Cuba - Lonely Planet [251]
Kurhotel Escambray (Gaviota; 54-02-31; s/d CUC$40/50) Doing a good impersonation of the ‘mental institution’ in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, this eight-story architectural monster dreamt up by Batista in the 1930s would be an eyesore anywhere, let alone in a jaw-droppingly beautiful natural park. Judging by the grotesque Stalinist design of the exterior, the wily Cuban dictator must have sensed that the Russians were already on the way. Conceived originally as a sanitarium, the complex still serves as a therapeutic treatment center and you can book in for a session if you’re up to donning the obligatory tracksuit. The rest of the building acts as a very scary-looking hotel.
Restaurante Mi Retiro (Carretera de Trinidad), situated 3km back down the road to Trinidad, does fair-to-middling comida criolla to the sound of the occasional traveling ‘minstrel.’ Three other eating options exist on the trails: the Hacienda Codina, Restaurante La Represa and Casa La Gallega (in Parque Guanayara). El Mirador (Map; Carretera de Trinidad) is a simple bar with a stunning view halfway up the ascent road from Trinidad.
Getting There & Away
It’s very difficult to get here without a car and harder still to get around to the various trailheads. Your best bet is a taxi (CUC$25 return with a two- to three-hour wait), an excursion from Trinidad or a hire car.
The road between Trinidad and Topes de Collantes is paved, but it’s very steep. When wet, it becomes slippery and should be driven with caution. There’s also a spectacular 44km road that continues right over the mountains from Topes de Collantes to Manicaragua via Jibacoa (occasionally closed, so check in Trinidad before setting out). It’s also possible to drive to and from Cienfuegos via San Blas on a partly paved, partly gravel road (4WD only).
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NORTHERN SANCTI SPÍRITUS
For every 1000 tourists that visit Trinidad, a small handful gets to see the province’s narrow northern corridor that runs between Remedios, in Villa Clara, and Morón, in Ciego de Ávila. For the minority who do pass through there’s a trio of worthwhile stop-offs plus an excellent Islazul hotel.
The Museo Nacional Camilo Cienfuegos (admission CUC$1; 8am-4pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun), at Yaguajay, 36km southeast of Caibarién, was opened in 1989 and is eerily reminiscent of the Che Guevara monument in Santa Clara. Camilo fought a crucial battle in this town on the eve of the Revolution’s triumph, taking control of a local military barracks (now the Hospital Docente General opposite the museum). The museum is directly below a modernist plaza embellished with a 5m-high statue of El Señor de la Vanguardia (The Man at the Vanguard). It contains an interesting expose of Cienfuegos’ life intermingled with facts and mementos from the revolutionary struggle. A replica of the small tank ‘Dragon I,’ converted from a tractor for use in the battle, stands in front of the hospital.
The Sierra de Jatibonico is a range of hills that runs across the entire north of the province and offers great views over toward the Bahía de Buenavista. Guided hikes can be organized at Villa San José del Lago. Highlights include a three-hour excursion along the Río Jatibonico, the 1km La Solapa de Genaro hike through tropical savannah to the ruins of a slave wall, and the 800m Cueva de Valdés walk through semideciduous woodland to the cave.
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PARQUE NACIONAL CAGUANES
Northern Sancti Spíritus province is one of Cuba’s most heavily protected areas dominated by the 313-sq-km Buenavista Unesco Biosphere Reserve, also a Ramsar Convention Site (important wetlands area).
The nucleus of this reserve is the rarely mentioned (in tourist literature) Parque Nacional Caguanes, made up of the sinuous Caguanes Peninsula, the Guayabera swamps and 10 tiny islets known collectively as Cayos de Piedra.
The park is unique for its unusual karst formations; there are over 75 caves here and a pristine ecosystem that guards manatees, flamingos and the world’s only freshwater cave sponge.
Indigenous people once frequented