Cuba attractions and highlights
Havana
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Pinar del Rio
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Santa Clara
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Santiago de Cuba
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Trinidad
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Varadero
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Castillo del Morro
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Bay of Pigs
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Sierra Maestra
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Valley de Vinales
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Havana
Havana is the capital of Cuba and is located on the north side of the island to a bay. The old city centre of Havana is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Havana was an important port for the Spaniards in the New World. Havana has many attractions including the Capitol, Catedral de San Cristobal, the Malecon boulevard, cemetery De Colon, Hotel Nacional, various squares and museums.>>> more information about Havana
Pinar del Rio
For centuries, the province of Pinar del Rio has been very important for the tobacco industry of Cuba. Here are many tobacco plantations and famous Cuban cigar brands.But also for nature is Pinar del Rio well worth a visit. The particular landscape of the Vinales Valley with "mogotes " and the beautiful dive sites at the beach Maria la Gorda.
>>> more information about Pinar del Rio
Santa Calara
Santa Clara is the fifth largest city in Cuba. In the center of Santa Clara is located the park "Parque Vidal" with a statue of Marta Abreu. She has meant a lot for the development of the city, including the construction of the theatre "Teatro de la Caridad ". The main places of interest in Santa Clara are the monument of the Tren Blindado and the mausoleum of Che Guevara.>>> more information about Santa Clara
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is a beautiful cultural city where the Cuban literature, music, architecture, politics and Ethnology comes together. The mix of Afro-Caribbean culture and the location pretty close to Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, has given the city an own personal identity. Nowhere else in Cuba, you will also find such a colorful mix of people.>>> more information about Santiago de Cuba
Trinidad
Trinidad is one of the best preserved cities in the Caribbean from the time when the sugar trade was the main industry in the region. Nowadays the tobacco cultivation and processing is the main trade in Trinidad. The older parts of town are well maintained because of the growing number of tourists that visit Trinidad. The city still breathes the colonial atmosphere because a lot of Spanish architecture from the 16th century has been preserved. The historic Trinidad is famous for its boulderstreets, pastel colored houses, beautiful palaces and squares.>>> more information about Trinidad
Varadero
Varadero is the more exclusive part of Cuba. Here you will find an abundance of hotels, beautiful beaches and a Golf Course, the only 18-hole golf course in Cuba. The fantastic beaches with clear blue, warm seawater makes this resort a real paradise.>>> more information about Varadero
Castillo del Morro
Both in Havana and Santiago de Cuba is a fort called Castillo del Morro. In 1589 the fort in Havana is built at the entrance of the Bay. El Morro protected the Bay of Havana by means of a chain that ran below the water line to the fort La Punta. This chain could be tightened in case of threat.Sierra Maestra Mountains and the base camp of Fidel Castro
Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs across the South of the province Guantanamo to Niquero in southeastern Cuba. The Sierra Maestra is actually a series of connected mountain ranges, including Vela, Santa Catalina, Quemado Grande, Dana Mariana. The highest point of the Sierra Maestra is Pico Turquino with an elevation of 1.975 meters.The Sierra Maestra has a long history of guerrilla wars, of which the Cuban revolution of 1952-1959 is the most famous. In the Sierra Maestra Mountains the rebels of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara built their headquarters, the "Comandancia de la Plata ", from which they undertook their revolutionary actions and attacks.
>>> more information about Sierre Maestra and the Comandancia de la Plata
The Bay of Pigs and the musem Giron
The Bay of Pigs is on the South coast of Cuba. Here undertook 1,400 heavily armed Cuban exiles, supported by the Americans, on 16 april 1961 an invasion to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro. But the attack was repulsed by the Cuban air force after 3 days and the invasion army was captured. The prisoners are released following transfer of medicines, equipment and food worth 53 million dollars to Cuba. The involvement of the US intelligence service CIA (with president John f. Kennedy to power) had to remain secret. They have taken care of the training of the exiles on a base in Guatemala, the plan of attack and weapons. On april 16 2011, at the Congress of the Communist Party in Havana, the failed invasion of 50 years ago was remembered with large military presentation.At the entrance of the Bay of Pigs is the museum Giron, dedicated to this victory of Cuba at the Americans. The invasion is glorified by Cuban regime as a victory over US imperialism. As a witness of the invasion the museum displays in the halls a wide collection consisting of:
- Photographic material of the social and economic conditions in the swamps of Zapata;
- Articles and campaign material ;
- Maps and documents about military operations ;
- Weapons and equipment that were used by the Americans and the Cuban troops ;
- Personal belongings of Americans;
- Personal property of "Cuban martyrs".