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It is a region with a clayish and fertile soil, whose 15% is
covered by one of the most important mountainous regions of the
country, Sierra del Escambray which, among other attributes, treasures
peaceful Caribbean beaches all along the coasts of the Península
of Ancón.The capital city, Sancti Spíritus, was
invariably settled on the margins of a river,and it preserves
in its historic center buildings.
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Among the most outstanding constructions
we can find the Iglesia Parroquial Mayor, Teatro Principal and the bridge
over Yayabo River itself.
Nevertheless, Trinidad –fairly
considered a museum city– is one of the cities in the Amercian Continent
with the most complete and better preserved colonial architecture areas,
considered by UNESCO in 1988 and declared World Heritage.
A cross under the shadow of a Jigüe
tree reminds us of the place where Fray Juan de Tesin presumably said
the first mass of the future villa, during the Christmas of 1513. Not
far from there, La Plaza Mayor and La Iglesia Mayor de la Santísima
Trinidad were built afterwards. The second one treasures among its most
valuable pieces the famous Cristo de Vera Cruz and an altar made of marble,
unique of its kind in the island, which was dedicated to the cult to La
Virgen de la Misericordia (the Virgin of Mercy).
This city invites visitors to walk on
its quiet stone streets and several squares; discover at every step stories
jealously preserved in half a dozen museums or roomy and cool mansions
from the centuries XVIII and XIX –full of balustrades, railings
and grating admirably made of metal; and roofs covered with Cuban made
tiles–, where you will be able to breath the same attractive atmosphere
that centuries ago brought important visitors to this very place, like
for example the wise man Alejandro de Humboldt.
The vast and near Valley of San Luis,
also known as Valley of the Mills, shows the splendor that the sugar industry
gave to this villa at the end of the XVII century. This Valley, declared
World Heritage by UNESCO, is also an important ecological reserve.
It is said that at the time of its highest splendor, this area
was the main producer of sugar in the country. There were here
dozens of mills that could be seen from the top of the Tower
of Manaca-Iznaga, 45 meters high and whose bell used to announce
the start and end of the work sessions in the plantations of
this sweet gramineous.
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75 ruins of mills, summer houses, living
quarters of slaves and other facilities related to the production of this
highly demanded produce have been preserved until today.
There are less than a dozen kilometers
between the historic center of Trinidad and the beaches of the Península
of Ancón, washed by the waters of the Caribbean Sea and considered
among the best ones in the south coast of the island. Its sea bottoms,
irregular and with notable concentrations of black coral, can be explored
in more than twenty diving sites; some of them near Cayo Blanco, an isle
about 45 minutes away by boat from the Port of Casilda.
Also close to this colonial city, the
mountainous region of Escambray invites daring visitors to intense days
of activities in the National Park of Topes de Collantes, located 800
meters above sea level and where Salto del Caburní (National Monument)
stands out among numerous attractions. On the other, this place also provides
visitors with the opportunity of improving their quality of life in an
ideal environment that also has a facility for health and pleasure known
as Kurhotel.
Meanwhile, in the central region of
the province you will be able to see the largest artificial lake of Cuba,
the Zaza dam. Its impounding capacity surpasses the one thousand million
cubic meters of this valuable liquid, which constitutes a perfect place
for sport fishing, especially for trout, whose sizes rate them among the
best ones at the international level.
To the north, Caguanes National Park,
recently declared by UNESCO a reserve of the Biosphere, treasures an important
group of caves with plenty of interesting archeological sites and under
water caves; natural habitat of a variety of fresh water sponges that
can only be seen in this place.
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