CubaPLUS Magazine

On land in Gibara, in the northeastern province of Holguín, find the attractive speleo-eco-archaeological trail known popularly as Bakers´ Cavern or Cueva de los Panaderos, a tour which we recommend to hikers walking through the picturesque Polja of the Cemetery. Holy God! And what is the Cemetery Polja?

You will ask yourself and we will tell you that it is not something macabre, it is a training geology that houses more than 29 galleries, among which those cited at the beginning of this chronicle.

That espelunca is the final destination of the journey along the path, located in the interesting karst area that is Polja, which measures 1,250 m. in length and about 500 m. in height. The numerous set of caves is located in an area approximately 11 km and is one of the largest cave systems not only in Holguín, but in all of Cuba.

From a tourist point of view, the Los Panaderos Cavern Trail consists of an ecological part, which runs through an external natural area, before reaching the cave, approximately 360 m. The speleological segment is inside the gallery and consists of 280 m. of extension, although the cavern actually measures 2 km, according to what is known so far.

The organizers of the tour say that due to their areas of interest some times the route is extended to about 750 m. within the interesting gallery. Normally hikers enjoy the variant of walking some 640 m. for one hour in a general sense. And although it is not a tour only for specialists, the degree of traffic complexity is medium and it is better to be very well prepared, something that is informed in a timely manner.

It cannot be denied that the Cemetery Polja is located in a two-component rock system, the Gibara formation, composed of massive white and grayish-white porcelain limestones. It is estimated to originate from the lower to middle Cretaceous, and a strip of limestones from the Miocene, which is the Vázquez enclave, supported by limestones, marks and sandstones in which abundant coral fossils are observed.

Sparse, bushy scrub vegetation grows in patches on the northern and western strips and on surrounding elevations of the Polja. But there are also more leafy species such as seedlings and guanas, in addition to jagüeyes, growing on red limestone soils among outcrops of lapiés (dogtooth) fields. A rare spectacle, but worth seeing. The aforementioned area is included within the so-called hybridization belt from the east (due to the notable abundance of hybrid species), unique in Cuba and one of the few on the planet.

It is fortunate that its skies constitute a common corridor of migratory birds, which brighten the lives of the locals with the spectacle of their transit and lodging in those places where they receive shelter, food, and better conditions for reproduction, in their survival cycles.

The local fauna is very rich, with several species reported, including native or passing.  Aside is the fauna of the galleries, among them that of Los Panaderos, where 4 species of bats live, and even observe with surprise the appearance of crystalline lakes, with serene waters and very cold, quite an event in the hot tropics that characterizes our archipelago.