Viñales Valley

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz: Tobacco Harvesting, Viñales Valley, Cuba 2002

Tobacco and other crops are cultivated on the bottom of the valley, mostly by traditional agriculture techniques. Many caves dot the surrounding hillfaces (Cueva del Indio, Cueva de José Miguel).

The conspicuous limestone cliffs rising like islands from the bottom of the valley are called mogotes. They can be up to 300m tall.

Viñales is a major tourist destination offering mainly hiking and rock climbing. The local climbing scene has started to take off in the last few years with many new routes being discovered resulting in an increase in local tourism.[1]

There are some mountain formations, unique in the island, called mogotes. These mogotes constitute unique geomorphological formations where some of them come to measure great height. These mogotes resemble a great diversity of forms because they are only comparable with those located in China and the peninsula of Malacca.

In the valley, there are other elevations, such as Alturas de Pizarras, which are formed by a variety of rocks, the oldest existing throughout the country and also in the Caribbean area.

Many endemic plants and animals are specific to this valley. Flora found in the region include Bombax emarginatum, mountain palm (Gaussia princeps), Ekmanianthe actinophilla, and Microcycas calocoma. Fauna includes bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae, zunzún), Cuban trogon (Priotelus temnurus), Cuban tody (Todus multicolor), Cuban solitaire (Myadestes elisabeth) and Cuban grassquit (Tiaris canorus).[2]

Mural in Viñales Valley

In the valley of Dos Hermanas, we can find the Mural of Prehistory, which is painted on a stone of one of the elevations. This mural shows the evolution of life in a natural sense of Cuba.

The Mural of Prehistory is located in the mogote called Pita. It can be found on a perpendicular slope. The rock was washed and drains were also made in it to avoid erosion in the future due to the rain. It is 120 meters high and 160 meters in length. The artist was Leovigildo González Morillo, who was Director of Cartography of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba.

In it are represented Guanahatabeyes Indians, species of mammals, gigantic animals, as well as some mollusks.

In the Mural can be seen in 12 pieces the evolutionary process of men and animals in the Sierra de los Organs, in its different stages.

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  Palenque de los Cimarrones
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  Viñales Valley
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  Viñales Valley
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  Viñales Valley
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  Viñales Countryside

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Viñales Valley.

• UNESCO Viñales Valley webpage
• Main website for rock climbing in Cuba, especially Vinales.
• Calzadilla, Erasmo (2009-06-18). "Dago's Life in Viñales, Cuba". Havana Times.