Cuban beaches

Guide to the Viñales Valley in Cuba

Viñales Valley in Cuba

The Vinales Valley is situated in the Sierra de los Organos area in Cuba and is a karst depression. This valley lies just to the north of the town of Vinales, a province of Pinar del Rio, which is considered to be one of the greenest provinces in Cuba.

The Vinales Valley was recently added to UNESCO’s world heritage list and is a very popular tourist attraction, although it is still possible to find isolated spots in the region. The most popular geographic features of the Vinales Valley are the mogotes, which are hills with round tops that were present even during the Jurassic Viñales ValleyPeriod.

The Mogotes of Vinales are characterised by their rich vegetation, which includes a range of different plant species. The formation of the mogote is thought to have been caused by the erosion of a plateau owing to a series of underground rivers over millions of years.

The Vinales town is quiet and peaceful and forms a sharp contrast to Havana, which is 180 kilometres away. There are many tobacco and coffee plantations in the region, which still follow ancient agricultural practices.

While the rest of Cuba is well known for their beaches and colonial architecture, the Vinales Valley alone stands out from the rest. It provides a great retreat from the city, with idyllic villages, caves, stalactites and stalagmites and underground rivers.  


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