Sights in Caribbean Islands
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Dunn's River Falls
Widely held to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world, these famous falls, on the A3, 3km west of town, are Jamaica’s top-grossing tourist attraction. As long as you’re not expecting a peaceful communion with nature, a morning here can be an enjoyable and invigorating experience. Join hands in a daisy chain at the bottom and clamber up the tiers of limestone that stairstep 180m down to the beach in a series of cascades and pools. The water is refreshingly cool and the falls are shaded by a tall rain forest and a number of magnificent tree specimens. Today, the place seems more like a man-made theme park than a natural wonder. The St Ann Development Company s…
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Bahía Mosquito
Locals claim that Bahía Mosquito, a designated wildlife preserve, has the highest concentration of phosphorescent dynoflagellates not only in Puerto Rico, but in the world. Indeed, it's also known as Bioluminescent Bay - and it's magnificent. A trip through the lagoon is nothing short of psychedelic, with hundreds of fish whipping up bright-green sparkles below the surface as your kayak or electric boat passes by, but the best part is when you stop to swim: it's like bathing in the stars.
Don't ever accept a ride in a motorized boat - the engine pollution kills the organisms that create phosphorescence. You can just drive east on the rough Sun Bay road (you'd better hav…
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Las Cabezas de San Juan Reserva Natural ‘El Faro’
A 316-acre nodule of land on Puerto Rico’s extreme northeast tip, the Las Cabezas de San Juan Reserva Natural ‘El Faro’ protects an historic lighthouse, a bioluminescent bay, rare flora and fauna, lush rainforest, various trails and boardwalks, and an important scientific research center. Despite its diminutive size, the reserve shelters seven – yes seven – different ecological systems, including beaches, lagoons, dry forest, coral reefs and mangroves. Animal species that forage here include big iguanas, fiddler crabs, myriad insects and all kinds of birds. Such condensed biodiversity is typical of Puerto Rico’s compact island status and ‘Las Cabezas’ is highligh…
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Club Habana
This fabulously eclectic mansion in Flores dating from 1928 once housed the Havana Biltmore Yacht & Country Club. In the 1950s the establishment gained brief notoriety when it famously denied entry to Cuban president Fulgencio Batista on the grounds that he was ‘black’ (Batista was in fact of mixed blood with a black mother and a part-Chinese father). Castro had better luck when he dropped by for dinner some 30 years later and the club remains one of the few places where he has dined in public. These days the history of the establishment seems to have swung full circle and it is again a popular hangout for foreign correspondents and diplomats. The club has its own beach, …
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Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás
One of Havana’s oldest and most famous cigar factories, the landmark neoclassical Real Fábrica de Tabacos Partagás was founded in 1845 by a Spaniard named Jaime Partagás. Today some 400 workers toil for up to 12 hours a day in here rolling such famous cigars as Montecristos and Cohibas. As far as tours go, Partagás is the most popular and reliable factory to visit. Tour groups check out the ground floor first, where the leaves are unbundled and sorted, before proceeding to the upper floors to watch the tobacco get rolled, pressed, adorned with a band and boxed. Though interesting in an educational sense, the tours here are often rushed and a little robotic and some vi…
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Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park
The rambling 18th-century compound known in its day as the 'Gibraltar of the West Indies' was once a major British garrison until it was abandoned in 1850. A major restoration was undertaken in the 1960s and much of the fortress has been returned to its earlier grandeur.
The main hilltop compound, the Citadel, is lined with 24 cannons and provides excellent views of St Eustatius and Sandy Point Town. Inside the Citadel's old barrack rooms are museum displays on colonial history that feature cannonballs, swords and other period odds and ends. There's also a small collection of Amerindian adzes, a few pottery fragments and a rubbing of the Carib petroglyphs in Old Road Town…
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Parque Almendares
Running along the banks of the Río Almendares below the bridge on Calle 23 (La Rampa), this wonderful oasis of greenery and negative-air ions in the heart of chaotic Habana is sometimes referred to as the lungs of the city. The park was restored in 2003 and a beautiful job has been done: benches line the river promenade, plants grow profusely in the shade and there are many facilities here, including an antiquated miniature golf course, the Anfiteatro Parque Almendares and a children’s playground. There are also several good places to eat. Take a 20-minute stroll through old-growth trees in the Bosque de la Habana and you’ll feel transported (take a friend, though: thi…
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Parc National Historique La Citadelle
It took Henri Christophe 15 years to build this vast mountaintop fortress, constructed to combat another invasion by the French. The astounding structure, with its shiplike appearance, is balanced on top of the 900m (2952ft) Pic la Ferrière and overlooks Cap-Haïtien, the northern plain and routes leading to the south.
The fortress was completed in 1820, having employed up to 20,000 people, many of whom died during the arduous task. With 4m/13ft-thick walls that reach heights of 40m (131ft), the fortress was impenetrable. It held enough supplies to sustain the royal family and a garrison of 5000 troops for a year. It still contains over 100 cannons and an arsenal of 50,0…
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Washington-Slagbaai National Park
Covering the northwest portion of the island and comprising almost 20% of the land, Washington-Slagbaai National Park is a great place to explore. Roads are rough and all-but-impassable after a rain, but are well worth the effort. The terrain is mostly tropical desert, and there is a proliferation of cacti and birds. Entrance is about 5km (3mi) from Rincon.
Look for flamingos in the lowlands and parrots perched on shrubs near Pos di Mangel. Large bright green iguanas are just one of the many reptile species you might spot. You'll also see lingering evidence of the aloe plantation and goat ranch that used to be here - don't run over any wild descendants of the latter.
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Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña
An 18th-century colossus, the FortalezadeSan Carlosde la Cabaña was built between 1763 and 1774 on a long, exposed ridge on the east side of Havana harbor to fill a weakness in the city’s defenses. In 1762 the British had taken Havana by gaining control of this strategically important ridge and it was from here that they shelled the city mercilessly into submission. In order to prevent a repeat performance, the Spanish King Carlos III ordered the construction of a massive fort that would repel future invaders. Measuring 700m from end to end and covering a whopping 10 hectares, it is the largest Spanish colonial fortress in the Americas.
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Sunbury Plantation House
Built between 1660 and 1670, the handsome Sunbury Plantation House was painstakingly restored after a 1995 fire. The house has 2ft-thick (60cm) walls built of local coral blocks and ballast stones, the latter from the ships that set sail from England to pick up Barbadian sugar.
The interior retains its plantation-era ambience and is furnished in antiques, many made from Barbadian mahogany. In the area behind the house is a collection of horse-drawn carriages. Tours are given by guides well versed in local history. Have lunch or tea at the Courtyard restaurant, or a five-course dinner served on Sunbury's 200-year-old mahogany dining table.
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Museum of Nevis History
The Museum of Nevis History occupies a Georgian-style building at the site where American statesman Alexander Hamilton was born in 1757 (the original home was toppled by an earthquake in the mid-1800s). This pleasant little museum has period photos with interpretive captions and other bits and pieces of Nevis culture and history.
The Nevis Historical and Conservation Society, custodians of this museum, also run the excellent Horatio Nelson Museum just south of Charlestown. It is home to the largest collection of the Admiral's treasures in the Americas and well worth a visit.
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Ardastra Gardens, Zoo & Conservation Park
The well-stocked Ardastra Gardens, Zoo & Conservation Park has a few placid iguanas and around 50 species of animals, birds and reptiles from around the world. Indigenous species of flora and fauna include hutias (similar to guinea pigs), snakes and the endangered Bahama parrot, which is bred in captivity here.
The zoo also has a large collection of non-native species, including monkeys and caimans, and sleek cats such as jaguars and ocelots. The undisputed highlight, however, is the small army of West Indian flamingos trained to strut their stuff on voice command.
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Marché de Fer
Several of Haiti’s cities have Iron Markets, but the original and best is in central Port-au-Prince. The Marché de Fer is an exuberant and exotic red-metal structure dating from 1889, which looks more akin to something from the Arabian Nights than tropical Haiti. In fact, it was originally destined to be the main hall of Cairo train station (hence its minarets), but when the sale from the Parisian manufacturers fell through, President Florvil Hyppolite snapped it up as part of his plan to modernize Port-au-Prince.
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Musée du Panthéon National
The Musée du Panthéon National is a modern, mostly subterranean museum set in its own gardens. Its unusual design echoes the houses of Haiti’s original Taíno inhabitants, a motif repeated by the conical central ‘well’ bringing light to illuminate the gold monument recreating the cannons and banners found on the national flag. The bodies of Toussaint Louverture, Dessalines, Christophe and Pétion are interred below, and the names of further heroes of the independence struggle marked on the surrounding walls.
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Artisan Market
If art and history are your thing you've come to the wrong place. Varadero's reputation as a font of cultural interaction is not exactly legendary. Nevertheless there are a few sights worth pondering over if the beach banality starts to wear a bit thin.
The Parque Central and adjacent Parque de las 8000 Taquillas host the biggest Artisan Market in town and nestled among the uva caleta (sea grape) trees it's a pretty part of the public beach.
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Puerto Seco Beach
The eastern side of the bay is rimmed with white-sand beaches. With its soft sand and limpid waters, Puerto Seco Beach, in the center of town, is a real charmer. Open to the public, it sports rustic eateries and bars and a fun park with a waterslide for kids not interested in sun-tanning. On weekends and holidays the beach is teeming, but during the week the place is often deserted. You can rent fishing boats, sea bikes and jet skis.
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Bassins Bleu
The Bassins Bleu are three cobalt-blue pools joined by spectacular cascades. Dissolved minerals give the falls their distinctive colour. According to legend, water nymphs live in the grottos and sun themselves on a rock in Palm Lake, but disappear at the sound of mortal footsteps. Given the number of mortals hanging around, you probably won't see them.
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Pirates of Nassau Museum
This world-class interactive museum offers walk-through entertainment, with realistic recreations of pirate life including a twilight quayside, replete with all the sounds of the era, and a cutaway of the pirate ship Revenge. You can sup at the Pirate's Bar, and there's a well-stocked gift store to plunder.
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Playa Caña Gorda
Playa Caña Gorda is the balneario adjacent to the southern edge of the dry forest on Hwy 333 and where the locals come to grill fresh fish, play volleyball and lie around in the shade. The modern facilities are the most developed in the area, including a small shop with cold soda and sunblock.
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Turtle River Park
Near Island Village on Main St, this welcome new green space in the middle of downtown represents a positive new trend in Jamaica’s approach to urban development. The lushly gardened park with manicured lawns also provides a zone free from the hustle of the main drag.
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Iglesia de Santo Tomás
North of the historic center, Santiago de Cuba turns residential. Tracking up Calle Felix Peña, you can orientate yourself by the baroque bell tower of Iglesia de Santo Tomás, one in a trio of notable, if dilapidated, 18th-century churches in this neighborhood.
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Water Tower
The Water Tower behind tiny Fort Fincastle was erected in 1928 to maintain water pressure on the island. It is 126ft (38.5m) tall and provides a marvellous panoramic view of Nassau. You can walk up the narrow, winding staircase - there are 216 steps (or take the elevator).
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Bahamas Historical Society Museum
The Bahamas Historical Society Museum has a modest miscellany of artifacts and documents tracing the islands' history from Lucayan times to the contemporary era. It's worth the admission merely to admire the beautiful model of the Spanish galleon Santa Luceno.
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Museo de la Lucha Clandestina
This gorgeous colonial-style building houses the Museo de la Lucha Clandestina, detailing the underground struggle against Batista in the 1950s. It’s a fascinating, if macabre, story enhanced by far-reaching views from the balcony.
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