Comprising a sublime mountainscape of verdant peaks and humid cloud forest, and home to honest, hardworking campesinos (country folk), Gran Parque Nacional Sierra Maestra is an alluring natural sanctuary that still echoes with the gunshots of Castro's guerrilla campaign of the late 1950s. Guides are required to travel within the park.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.99 MILES
Topping a crenelated mountain ridge amid thick cloud forest, this pioneering camp was established by Fidel Castro in 1958 after a year on the run in the…
28.59 MILES
Ten kilometers south of Manzanillo is the moving sight of the sugar estate of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, whose outcry, known as Grito de Yara, and the…
4.7 MILES
This tiny village nestles in a deep green valley beside the deliciously clean Río Yara. Communally it provides a wonderful slice of peaceful Cuban…
29.76 MILES
Manzanillo's central square is notable for its priceless glorieta (gazebo), an imitation of the Patio de los Leones in Spain's Alhambra, where Moorish…
28.66 MILES
For a floral appreciation of Bayamo's evergreen hinterland, head to this botanic garden about 16km outside the city off the Guisa road. It's on very few…
29.68 MILES
Seven blocks southwest of the park lies Manzanillo's most evocative sight. Built in 1990, this terracotta-tiled staircase embellished with colorful…
2.97 MILES
All trips into the park begin at the end of the near-vertical, corrugated-concrete access road at Alto del Naranjo (after Villa Santo Domingo the road…
Casa Museo Celia Sánchez Manduley
29.5 MILES
Inspired by Fidel's revolutionary call, the town's inhabitants were quick to provide aid to the disparate rebel army after the Granma yacht landed nearby…
Nearby attractions
2.97 MILES
All trips into the park begin at the end of the near-vertical, corrugated-concrete access road at Alto del Naranjo (after Villa Santo Domingo the road…
2.99 MILES
Topping a crenelated mountain ridge amid thick cloud forest, this pioneering camp was established by Fidel Castro in 1958 after a year on the run in the…
4.46 MILES
Five kilometers west of Las Cuevas (which is 40km west of El Uvero) is this small museum at La Plata, just below the highway. The first successful…
4.7 MILES
This tiny village nestles in a deep green valley beside the deliciously clean Río Yara. Communally it provides a wonderful slice of peaceful Cuban…
20.79 MILES
A small town amid vast fields of sugarcane, Yara is barely mentioned in most travel literature, but several important chapters of Cuban history took place…
25.9 MILES
The nearby Cauto River delta is home to a growing number of wild crocodiles, so it's no surprise to encounter one of Cuba's half dozen or so crocodile…
7. Museo Histórico La Demajagua
28.59 MILES
Ten kilometers south of Manzanillo is the moving sight of the sugar estate of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, whose outcry, known as Grito de Yara, and the…
8. Jardín Botánico de Cupaynicu
28.66 MILES
For a floral appreciation of Bayamo's evergreen hinterland, head to this botanic garden about 16km outside the city off the Guisa road. It's on very few…