CubaPLUS Magazine

One of the most emblematic landscapes of Cuba, the Viñales Valley and its famous mogotes, located between the mountains of the western Sierra de los Órganos, province of Pinar del Río, is much more than a beautiful and delightful vision of Cuban nature.

But it is true that its ineffable hillocks and greenery are its victorious identification card, and the main attractions that lead so many people to want to visit it, since they give a very exclusive stamp to its landscape. That's why we start talking about these kinds of small mountains, up to an average of 300 meters high, sometimes rounded and sometimes wall-shaped, with a flattened top, which stand on their calcareous and terrigenous base component, often covered of splendid vegetation.

In Cuba there is only one other landscape of the same type, on a much smaller scale, in the center of the country, and in the world they are also very rare, with a known presence in only two other parts of the planet. The relevant hills of Viñales have been known in our land as mogotes since time immemorial.

They are considered relics of limestone rocks from the Jurassic period, very similar to the surrounding calcareous mountains, differing from them by the greater degree of erosion and karstification. A plain or valley of marine fluvial origin surrounds them, with a slightly undulating flat surface. Despite its rocky component, the Viñales Valley has long been very green, which has held the categories of National Park and World Heritage Site since 1999, in the category of Cultural Landscape, given by UNESCO.

It is also distinguished by its status as a National Monument, since 1979 and in this millennium it was declared the First Geopark of Cuba. It is not only because of the beauty of its vision in the distance.

In this biodiverse ecosystem, the most harmonious interaction with nature has been promoted, since its inhabitants take care of it while growing small fruits, forage and essentially tobacco, with traditional production methods, protecting the environment.

There are buildings in the Valley that respond to the so-called vernacular architecture, based, and with many examples, on aboriginal patterns, such as the typical huts, the “vara en tierra” and the tobacco houses, integrated into the daily life of the locals. It is a group that creates valuable synergy and integrality between the country´s lifestyle and the environment.

Also called Cultural Landscape in Evolution, it is an environment increasingly reinforced by the appearance of facilities for tourism and scientific research. But nothing alters the simple life and the time-honored tradition of the area.
Commitment, joy and good sense mark the path of this management.

Within or closely linked to the valley area there are very interesting places such as paradores, the Cueva del Indio, with its underground river, the Mural of Prehistory, the Hotel Rancho San Vicente and the Mirador de Los Jazmines.

Apart from its stellar mogotes, in the Valley rise the Alturas de Pizarras, formed by a variety of rocks considered the oldest in the entire country and the Caribbean region. Among its valuable endemic botanical species are Mycrocycas Calocoma, known as Cork Palm, the only one declared a National Monument. A living fossil.