marcin jucha


For visitors to Havana, one of the most popular day and overnights trips besides colonial wonder Trinidad is a visit to the far west of Cuba, the mostly rural province of Pinar del Río (whose locals, by the way, have over the years endured much teasing by other Cubans as guajiros – "country-bumpkin" peasants – though at least these days inaccurately, as far as I’ve been able to tell).  It’s home to not only the eponymous city – which makes for a charming visit in its own right – but also its main tobacco- and coffee-growing country as well as one of the Caribbean’s loveliest landscapes: the Viñales Valley.

A two-hour drive from Havana, the provincial capital (also called Pinar del Río, population around 140,000), was one of the last major Cuban cities to be founded during the colonial period – in 1867, a mere 30 years before the Spanish-American War which ended Spain’s rule.  This city, as well as towns such as Viñales and Las Terrazas along with local casas particulares (private accommodations) scattered throughout the province, have in recent years started providing increasing numbers and quality of facilities for overnight or multi-day stays out here. But most visitors continue to come on day trips organised from Havana.