Viñales Valley Wednesday

After a few days in Havana, we took to the country and went on an excursion to the Viñales Valley!

Viñales Valley Lookout

The day started off at 7:10 am, waiting at a nearby hotel for the bus to pick us up. Little did we know that the bus is usually at least an hour late everyday - and it didn't disappoint. But all of the time waiting in the hotel made us realize that we had no idea exactly where we were going, who was picking us up, or who else would be with us. We bought this excursion to the Viñales Valley without really getting all of the details. Although the day started off slowly, it was worth the wait.

After we were eventually picked up at the hotel, we boarded the bus carrying 35 other excursion-goers. From there, we drove through the city and out into the countryside for a couple of hours. As we mentioned before, there aren't many cars in Cuba in general, considering the population, and that was very apparent as we drove along the highway to the Viñales Valley, coming across few cars along the way.

This excursion took us to the Pinar del Río province; you can check out the map below to see exactly where we went during our week in Cuba.

Our first stop was a liqueur factory in Pinar del Río that produces Le Occidental Guayabita del Pinar. This liqueur is flavoured by the guayabita fruit, only found in that region of Cuba. The "tour" was disappointing and the factory was crowded but we did get to try some of the liqueur at the end. And the murals inside the building were cool.

Our next stop was for lunch, but not before driving down nauseating twisty roads into the valley. The restaurant where we ate was great, and was an open air chalet, right next to the famous Mural de la Prehistoria. It's a 120 m long painting along a cliff face, and apparently took 18 people 4 years to complete (although we figure they must have been working part-time). Regardless, it's huge and fairly interesting; it's supposed to symbolize the theory of evolution.

Where's Elizabeth?

Before lunch we were told that we were going to a tobacco farm later on, so we assumed that that was our next stop... but it wasn't! That's part of the beauty of not planning a trip and just hopping on a bus tour, although that can also be the frustrating part. In this case it was great because we were surprised to find out that our next stop was a cave - el Cuevo de Indio! 

This cave was an ancient indigenous dwelling, rediscovered in 1920, and is found inside a limestone karst. Walking through the cave was cool (literally) and we had to squeeze through some tight spots along the path. 

Once we made our way through the cave, we all piled into a motor boat which took us around the underground river. The entire experience was so interesting, especially because we didn't know what was coming next. Before we knew it, the boat brought us back outside into what looked like a tropical paradise, with vines hanging everywhere and palm trees all around.

Then we made our way to a tobacco farm to get a close up look at one of the main exports of the Pinar del Río region. During our time there we saw how they dry the plant and also received a demonstration on how they make the cigars. The farm itself was beautiful and the views were amazing.

To finish off the excursion, we made our way to the Viñales Valley lookout point, which provides a panoramic view of the valley. It's not hard to see why this valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and we marveled at the green, lush region. Luke also took advantage of the nearby Piña Colada stand, where they make your drink and then let you add as much rum as you want.

Here's a quick video from the lookout point:

After that stop, we were back on the bus and made it back to Havana after dark, just in time to have a late dinner. For $59 each, the excursion was definitely worth it, especially considering that it included a multi-course lunch. We're not always sold on bus tours, but considering how difficult it is to get to the region for a short trip otherwise, it was a great option.

In case you missed them, here are links to our previous blog posts about this trip: 
5 Days in Havana (Part I) 
5 Days in Havana (Part II)

And here are the rest of the posts from our trip:
5 Days in Havana (Part III)
Varadero Weekend

And here are a few more pictures from our trip to the Viñales Valley: