Holidays in Cuba 2011 (part 2) – Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Salto del Caburni

We started planning a trip to Cuba for the 2011 New Year holidays back in February. Why to Cuba? And why a year before the start of the trip?

Firstly, a sufficient number of bonuses have accumulated under the Aeroflot bonus program for booking air tickets Moscow - Havana - Moscow, 100 thousand bonuses for two. This is a significant saving on air travel, because... The cost of air tickets to Cuba is on average 45 thousand rubles per person. For example, for a bonus ticket to Los Angeles you also need to collect 100 thousand for two, but the cost of air travel is significantly lower than 20-23 thousand per person, which means that it is more profitable to fly to Cuba with bonuses, and besides, we have already been to the states twice . As a result, for air travel for two weeks we only paid fees of 10 thousand rubles for two.

Secondly, the presence bonus air tickets during New Year holidays– very rare, there are no more than two on one flight bonus tickets. Therefore, the most important thing is to book air tickets as early as possible, and then start working out the route. We were the first, it was so nice to choose seats on a completely empty plane.

Thirdly, where else to get married if not in Cuba? namely in one of best hotels in Varadero Sandals Royal Hicacos 5* (more on this in the first part of the story).

Hotels in Varadero and Havana turned out to be more profitable to book through a Russian tour operator TEZ tour. In Cienfuegos and Trinidad through Cubatravelnetwork.com.

So, on January 2, we rented a small Hyundai Atos car from Cubacar, which cost us 450 pesos for four days, the price includes full insurance. I recommend asking to fill the car tank with gasoline, because... Problems often arise with this; not every gas station has normal 90 or 94 gasoline.

Also ask detailed map highways of Cuba or buy in a store. For example, there are cards in the largest mall in Varadero Plaza America. It’s even better to have a GPS navigator with you; a map of Cuba can be downloaded for free on openstreetmap.org, but keep in mind that using GPS is prohibited by law in Cuba.

Now our car journey around Cuba begins, we plan to visit the cities: Cienfuegos, El Nicho Park, Trinidad, Santa Clara and Havana.

Before heading from Varadero to Cienfuegos, we drove to the border between the cities of Matanzas and Havana, where the highest bridge, Puente Bacunayagua, and an observation deck (mirador) offer breathtaking views.

Five kilometers southeast of Matanzas is the gigantic Bellamar cave system, where more than 3 km of passages and halls with numerous rocky formations open to the eye. The ceilings and walls are strewn with a huge number of crystals of different colors. The entire cave is very long, the hike deep takes about an hour. Here you can also find interesting stalagmites and stalactites.

Near the Bellamar Museum there is a park, there are several bars, incendiary salsa music is played, local residents and young people gather here.

After lunch, we head to old City CienFuegos(Hundreds of Lights). City on south coast Cuba, one of the most beautiful and lively cities in the country. Its second name is “La perla del sur” - Southern Pearl. Local authorities have restored the colonial city center, which is filled with architectural gems.

IN Cienfuegose we stayed at the La Union 4* hotel, the room cost 79 Euros including breakfast. This is one of the best hotels in this category, located in the very center of the city. We checked in in the evening; we were too tired to wander the streets; we decided to walk around the city with fresh energy in the morning. The room has two single beds and good audibility from the street. These are minor drawbacks compared to the bugs and cockroaches that, judging by the reviews, are the norm in other hotels.

The wide boulevard Paseo del Prado (La Caye 37) runs through the entire city center. The pedestrian area is very crowded, especially at night and on weekends.

Before lunch there was enough time to explore the main attractions of the city of Cienfuegos. Parque Martí, the main square of the city, was named after the famous Cuban poet José Martí. The square is surrounded by majestic buildings with rich history. The Catedral de la Purisima Concepción, the Thomas Terry Theater, the building of the College of San Lorenzo with its elegant façade, the House of Culture and the Ferrer Palace. The only Arc de Triomphe in Cuba rises here.

You can have lunch right in the Palacio de Valle, which is designed in Moorish style. It was built by Asisclo del Valle at the beginning of the last century; he brought workers here to decorate the building in the Spanish Mudejar architectural style. Nowadays the palace has been converted into a luxurious restaurant.

Next we went to El Nicho Park with a beautiful waterfall and a stunning view from the observation deck of mountains, palm trees, a river, and a small lake. The road to the El Nicho reserve lies through the mountains, there are terrible pits, and takes 1.5 hours from Cienfuegos. Having parked the car in a specially designated place, we walked to the waterfall along a path that stretches through the jungle through bridges and steps leading up, which takes 30-40 minutes. When we walked part of the way, we saw a natural bath of extraordinary beauty, where a waterfall flows and forms a natural pool where you can swim. I could have climbed there even without a swimsuit, there were no people at all, but the water is cool in winter, tall trees well cover the emerging mountain river and the sun does not warm the water enough, it would be hot there in the summer.

Then we climbed a little higher and were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful picture. The waterfall is most beautiful between January and April, before the wet season begins.

After the stunning beauty of El Nicho, we go to one of the most ancient cities - Trinidad, along the road there are no less beautiful mountain landscapes, fields and meadows where animals graze.

From Trinidad to Cienfuegos, about 100 km, given the not very good road surface in some places, you can get there in about 2 hours. In the evening we checked into Hotel Las Cuevas 3*, which was booked in advance through Cubatravelnetwork.com, the night cost us 87 Euros with breakfast. The hotel is very interesting, located on a hill with a magnificent view of the city, the distance to the historical city center is about half a kilometer.

The hotel is called Las Cuevas (The Caves) not simply because there are many of them in Cuba, and the hotel itself also has a cave, which, unfortunately, we did not get to.

Despite the low star rating, the rooms turned out to be surprisingly decent. We lived in a bungalow on the 1st floor, we didn’t see any beetles or cockroaches there, although we read about it in the reviews. Once, when we left the balcony open for a while, a lizard crawled towards us, which we barely drove out.

The hotel hosts show programs every evening, with dancers in colorful outfits performing. The level is average, quite consistent with the level of the hotel. For dinner, we walked to the city center, where in the evening restaurants with colorful old interiors open and the spirit of the century before last is in the air. We went into one of these restaurants; there used to be a church here, which was converted into a restaurant, the interior was left practically untouched.

In Trinidad, the narrow streets are intertwined in a chaotic labyrinth, this arrangement was designed to make it difficult for pirates to invade the city. Street traffic is mostly one-way; you need to pay attention to the arrows on the buildings. Sometimes the arrows are missing or erased, then we can find out that we are in the oncoming lane only by the reaction of local residents who are in a hurry to tell us where to turn in the right direction.

Trinidad- a treasure trove of colonial architecture, the clatter of hooves can still be heard along the cobblestone streets. In the 50s Trinidad was declared a national Cuban monument, reconstruction began, and a ban was placed on new construction.

Main square of the old town Plaza Mayor surrounded by ancient buildings: churches, former luxurious mansions, museums. The square is a green square with luxurious royal palm trees and flowers, surrounded by a cast-iron fence, and in the center is a statue of the goddess Terpsichore.

There is a cathedral in front of the square Iglesia de la Santisama Trinidad, which was built in 1892 on the site of an earlier church. The marble altar, which is one of the many sacred objects here, deserves special attention.

A few steps from the cathedral is the most beautiful city mansion, Palacio Brunet, which, after recent restoration, has become Museum Romantico, where a collection of antique luxury furniture is now displayed. Next to the museum, on the other side of the square, there is a building in pastel blue tones - Museum of Colonial Architecture.

Take a look at TemplodeYemaya, a religious building of adherents of Santeria (Afro-Cuban religious movement). Religious ceremonies are held here every year, which you can ask the ticket attendant about.

The most memorable thing for me was the mesmerizing view from the bell tower of the Church of San Francisco (the symbol of Trinidad) over the entire surrounding city.

An unpleasant aftertaste from exploring the city of Trinidad was left by local barkers and beggars. Also noticeable a large number of lazy people who do nothing all day except smoke cigars while sitting outside right outside the door of their own house.

The first half of the day was enough to explore the city of Trinidad; also don’t forget to go up to the observation deck, from where you can see beautiful view to the city of Trinidad, surrounded by mountains on one side and the sea on the other.

Another waterfall planned today Salto del Caburni, it is located closer to Cienfuegos in the town Topes de Collantes, so we drive north along a winding mountain path. After I paid the ticket attendant for entry into the park Salto del Caburni 13 pesos for two, we drove another 100 meters by car, the descent was very steep, 30-40 degrees. Then they left the car in the parking lot. Next is a descent to the waterfall, but before that it’s better to refresh yourself and buy water, because... then this opportunity will no longer exist. There is a very nice cafe here where they make delicious sandwiches; this turned out to be the only dish available from the entire menu. There is alcohol in the cafe, but it is better to drink after a walk for a successful return.

Then we walked for about an hour along a very difficult but picturesque path and went down to the waterfall. I regretted not wearing sneakers; it was not very comfortable to walk through the jungle and over broken rocks in light ballet shoes. But when we went down, a reward awaited us - a very unusual and beautiful waterfall among the rocks, although not large, there is a natural pool where a waterfall falls, where you can swim.

On the way back, you may be offered to climb on horseback. At first I was afraid of the smell of horses, but it turned out to be even more difficult to climb and I no longer had the strength, so for 10 pesos for two, we took a horse each and climbed up quite quickly and cheerfully. I didn’t feel any smell after riding a horse, and the activity turned out to be not difficult and very interesting.

By the end of the day there was little time left and we decided to pass through the city of Santa Clara and move towards Havana. Santa Clara is a cultural and historical center, home to a very large and beautiful Revolution Square, as well as the Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara Memorial, one of the most popular Cuban monuments.

Tips for tourists: count your change, Cubans are famous for petty fraud and deceiving tourists, because... Few people speak Spanish. Their official salaries are meager, so they get by. But in any case, it’s up to you to decide who to tip and who not to give anything, be careful. Pickpockets are also common, do not carry documents and all the money with you or keep an eye on things. If you have time and opportunity, learn Spanish before your trip, or at least numbers and basic phrases, it will be very useful to you. They tried to give us the wrong change at gas stations several times.

There are mosquitoes in Cuba, we came across them in the jungle and they bite worse than our bloodsuckers, although you should not be afraid of them, there is no infection like malaria. And the bumps from bites last quite a long time, up to a month.

Transport. Cubans mostly travel by bicycle; in small towns and villages you can often see horse-drawn carts. Many locals hitchhike due to the catastrophic shortage of vehicles. Municipal buses run extremely rarely, and they are packed. There are even trucks where people in the cargo compartment ride while standing.

The roads in Cuba are free, but the road layout is very similar to ours, maybe a little better. For long distances it is better to travel along the highway (Autopista), the speed limit is higher and the road surface is better. On country roads you need to be especially careful, because... There are huge potholes, and local residents or pets try to get under the wheels.

License plates on cars in Cuba have different colors, by which you can understand who owns this vehicle. Tourist cars have a characteristic red-brown color. Cars with yellow license plates belong to private individuals, blue ones belong to the state. Cars with red license plates enjoy preferential treatment and are rarely stopped, except for serious traffic violations or speeding.

There are practically no signs at all, road signs sometimes they come across. Revolutionary slogans and photos of Che Guevara are much more common along the roads. This adds a special flavor, but not ease of movement around the country.

To ask for directions, buy something in a store, or solve a problem, knowledge often came in handy Spanish. Which I gladly practiced in Cuba. Everything we learned in Spanish classes was useful. Lost luggage, shopping in stores, filling gas, ordering in restaurants, communicating with local residents, I was also “lucky” to contact the doctor when the temperature rose to 38.2.

Medicine in Cuba good. In case of illness, you must call the phone number indicated in insurance policy, record an insured event. As a rule, insurance company employees check the hotel phone number and call you back to your room. It is necessary to clarify how to solve the problem, go to the hospital or a doctor can come to your room. A doctor came to my room, asked a few questions and prescribed antibiotics. She also said that you can call a special service that can bring the necessary medications to your room with a prescription. I did not use this service because... My husband bought me the pills. I didn’t pay the doctor any money, I just signed the card. Those. The insurance company paid the bill directly.

The pioneers still wear red ties, which are a symbol of the revolution and the struggle for freedom in Cuba.

Other parts of the story:

The excursion includes a transfer Varadero - Cienfuegos - Trinidad - El Nicho waterfalls - Varadero, a tour of the cities of Cienfuegos, Trinidad and El Nicho waterfalls, as well as the services of a professional Russian-speaking guide. The tour starts at 06:30. Russian speaking guide picks you up at your hotel and takes you on an excursion.

Cienfuegos, the capital of the province of the same name, is a seaside town with a well-preserved historical center, located in one of the most beautiful bays Caribbean Sea. During the colonial era, it was called the “Pearl of the South.” When Christopher Columbus discovered the bay in 1494, the Jagua Indians lived here. The city was founded in the 19th century, receiving its name in honor of the governor of Cuba, General Jose Cienfuegos. The city of Cienfuegos is built on a geometric plan typical of neoclassicism, and its historical center was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 2005.

On this excursion we invite you to get acquainted with the most important places in the historical center of Cienfuegos and the Punta Gorda region, namely: Central Plaza named after José Martí, Cathedral Immaculate Conception, the house of the city founder, the Palatino beer bar, the former Spanish casino, the Arc de Triomphe, the Ferrer Palace, the regional government building, the Thomas Terry Theater, pedestrian boulevards and the architectural whim of the city - the Valle Palace. A characteristic difference between Cienfuegos and other cities in Cuba is that Cienfuegos - the only city Cuba, founded by the French.

After exploring the city of Cienfuegos, you will have the opportunity to visit the historical center of Trinidad, which is one of the best preserved colonial cities not only in Cuba, but also in America. There you will see cobbled streets, squares, large mansions and palaces. Trinidad was founded in the 16th century. The old colorful buildings and cobbled streets make it feel like time stood still here during the colonial era. Houses around central square The Plaza Mayor still holds the memory of wealthy planters and is a major excursion destination in Trinidad.

After exploring the historical center of Trinidad, you will visit the waterfalls in the heart of the Escambray mountain range. El Nicho Falls is a natural wonder where green nature, rivers, waterfalls and natural ponds collide in a virtually untouched area. The Escambray mountain range, with an average height of 700 m above sea level, occupies a large part of the southern region of Central Cuba, stretching through three provinces: Villa Clara, Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus. In the center of the ridge is nature reserve El Nicho, of great scientific and ecological importance, abounds in mountain fauna and varied vegetation. highest peak mountain range - San Juan Peak.

El Nicho is located in the mountains of the province of Cienfuegos. The city of the same name is located on the Caribbean coast. Myself mountain range Guamuaya, also called the Escambray mountain range. The untouched landscape of the Escambray ridge attracts tourists with incredibly pristine landscapes.

Here is the kingdom of deciduous trees, ferns, pines, tropical and subtropical plants. They all get along well in the El Nicho Nature Reserve.

The fabulous topography of the park is decorated with: waterfalls, natural pools, lagoons, rivers, streams. The protected area of ​​the reserve has great scientific value for Cuban botanists, zoologists, and ecologists.

Few tourists were able to see the natural wonder of the island of Cuba. After all, the mountain road here is quite difficult. Perhaps that is why the natural one has retained all its beauty. In the El Nicho Mountains you can follow the most winding paths through caves, enjoying rare exotic species of flora and fauna.

Here you can observe the national bird, the Cuban Trogon or Tocororo. Why national? Yes, everything is very simple... The color of the feathers of this beautiful bird matches the colors of the Cuban flag: red, white and blue.

The national flower of Cuba, the Mariposa or butterfly lily, also grows here.

The main attraction of these places are dozens of cascades and. Thanks to them, El Nicho is called one of the most beautiful places Cubes.

The most visited by tourists is the Caburni waterfall, its transparent streams fall from a height of 60 meters. In an educated natural pool you can swim.

To travel through the mountains of El Nicho Park, you can rent a jeep in Cienfuegos or Santa Clara. Organized groups of tourists are delivered here in special trucks. Along the route, they offer to visit plantations of plants that are actually exported to the CIS countries, namely citrus fruits, mangoes, bananas and of course coffee.

It's hard to describe all the beauty heavenly places himself big island Caribbean. The entire landscape is reminiscent of scenes from the movie Jurassic Park. On log bridges you can climb to a high observation deck.

It is from there that you can see a wonderful view of the real natural wonder of the island of Cuba, El Nicho Park. And if your plans include a voyage to Liberty Island, do not deny yourself the pleasure of enjoying the beauty of the amazing reserve.

We present to you a fascinating excursion in Cuba, during which you will see natural Park El Nicho with stunning waterfalls and the city of Trinidad frozen in time.

El Nicho

El Nicho Natural Park is a dense a tropical forest, located on the picturesque mountains Escambray offers breathtaking views of the surrounding valleys. There are many impressive waterfalls surrounded by colorful flowers, palm trees and pristine caves. This is also where coffee plantations extend. Walking around the reserve, you can’t help but wonder how Cubans manage to collect coffee beans in such inaccessible places?

At the foot of the waterfalls lie crystal clean lakes with cool water. By the way, when going on this trip, don’t forget to take swimsuits with you, because you will undoubtedly want to swim in these bodies of water and feel like the heroes of the movie “The Blue Lagoon”.

The park's main waterfall, El Nicho, is about 30 meters high. This is truly a majestic sight. By the way, you can also take a refreshing “shower” in it. Afterwards you will climb the wooden bridges to the observation deck - from here you can see in all its glory Mountain Lake Hanabanilla.

After climbing to the waterfall, you can relax at a local cafe before heading to the city of Trinidad.

Isolated fairy tale. Trinidad

Trinidad was founded by Diego Velazquez in 1514, almost at the same time that the island of Cuba itself was discovered. It was he who gave the settlement this name - the city of the Holy Trinity. And in 1519, Cortez’s conquest in Mexico began from here.

Trinidad's heyday came from the 17th to the 19th centuries - the colonial architecture (residential and public buildings, churches, cobbled streets) of that time is today the main attraction of the city. Since the 19th century, Trinidad has been isolated from the rest of the country for almost 100 years. This is what gives it its unique “preserved” atmosphere.

Catholic churches, openwork benches, palaces made with elegant taste, colorful buildings, retro lanterns, marble sculptures, snow-white fences. All these simple elements of the city’s decoration create a feeling of complete immersion in the past. It seems that the Slave Izaura herself or the arrogant slave owner are about to come out from around the corner.