BARACOA CUBA GUIDE

Baracoa Restaurant in Cuba

BARACOA CUBA TOURIST
Cuba eastern most city is Baracoa which is the most remote location of the Cuban island. English Bay is a short drive from the city that was discovered by Christopher Columbus over 500 years ago as one of the best chocolate cities in the world. Baracoa has not been influenced at all by large tourism development despite the tranquil location and can be reached by car or boat from Santiago de Cuba  which is about a 4 hours ride or you can fly 2 hours by plane from Havana.  East of Baracoa you will find the Fuerte Matachín  which was built in 1802 where some very old houses and small museums are still open. West of Baracoa are the Fuerte La Punta which was built in 1803 which has a restaurant and beach next door. Also Fort El Castillo with a stunning view of the Baracoa two bays, is now Hotel El Castillo. While visiting Baracoa you must stop by the two music center near the central Parque de Independencia, the touristy Flan de Queso and the more traditional musical Casa de la Flana.

Close to Baracoa are twin rivers Miel and Toa rivers which have lots of beautiful waterfalls, the best known of which is El Saltadero, which is 17 m high. The 600m high mountain top of El Yunque or The Anvil, is 10 km to the west of Baracoa. It is a part of a older plateau and because of its isolation it has several unique species of plants and palms. Baracoa's official climb starts at camp El Yunque for Cubans only where a guide is cost you about 15 euro for personal tours.

Image via Wikipedia

A short ride from Baracoa you can visit Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt located about 22km north then onto Salto Fino which is the highest waterfall in the Caribbean is produced by a sudden drop-off into the Arroyo del Infierno or Hell's stream, a tributary of the Quibijan river. Seventy rivers flow into the Toa river, which is the grandest river in Cuba. The 305-meter-high Salto Fino waterfall is recorded as the #1 Highest Water Fall in Cuba but also the 20th highest water chute in the world.It is a must see when you come visit BaRacoa Cuba.

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BARACOA CUBA TRAVEL

Baracoa Cuba

BARACOA CUBA TRAVEL INFO

Baracoa Cuba with a population of less than 69,000 Cubans is located 200 kilometers east of Santiago, 120 kilometers east of Guantánamo, and is really miles from anywhere. The somnolent town is nestled hard up against the ocean beneath rugged mountains, most notably the great hulking mass of El Yunque, a huge, flat-topped mesa. Baracoa curves around the wide Bahía de Miel (Honey Bay), lined with black-sand beaches.

Isolation breeds individuality, and Baracoa is both isolated and individual, so much so that the town has been likened to Macondo in Gabriel García Márquez’s surrealistic novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. The town looks and feels antique, with its little fortresses and streets lined with venerable wooden edifices, rickety and humbled with age, with red-tiled eaves supported on ancient timber frames.

Baracoans have a good deal of Indian blood, identified by their short stature, olive-brown skins, and squared-off faces.

Getting to Baracoa

Aeropuerto Gustavo Rizo (tel. 021/42216) is on the west side of the bay. Cubana (Martí #181, tel. 021/45374; Mon.–Sat. 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–noon) connects Baracoa with Havana twice weekly (CUC128) and with Santiago de Cuba once weekly (CUC30).

Buses arrive and depart the Terminal Interprovincial (Los Mártires, esq. Martí, tel. 021/43880). A Víazul bus for Baracoa departs Santiago de Cuba at 7:45 a.m. (CUC15), and Guantánamo at 9:30 p.m. (CUC9). Astro buses for Baracoa depart Havana on alternate days (CUC43.50 regular, CUC53 especial; 20 hours); and Santiago de Cuba at 6:40 a.m. (CUC9 regular, CUC11 especial).

You can rent cars from Havanautos (tel. 021/4-5343) at the airport; Transtur in Hotel La Habanera; and Vía (tel. 021/45135) at the Hotel Porto Santo and Hotel El Castillo.

 Travel to BARACOA CUBA

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BARACOA TRAVEL INFO

Cuba Baracoa Beach

Peaceful Bay of Baracoa Cuba

BARACOA TRAVEL INFO

Baracoa (pop. 65,000) lies 200 kilometers east of Santiago, 120 kilometers east of Guantánamo, and is really miles from anywhere. The somnolent town is nestled hard up against the ocean beneath rugged mountains, most notably the great hulking mass of El Yunque, a huge, flat-topped mesa. Baracoa curves around the wide Bahía de Miel (Honey Bay), lined with black-sand beaches.

Isolation breeds individuality, and Baracoa is both isolated and individual, so much so that the town has been likened to Macondo in Gabriel García Márquez’s surrealistic novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. The town looks and feels antique, with its little fortresses and streets lined with venerable wooden edifices, rickety and humbled with age, with red-tiled eaves supported on ancient timber frames.

Baracoans have a good deal of Indian blood, identified by their short stature, olive-brown skins, and squared-off faces.

Getting to Baracoa

Aeropuerto Gustavo Rizo (tel. 021/42216) is on the west side of the bay. Cubana (Martí #181, tel. 021/45374; Mon.–Sat. 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–noon) connects Baracoa with Havana twice weekly (CUC128) and with Santiago de Cuba once weekly (CUC30).

Buses arrive and depart the Terminal Interprovincial (Los Mártires, esq. Martí, tel. 021/43880). A Víazul bus for Baracoa departs Santiago de Cuba at 7:45 a.m. (CUC15), and Guantánamo at 9:30 p.m. (CUC9). Astro buses for Baracoa depart Havana on alternate days (CUC43.50 regular, CUC53 especial; 20 hours); and Santiago de Cuba at 6:40 a.m. (CUC9 regular, CUC11 especial).

You can rent cars from Havanautos (tel. 021/4-5343) at the airport; Transtur in Hotel La Habanera; and Vía (tel. 021/45135) at the Hotel Porto Santo and Hotel El Castillo.

If driving to Holguín, the coast is deeply rutted and potholed much of the way, with frequent and long sections of dirt and mud.

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