Viñales Valley

Valle de Viñales

A karst valley listed as a World Heritage landscape. Dome-shaped "mogote" limestone hills rise over red soil tobacco fields and drying-barn houses, and it is the home of Cuba's top cigars.

The Viñales Valley lies about 180 kilometers west of Havana, in Pinar del Río Province. It was listed as a World Heritage cultural landscape in 1999. On the flat red soil, dome-shaped limestone hills with steep sides rise abruptly. Locals call them "mogotes." The scenery resembles Guilin and Yangshuo in China. The valley is farmland for tobacco, corn and cassava, with thatched tobacco-drying barns and farmers on horseback, and it preserves traditional farming methods. The area is considered the world's finest cigar tobacco region. The neighboring Vuelta Abajo area supplies famous brands such as Cohiba and Montecristo. Suggested activities: (1) Ride a horse or walk through the valley (about 3 to 4 hours, 20 to 30 US dollars). Visit family tobacco farms to watch farmers roll cigars and to taste homemade cigars and guava rum. You can buy unbranded cigars here for less than in Havana. (2) The Los Jazmines lookout offers a view over the whole valley and is a classic spot for sunrise and sunset. (3) Cueva del Indio, where a small boat carries you through an underground river for about 10 minutes. (4) The Prehistoric Mural (Mural de la Prehistoria), a huge colorful painting on a cliff from the 1960s, which is a controversial work of art. (5) The colorful wooden guesthouses and the salsa bars along the town's main street. Getting there: the Viazul bus takes about 3.5 to 4 hours, or a shared taxi takes about 3 hours. Day trips from Havana are possible, but it is better to stay one or two nights in a guesthouse in town. Hosts often serve generous Cuban home-cooked dinners.

Viñales Valley

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