Sugary white sand and turquoise water.Lush tropical trees stretching back into a wide mountain range. When Christopher Columbus swung his ships into the arced bay of Cuba’s eastern end in 1492, a view nearly identical to this one likely greeted him. “I was so astonished by the sight of so much beauty that I can find no words to describe it, Columbus wrote to his royal Spanish patrons. “It was so enchantingly beautiful that it surpasses all others in charm and beauty.” Fast-forward more than 520 years, and surprisingly, this area’s allure hasn’t diminished, nor has the coastline changed much from what Columbus originally observed. In this forgotten corner of the island, you won’t find big resorts or even much tourism at all
The Island of Cuba with a surface of 110,000 km², is the biggest of the islands in the Cuban archipelago. Isle of Youth is the second largest with a surface of 2200 km². Cuba, also called the key to the Gulf, is the largest island of the West Indies and one of the largest in the world.
With a fantastic natural beauty, Cuba has more than 300 natural beaches of fine white sand and crystal clear waters, three mountain ranges, two long regions of savannah and numerous valleys. Some of the valleys, like Viñales, Yumurí and Los Ingenios, are known worldwide due to their natural beauty or rich history. Small waterfalls and cascades, like Salto del Caburni at Escambray mountain range, keep charming nature lovers.
Most of the Cuban territory is composed by fertile plains, which cover 60% of the surface and isolate the mountain groups which embrace 25% of the total surface. The highest mountain is called Pico Turquino with 1972 meters over the sea level, and is located in the east part of the island in the Sierra Maestra range of mountains.