Viñales is a scenic area 20 miles from Havana. Here is a little about casas, hiking opportunities, cigars and tourist life in general.
Viñales is located in a valley surrounded by low mountains. Many of them are characteristic limestone formations with steep cliffs, Mogotes in Spanish. The village of Viñales itself is relatively small with a main street where all the shops, bars and restaurants are located. There are quite a few of them, and the price level is relatively low due to the strong competition. You can get a mojito for 1 USD. In the streets around the main street are the single storey houses, most of them Casa Particular. Although Viñales is a very popular tourist destination, perhaps the largest after Trinidad and Havana, there is clearly an over-establishment here. Very many have vacante signs and you are surrounded by providers when you get off the bus. But it is wise to book in advance to avoid the hassle of finding a place. Optionally go for a walk and check out the places. Just say “tengo”, I have, to those who flock around the bus. Clearly, there has been a release on the establishment of casas in recent years. 10 years ago there were only a few.
Anyway, Viñales is very cozy. The casas have a good standard and the families who run them will only do the best for you. The nightlife in Viñales is also very good. There are many bars and 3 music venues. In the square is Centro Cultural Polo Montanez which offers dance performances and live music. Many Cubans also go here.
Video coming..
Hiking
But it is primarily nature that draws people to Viñales, with opportunities for biking, riding, hiking and climbing. The only way to get up to the Mogotes is by climbing.
A small problem is to get food to bring with you as a lunch. As the picture shows, the stores have ketchup and liquor, but little else. The clerk thought it would be possible to buy bananas tomorrow somewhere in the town. I’ve ended up bringing bananas for lunch, if I find them. The bananas are small and good. The bread is more fluffy than normal white bread and cannot be classified as food. I guess it is well suited for cleaning paintings. Now the breakfasts at the casas are solid stuff with omelet and stuff, so I usually live on that until the afternoon.
Today I even managed to by a lighter. I bought cigars 3 days ago, but lighter has not been possible to find. This is Cuba.
Hiking possibilities
The classic tour of Viñales is around the central Mogote in the valley, Mogote del Valle. It runs on trails and narrow roads through cultivated and uncultivated fields, and offers great views of the mountains. There are no motorized traffic here, locals ride horses. You can cycle, walk or ride. I walked and spent about 4 hours on the round, but then I took my time. Many nice places to sit down and enjoy the view. It is easy to find your way, but you should use maps. I use the Locus Maps app with OpenAndroMaps. The Cuba map shows all major trails in this area. You will certainly be offered a guide, but it is absolutely unnecessary unless you want to support the local economy. I did not meet many tourists on the trip, and most I met rode.
Red trails
Viñales around. Red dots show the route I followed. I started in Calle Adela Azcuy just below the square. The first waypoint is at a cave / tunnel through the mountains. It is not long and using the mobile as light is fine. Follow the stairs up. If you take off a little earlier you can also walk around and you will not have to climb
Blue trails
East of Viñales there is an hilly forest area with deciduous and pine forest, Sierra de Los Organos, also a nature park. Fine for cycling and hiking. I walked through the fields and followed the same route as the last part of the tour mentioned above to the viewpoint of Balcon del Valle, and then through the village of Los Jazmines. Blue dotted route. From there you follow the asphalt a few hundred meters before a dirt road continues. The first part of this is characterized by heavy timber transport, but soon it becomes narrow with no traces of cars. Here you can cycle or walk for miles. In some places, trails take off from the road. These are easy to ride. Hard sandy soil with no stone and not many roots.
If you are tired when you return, it is easy to get a taxi from Balcon del Valle. I was lucky and could go straight on a bus. This was a wise move. I had checked the weather forecast at Yr.no and it promised several millimeters of rain in the afternoon. Yr.no is to trust wherever you are in the world, and five minutes after I sat down to have lunch / dinner, it poured down, as it often do on those edges. For once, I got spicy food, Pollo el Diable. The waitress looked a little worried and asked if I really meant it. It is obvious that they are not used to spices. The chicken was good there, and there wasn’t much devilish about it.
Yellow trails
The yellow dotted route goes to a cave on the other side of the valley. This was the day after the rainfall and I enjoyed my GoreTex boots. It was quite muddy and wet in many places, especially where many horses pass by. At the cave a guide appeared. I hadn’t thought to enter it, but he seemed so lonely that I took the trip. Not so many tourists here. The cave was decent enough, with stalactites and stalagmites, and a large pool 250 meters in. Possible to swim if you like cold water. Bring light, because the guide’s torch was not very good.
If you follow the route further, to the left of the map, be aware of the first big yellow dot. Here the path disappears, but if you look closely there is a gate in the barbed wire on your left. A little up the hill the trail reappears and then disappears again. At the other big yellow dot, the map is wrong. You have to cross the creek, preferably on the improvised bridge if you dare. Also, you have to eel under the barbed wire in 3 places. Not much used this trail.
For breakfast, the casa had, for unknown reasons, not served eggs, but a solitary pancake. Pancakes are for kids who have been kind all day, not walkers! Breakfast was nine o’clock, now it was two and I was starving. Then it is the cheese of happiness smiles to me. Suddenly I’m in a banana plantation. Only problem is that the bananas were not ripe. Except on one palm tree (or what they now call these shrubs) where there were six ripe bananas. What good luck! Stolen fruit tastes best, as known.
There are several places to eat on the map in this part of the valley, but they are not open except for the one under the large tree, see picture. On the other hand, it is beautifully situated, but very close to Viñales.
Suddenly the town was filled with tractors, and one was filled with bananas. The police had blocked the main street with a car in each end while the goodies where handed out.
Casa Particular
I now live in the middle of the blue ring on the map, and the neighborhood is perfectly fine. But if you walk a little way past Calle Adela Azcuy towards the Mogote there is much more atmosphere and with a great view of the mountains. So I’m thinking of finding something there. Also, the local bar is called Casa del Mojito.
And move I did. I’ve strolled around and found the perfect spot in Calle Adela Azcuy, Casa Buena Vista. And sure, the view can not be complained about. The place has a large garden with views, and two roof terraces with even more views to the valley and the mountains. Since this is a dead end road, there is not much car traffic. In the previous place you sat in a backyard and stared at a wall. But they where great people, I even got the money back for the last two nights that I already had paid for. As I mentioned, there is a truly unique hospitality in the casas. Well it’s their livelihood, but everyone is like that.
From the roof, I can overlook Casa del Mojito, but I didn’t have to go there as the hostess came with a mojito as a welcome gift, and I was finally able to fire up the cigar.
Cigars
Speaking of cigar smoking. Top-notch brands like Cohiba and Romeo & Juliet are expensive, 7-8 CUC each for Coronas, the big ones. These are the ones you want to smoke in memory of el Comanandante, or Freud if you prefer. “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”. But you get good cigars for less money too. I bought an unknown brand, Belinda, 3 pieces for 5 CUC at the bus terminal in Havana. It took its time. There were 2 stalls selling cigars. In both, the staff was highly concentrated on clearing the stands, or discussing important internal issues. They did give me a look. I went for a walk, had plenty of time, and came back. Clearing was still more important than customers. I thought for a short time that the store wasn’t open yet, it was early in the morning, but then it struck me that Cuba may not be so unlike the former Soviet Union, that the customer is not the most important thing in the world for a state enterprise. So I raised my voice and said I would like to buy some cigars. And then I finally got attention.
Belinda was totally ok. I’m not exactly an aficionado, but I have smoked some Cohibas. In many places, no-name cigars are also sold, often from a street stall. They are probably locally produced, and since Viñales is a tobacco country, they might be perfectly fine. But stay away from fake cigars. 10 years ago I bought a box of fake Cohibaer by a tout. The box looked completely original, with stamps and seals. I was aware of the fact that they were fake, and when they didn’t cost much, I thought I could try them. But they were really bad. haven’t been offered fake cigars this time so it’s possible the business has been stopped.
