The Isla de la Juventud, formerly known as Isla del Tesoro or Isla de Pinos, is one of the most interesting places in Cuba; a place that stands out for its charming scenery, perfect for sailing and ecotourism. This small island is the second largest in Cuba in terms of size, about 3,056 square kilometers. Located in the northern Caribbean Sea, in the Gulf of Batabanó, it is part of the Canarreos archipelago along with more than 600 keys and islets in the southwestern part of the island of Cuba, a region of sea bottoms of singular beauty with an appreciable state of preservation.
On June 13, 1494 during his second voyage to the so-called New World, Christopher Columbus discovered and baptized the Isla de la Juventud as La Evangelista, and over the years, it was given di_ erent names, such as Isla de los Loros, Colonia Reina Amalia, Isla de los Piratas and even Isla del Tesoro, as it was associated with the famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, also known as Isla de los Deportados and later as Isla de Pinos. The latter was the name the place kept until 1978, when it was called Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth), due to the more than one thousand young people from di_ erent parts of the world who came to study there. The island has a population of around 79,000 inhabitants and its main economic activity is agriculture, particularly citrus cultivation.
Marble quarrying, fishing and utilitarian and artistic ceramics are other important activities, but the Isla de la Juventud is a special place for its tourist attractions, linked to sea travel, diving, fishing and its famous International Diving Centers at the Colony Hotel and Cayo Largo del Sur.
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