Cuba is the insular Caribbean country with the most properties recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage Site, the first of which dates back to 1982 and includes such different typologies as Historical Centers, Military Constructions, Cultural Landscapes and Natural Parks; which is a tacit recognition of the richness and uniqueness of our culture, our natural riches and the physical-geographical features of our archipelago; as well as the zeal with which the Cuban state watches over the conservation of its legacy. Highlights: • Assistance on arrival at Havana airport (HAV) • Private transfer to your hotel • Accommodation with breakfast included in a urban hotel (BB) Read more

La Habana 3N | OB

Founded about 1519 on Cuba’s north-western shore, Old Havana has maintained a remarkable unity of character through its adherence to its original urban layout. Urban plazas surrounded by many buildings of outstanding architectural merit and narrow streets lined with more popular or traditional styles permeate the historic center of the city. Its overall sense of architectural, historical and environmental continuity makes it the most impressive historical city center in the Caribbean and one of the most notable in the American continent as a whole. With the establishment and development of the fleet system in the Spanish West Indies, Havana in the second half of the 16th century became the largest port in the region, and in the 18th century developed the most complete dockyard in the New World, both of which necessitated military protection. The extensive network of defensive installations that was created between the 16th and 19thcenturies includes some of the oldest and largest stone fortifications now standing in the Americas. Highlights: • Panoramic tour of the Morro-Cabaña Historical-Military Park • Visit to Casa del Che The inventory of the documents of the Documentary Collection “Life and Works of Ernesto Che Guevara: from the originals manuscripts of its adolescence and youth to the campaign Diary in Bolivia”, includes 1007 documents ― grouped in a total of 8197 pages―, that cover the period from 1928 to 1967, concerning his revolutionary work, essays, newspaper articles, biographical materials and personal works, as well as his correspondence with different persons, and his family. Of the total sum, 431 are manuscripts by Che and 567 are documents about Che or related to him. It also includes valuable iconographic material by and about Che, films, letters and museum pieces. • Sightseeing through the Historic Center of Havana, a part of World Heritage of Unesco • Visit to the former Palace of the General Captains, today City Museum • Typical Cuban food at La Bodeguita del Medio acclimated by Cuban traditional music and one Mojito • At night, visit to the Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, the largest built by the Spanish in America, and whose design applies the most advanced concepts of military engineering of the eighteenth century. Enjoy the traditional Nine O’clock Cannon Shot Ceremony • Accommodation with breakfast included in a urban hotel (BB) Read more

La Habana | HB

Discovering the so-called Modern Havana, however, is as exciting as retracing the narrow streets of the old city. The famed Havana’s Malecon, a seawall considered the most characteristic image of the city, links the traditional center with the populated neighborhood of El Vedado, from whose heart, La Rampa, can be easily accessed to other places of tourist and cultural interest. Highlights: • An unforgettable vintage tour aboard one of our 1950s American Cars through El Vedado and Miramar with stops in the Almendares Park and to the José Martí Revolution Square • Visit to the José Martí Memorial The work of José Martí (1853-1895) is a major educational component of the best cultural legacy of mankind. As a thinker and a politician, Martí led the way in the fields of literary creation and social action. His permanent influence particularly in Latin-American culture goes far beyond the literary and artistic spheres and is a legitimate element of what is considered authentically ours. • Visit to Callejón de Hamel, temple of Afro-Cuban culture and rumba, inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity The music and movements of rumba in Cuba are mainly associated with African culture but also feature elements from Antillean culture and Spanish flamenco. Historically, rumba in Cuba developed in marginal neighborhoods of cities in Cuba like Havana and Matanzas, near other ports and shanty towns and grew especially popular in rural areas where communities of African slaves lived. Spreading from the west to the east of the country, it has been a major symbol of a marginal layer of Cuban society and identity, acting as an expression of self-esteem and resistance and tool for social outreach, helping to enrich the lives of practicing communities. Performances consist of verbal and non-verbal forms of communication such as chants, gestures, handclapping, dance and specific body language. Instruments, either percussion or simply utensils from the home or work, are part of the practice. A festive atmosphere develops where the performers, working within specific cultural codes, and the audience begin to interact. The dances and chants evoke a sense of grace, sensuality and joy that aims to connect people, regardless of their social and economic background, gender or ethnicity. The practice of rumba in Cuba has been transmitted over generations by imitation within families and neighborhoods. • Time free at your disposal • At night, transfer by Old Soviet Limousines Chaikas to the bar El Floridita for a daiquiri cocktail right where Hemingway used to have it. Continue to the most famous and highest end restaurant in Havana: La Guarida; three course menu with options included for dinner. • Accommodation with breakfast included in a urban hotel (BB) Read more

La Habana | HB

The striking karst landscape of the Viñales Valley is notable for its mogotes, a series of tall, rounded hills that rise abruptly from the flat plain of the valley. It is also significant for its cultural associations, particularly its traditional agricultural practices related to growing tobacco. Because mechanical methods of cultivation and harvesting lower the quality of tobacco, time-honored methods such as animal traction are still used. The lush landscape is largely rural in character. Most of the buildings scattered over the plain are simple, built of local and natural materials and used as homes or family farms. The village of Viñales, strung out along its main street, has retained its original layout and many interesting examples of colonial architecture, mostly one-story wooden houses with porches. The valley is home to an original culture, a synthesis of contributions from indigenous peoples, Spanish conquerors and African slaves who once worked the tobacco plantations. Highlights: • Visit to Viñales National Park, a part of World Heritage of Unesco • Visit and lunch into the Prehistory Mural Paint • Eco-touristic trail “Del Paraíso al Silencio” The trip includes three very interesting places from private owners, which are examples of rational use of land. One is related to traditional crops, the other to tobacco and the third has to do with the spread of agro-ecological techniques and the rational use of crops in a small area. It all takes place in a welcoming environment, where brown and gray colors prevail (plowed and worked lands) and green (growing crops and tress bordering the properties), among small ponds. The songs of birds and butterflies accompany the visitors. Degree of difficulty: Low • Dinner at the organic farm El Paraíso, where you can sample delicious Creole cuisine presented in varied Cuban dishes. The farm grows and uses organic vegetables making it a unique place to enjoy some fabulous food in a unique rural setting surrounded by exceptional nature beauty. • Accommodation with breakfast included in a Casa Particular (BB) Read more

Viñales 1N | HB

The colonial town of Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 in the Spanish territory but was initially settled by immigrants of French origin. It became a trading place for sugar cane, tobacco and coffee. Situated on the Caribbean coast of southern-central Cuba at the heart of the country’s sugar cane, mango, tobacco and coffee production area, the town first developed in the neoclassical style. It later became more eclectic but retained a harmonious overall townscape. Among buildings of particular interest are the Government Palace (City Hall), San Lorenzo School, the Bishopric, the Ferrer Palace, the former lyceum, and some residential houses. Cienfuegos is the first, and an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble representing the new ideas of modernity, hygiene and order in urban planning as developed in Latin America from the 19th century. Highlights: • Visit to the farm Fiesta Campesina, lunch and peasant party (Guateque Campesino) Inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Punto Cubano, is the poetry and music of Cuban farmers, consisting of a tune or melody over which a person sings an improvised or learned stanza of ten octameter verse lines, with a rhyming scheme. There are two main variants of Punto: punto libre, a tune of free metre; and punto fijo, which can be in key or crossed. Throughout history, the element has typically been practiced in the countryside, though variants now exist throughout the rest of the population. Punto is an essential element of Cuban intangible cultural heritage open to all, which promotes dialogue and expresses the feelings, knowledge and values of the communities concerned. Knowledge and techniques related to the practice are transmitted from one generation to the next, with one key method of transmission being based on imitation. A teaching programme is also organized in Houses of Culture across the country, involving workshops taught by bearers and practitioners of the element. Seminars, workshops, contests, festivals and events aimed at safeguarding and revitalizing Punto are organized throughout the country and an occupational category has now been assigned to the work of the practitioners and bearers, turning this into a way of living for many. • Sightseeing through the Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos, a part of World Heritage of Unesco • Accommodation with breakfast included in a urban hotel (BB) Read more

Cienfuegos 1N | HB

Founded in the early 16th century in honor of the Holy Trinity, the city was a bridgehead for the conquest of the American continent. Trinidad’s urban ensemble of domestic buildings has an exceptional typological continuity and homogeneity in terms of construction and design, in a vernacular fashion nuanced by small- to medium-sized lots, in which early 18th century buildings strongly marked by Andalusian and Moorish influences blend harmoniously with more elaborate 19th-century models that splendidly mix European neoclassical forms, superimposed on traditional spatial patterns. The heart of the 37-ha historic center is Plaza Mayor, on which, overlooked by the campanile of the Convento de San Francisco, stand two noteworthy edifices: the Palacio Brunet, which provides the most authentic picture of the golden age of the city; and the neoclassical-style Palacio Cantero, which now houses the municipal history museum. In addition to its architecture, much of Trinidad’s urban fabric, including the irregular system of squares and plazas, cobblestone streets and other historical and urban elements, has been preserved. Highlights: • Sightseeing through the Historic Centre of Trinidad, a part of World Heritage of Unesco • Lunch in the historic center, just in a cozy private restaurant designed in colonial style • Free time available on Ancon beach, in the Caribbean Sea • Accommodation with breakfast included in a Casa Particular (BB) Read more

Trinidad 1N | HB

One of the first seven villages founded by the Spaniards in Cuba, Camagüey played a prominent role as the urban center of an inland territory dedicated to cattle breeding and the sugar industry. Settled in its current location in 1528, the town developed on the basis of an irregular urban pattern that contains a system of large and minor squares, serpentine streets, alleys and irregular urban blocks, highly exceptional for Latin American colonial towns located in plain territories. The 54 ha Historic Centre of Camagüey constitutes an exceptional example of a traditional urban settlement relatively isolated from main trade routes. The Spanish colonizers followed medieval European influences in terms of urban layout and traditional construction techniques brought to the Americas by their masons and construction masters. The property reflects the influence of numerous styles through the ages: neoclassical, eclectic, Art Deco, Neo-colonial as well as some Art Nouveau and rationalism. Highlights: • Panoramic tour through the Valle de los Ingenios, a part of World Heritage of Unesco • The Sugar Mills Valley is a remarkable testimony to the development of the sugar industry. A living museum of Cuban sugar production, it includes the sites of 75 former cane sugar mills, plantation houses, barracks and other facilities related to this vulnerable industry, which has witnessed a gradual and progressive decline. • Visit to the San Isidro de los Destiladeros archaeological site Considered one of the sites of greater archaeological, architectural and cultural interest of the Valle de los Ingenios. Next to the archaeological ruins of the factory area of the old mill appear buildings such as the hacienda house and the bell tower with a marked neoclassical influence. • Walking tour through the Historic Centre of Camagüey, a part of World Heritage of Unesco • Lunch in the historic center, just in a cozy restaurant designed in colonial style • Accommodation with breakfast included in a urban hotel (BB) Read more

Camagüey 1N | HB

Desembarco del Granma National Park, with its uplifted marine terraces and associated ongoing development of karst topography and features, represents a globally significant example of geomorphologic and physiographic features and ongoing geological processes. The area, which is situated in and around Cabo Cruz in south-east Cuba, includes spectacular terraces and cliffs, as well as some of the most pristine and impressive coastal cliffs bordering the western Atlantic. Highlights: • Drive to Desembarco del Granma National Park, a part of World Heritage of Unesco • Sunset on board a catamaran • All Inclusive accommodation at Marea del Portillo beach (AI) Read more

Marea del Portillo 2N | FB

While recognized on the World Heritage List primarily for its landscape beauty and geology, DGNP also hosts noteworthy biodiversity values. More than 500 plant species have been recorded in what may still be an incomplete inventory. Around sixty percent of the known plants are endemic. Twelve species are only to be found within the DGNP making the property one of the centers of floral endemism within Cuba. The documentation of terrestrial fauna includes 13 mammals, 110 birds, 44 reptiles and seven amphibians. The degree of endemism for reptiles and amphibians is in the range of a remarkable 90 %. The marine areas are home to coral formations while mangrove stands are found along the shores. Highlights: • El Guafe Archaeological-Natural Trail In about 4km you can admire the impressive landscape of the high marine terraces, the local endemic flora and fauna and the remains of our pre-Columbian culture. Degree of difficulty: Low • Free time available on a dark sand beach, in the Caribbean Sea • All Inclusive accommodation at Marea del Portillo beach (AI) Read more

Marea del Portillo | AI

Santiago de Cuba is the most Caribbean of the Cuban cities and Hero City of the Republic of Cuba, for having always been the epicenter of all independence actions from 1868 to 1959. It was the city where light rum was invented and where the father emerged of all Caribbean rhythms of this century and Cuban salsa. Highlights: • Visit to San Pedro de la Roca Castle, a part of World Heritage of Unesco San Pedro de la Roca Castle, a multi-level stone fortress built into a rocky promontory (El Morro) at the south-eastern end of the island of Cuba, has guarded the entrance to Santiago de Cuba Bay since 1638. This exceptional fortress and its associated defensive works were constructed in response to the aggressive commercial and political rivalries that menaced the Caribbean during the 17th and 18th centuries; today, they constitute the largest and most comprehensive example of the principles of Renaissance military engineering adapted to the requirements of European colonial powers in the Caribbean. A classic bastioned fortification in which geometrical form, symmetry and proportionality between sides and angles predominate, the Castle is an outstanding representative of the Spanish-American school of military architecture. • Lunch at El Morro restaurant • Familiarization sightseeing through the Historic Center of Santiago de Cuba • Accommodation with breakfast included in a urban hotel (BB) Read more

Santiago de Cuba 2N | HB

The First Coffee Plantations in the Southeast of Cuba is a cultural landscape illustrating colonial coffee production from the 19th to early 20th centuries. It includes not only the architectural and archaeological material evidence of 171 old coffee plantations or cafetales, but also the infrastructure for irrigation and water management, and the transportation network of mountain roads and bridges connecting the plantations internally and with coffee export points. The topography, dominated by the steep and rugged slopes of the Sierra Maestra foothills, speaks to the plantation owners’ (primarily of French and Haitian origin) ingenuity in their exploitation of the natural environment through the sweat and blood of their African slaves. Highlights: • Jeep Safari Nature Tour to La Gran Piedra An adventure to La Gran Piedra, huge volcanic rock, 51 meters long and 25-30 meters wide, with an estimated weight of 63,000 tons, located on top of a mountain at 1225 meters above the sea level. Natural lookout where you can see the Sierra Maestra. To ascend to the stone, the visitor is confronted with the exciting adventure of climbing, shrouded in dense fog, 452 steps, escorted by a dense vegetation of ferns, orchids and other species, that perfume the environment. At the La Isabelica Museum you will find one of the traces left by French immigrants in this area, coffee culture and a legacy of traditions. Just one kilometer is the Ave del Paraíso Botanical Garden, where they are cultivated an exceptional basis, species like the Ave del Paraíso, dahlias, magnolias and other, using the microclimate that prevails in the area. • Show Cooking of creole food and Cuban coffee in La Fondita de Compay Ramón • Time free at your disposal • Night visit to the Tumba Francesa La Caridad de Oriente, inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity The dance, song and drumming style known as Tumba Francesa (French Drum) was brought to Cuba by Haitian slaves who were resettled in the island’s eastern regions following the unrest in Haiti during the 1790s. It embodies one of the oldest and most tangible links to the Afro-Haitian heritage of Cuba’s Oriente province and developed from an eighteenth- century fusion of music from Dahomey in West Africa and traditional French dances. After Cuba’s abolition of slavery in 1886 and the resulting migration of former slaves to urban areas in search of work, Tumba Francesa societies emerged in several cities. Tumba Francesa performances generally open with a solo in Spanish or French patois by a lead singer, the composé. Following the composé’s cue, the catá, a large wooden idiophone, bursts into a pulsating beat enhanced by three drums known as tumbas. • Accommodation with breakfast included in a urban hotel (BB) Read more

Santiago de Cuba | HB

The former Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa, although small among the cities of Cuba, is nevertheless the first one in time. Many call City Landscape, City Rains, City of Mountains ... Baracoa is also called the capital of wood, coconut and cocoa by accumulating the largest reserves of them in the country. Highlights: • Short stop at La Gobernadora, natural viewpoint of the Guantanamo US Naval Base • Visit to an Agroecological Farm dedicated to the cultivation of cocoa. Tasting of tropical fruits and handmade products based on cocoa and coconut produced in the place • Familiarization sightseeing through the Historic Center of Baracoa • Accommodation with breakfast included in a urban hotel (BB) Read more

Baracoa 1N | HB

Alejandro de Humboldt National Park (AHNP) is located in the Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa Mountains on the North Coast of Eastern Cuba. The largest and best-conserved remnant of forested mountain ecosystems in the Caribbean, AHNP is widely considered to be Cuba's most important protected area for its extraordinary biodiversity values. Complex geology and varied topography have given rise to a diversity of ecosystems and species unmatched in the insular Caribbean and created one of the most biologically diverse tropical island sites on earth. Many of the underlying rocks are toxic to plants so species have had to adapt to survive in these hostile conditions. This unique process of evolution has resulted in the development of many new species and the park is one of the most important sites in the Western Hemisphere for the conservation of endemic flora. Endemism of vertebrates and invertebrates is also very high. Highlights: • Visit to Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, a part of World Heritage of Unesco • El Recreo Trail On this hike, you will see some great scenery in Alexander von Humboldt National Park, the most important protected area in Cuba in terms of biodiversity and the high percentage of endemic species. You’ll also see several different ecosystems and endemic species of flora and fauna, including Pino de Cuba, Bonita del Pinar and Draecena de Moa pine trees. The trail will take you across the clear Taco River—a powerful force that formed the valleys—and through a beautiful mountain valley and evergreen forests where you can see quiebra hachas, bully trees, a hundred-year-old ocuje and several species of birds, including Bee Hummingbirds; Cuban Trogons, Cuba's national bird; Parrots; Cuban crows; Nightingales; and Cuban Todys. The tour winds up with a dip in a natural pool in the Taco River. Degree of difficulty: Low • Picnic lunch and drive to the north coast of Holguin • All Inclusive accommodation at Playa Pesquero beach (AI) Read more

Playa Pesquero, Holguin 2N |

The northern littoral of Holguín is a land of discoveries, the most beautiful that human eyes have seen, as Christopher Columbus said in 1492 when he stepped on Cuban soil. Highlights: • Time to relax at a resort on the beachfront • Goodbye Special Dinner • All Inclusive accommodation at Playa Pesquero beach (AI) Read more

Playa Pesquero, Holguin | AI

Highlights: • Time to relax at a resort on the beachfront • Late Check-Out, subject to availability • Transfer to Holguin International Airport (HOG)