The Viñales Valley: This broad, flat valley is punctuated by a series of limestone karst hill formations, or mogotes. The views from the small mountains surrounding the valley are spectacular. The area offers great opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, bird-watching, and rock climbing, as well as caves to explore.
Las Terrazas: This planned eco-tourism project is set amid the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve. There are a host of trails and attractions here, including lakes, swimming holes, a zip-line canopy tour, and even some sulfur springs. The bird-watching is excellent.
Parque Nacional Ciénaga de Zapata: The Zapata Swamp National Park is a massive expanse of mangroves, swamp, and wetlands housing an abundant variety of flora and fauna. The area is a mecca for bird-watchers, naturalists, and anglers. Your best bet for exploring the park is Playa Larga, a simple beach resort area catering to scuba divers.
Parque Nacional Topes de Collantes: The dense pine-covered mountains of the Sierra del Escambray lurk on the outskirts of Trinidad, and the Topes de Collantes National Park is a lovely, cool refuge from the town's stone streets. It's great for hiking, with several well-established trails, the best of which culminate in refreshing waterfalls.
Baracoa: Cuba's first settlement, overlooking a beautiful oyster-shaped bay, remains a natural paradise, with thick tropical vegetation, 10 rivers, and a distinctive flat-topped mountain called El Yunque, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that beckons hikers. Travelers into rafting, beaches, and boating will also find ample opportunities to explore this isolated area.
Sierra Maestra: The highest and longest mountain range in Cuba, the Sierra Maestra is full of lore for Cubans -- it's where Fidel Castro and his band of rebels hid out and waged guerilla warfare against the Batista government in the 1950s. Stretching across three provinces, its peaks are almost on top of the rocky southern coastline. The Gran Parque Nacional Sierra Maestra and Parque Nacional de Turquino are perfect for hikers and nature lovers.
