Jardín de los Helechos

Santiago de Cuba

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This peaceful garden is a lush haven of 350 types of ferns and 90 types of orchids. It's the erstwhile private collection of santiagüero Manuel Caluff, donated in 1984 to the Academia de Ciencias de Cuba (Cuban Academy of Science), which continues to keep the 3000-sq-meter garden in psychedelic bloom. The center of the garden has an inviting dense copse-cum-sanctuary dotted with benches.

For the orchids, the best time is November to January. Bus 5 (20 centavos) from Plaza de Marte in central Santiago passes this way, or you can hire a taxi. It's 2km from downtown Santiago de Cuba on the road to El Caney.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Moncada Museum

    Moncada Museum

    2.9 MILES

    The museum inside the Cuartel Moncada is the best in town and one of the best in Cuba. Sometimes gory exhibits catalogue the details of the 1953 attack by…

  • Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Cuba; Cementerio Santa Ifigenia Shutterstock ID 727217770; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Cementerio Santa Ifigenia

    4.04 MILES

    Nestled peacefully on the city's western extremity, the Cementerio Santa Ifigenia is second only to Havana's Necrópolis Cristóbal Colón in its importance…

  • Cuartel Moncada

    Cuartel Moncada

    2.89 MILES

    Santiago's famous Moncada Barracks, a crenelated art deco building completed in 1938, is now synonymous with one of history's greatest failed putsches…

  • Museo de Ambiente Histórico Cubano

    Museo de Ambiente Histórico Cubano

    3.66 MILES

    The oldest house still standing in Cuba, this arresting early colonial abode dating from 1522 was the official residence of the island's first governor,…

  • Museo de la Lucha Clandestina

    Museo de la Lucha Clandestina

    3.88 MILES

    This gorgeous yellow colonial-style building houses a museum detailing the underground struggle against Batista in the 1950s. It's a fascinating, if…

  • Cafetal La Isabelica

    Cafetal La Isabelica

    10.73 MILES

    The hub of the Unesco World Heritage site bestowed in 2000 upon the First Coffee Plantations in the Southeast of Cuba is this impressive two-story stone…

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Nearby Santiago de Cuba attractions

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3. Palacio de Pioneros

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4. Loma de San Juan

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5. Museo de la Imagen

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6. Plaza de la Revolución

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As with all Cuban cities, Santiago has its bombastic Revolution Square. This one's placed strategically at the junction of two sweeping avenues and…

7. Cuartel Moncada

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Santiago's famous Moncada Barracks, a crenelated art deco building completed in 1938, is now synonymous with one of history's greatest failed putsches…

8. Moncada Museum

2.9 MILES

The museum inside the Cuartel Moncada is the best in town and one of the best in Cuba. Sometimes gory exhibits catalogue the details of the 1953 attack by…