayara, situated 15km from the Carpeta Central along a series of rough and heavily rutted tracks. For logistical reasons this excursion is best organized with a guide from the Carpeta, or as part of an organized tour from Trinidad with Cubatur (CUC$43 with lunch). The trail itself begins in cool, moist coffee plantations and descends steeply to the El Rocio waterfall, where you can strip off and have a bracing shower. Following the course of the Río Melodioso (Melodic River), you pass another inviting waterfall and swimming pool before emerging into the salubrious gardens of the riverside Casa La Gallega, a traditional rural hacienda where a light lunch can be organized and camping is sometimes permitted in the lush grounds.
CANYONING
Topes is the only place in Cuba where you can participate in the burgeoning sport of canyoning, but there are limitations and you’d be wise to do your homework first. The up-and-coming scene focuses on four main rivers, the Calburni, Vegas Grandes, Cabagan and Gruta Nengoa, where canyoners travel spectacularly downstream with ropes, wetsuits, helmets and harnesses. The highlight of the trip is a 200m series of vertical cascades over Salto Vegas Grandes. One experienced Canadian outfit offering excursions is Canyoning Quebec (www.canyoning-quebec.com), which runs eight-day trips into the Sierra del Escambray. There are currently no organized tours in-country and no equipment available for hire. At the time of writing there was at least one Gaviota parks guide who was a qualified canyon guide. Ask at the Carpeta Central information office (opposite) for more up-to-date information.
Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Los Helechos (Gaviota; 54-02-31; s/d CUC$40/50; ) For years the Achilles heel of the Gaviota chain, Los Helechos has recently undergone extensive refurbishments to pull it out of its 1970s stupor. Never 100% at home in its verdant natural surroundings, the clumsy chocolate-box building with its wicker furnishings and holiday camp–style villas still looks a bit awkward. Not helping matters is the unattractive indoor pool, poky steam baths (if they’re working), journeyman restaurant, and kitschy local disco (in a natural park of all places!). The saving grace is the restaurant’s delicious homebaked bread – surely the best in Cuba.
Villa Caburní (Gaviota; 54-01-80; s/d CUC$40/50; ) This place is a veritable rural gem that offers one- or two-story Swiss-style chalets with kitchenettes and private baths in a small park next to the Kurhotel.