Isla De La JuventudSights

Sights in Isla De La Juventud

  1. Sierra de Las Casas

    It's possible to climb the Sierra de Las Casas from the west end of Calle 22. A few hundred meters along a dirt track, you will see a trail on the left toward the hills. At the very foot of the hill is a deep cave with a concrete stairway leading down to the local swimming hole. The trail beyond this is fairly obvious, but mark your way mentally so you can return without a worry. A stone on the mountaintop is inscribed 'pilot's seat', and from here you can see most of the north of the island.

    reviewed

  2. A

    Planetario y Museo de Historia Natural

    Astronomers and botanists needn’t get too excited about the Planetario y Museo de Historia Natural. This two-in-one museum/planetarium showcases the natural history, geology and archaeology of the island. There’s a replica of the Cueva Punta del Este cave paintings here if you can’t make it out there and an often out-of-order telescope. Ask a guard and you might get lucky.

    reviewed

  3. Museo Finca el Abra

    This museum is 3km southwest of Nueva Gerona, off the road to La Demajagua (the continuation of Calle 41). Coming from Motel El Rancho El Tesoro, go southwest a few hundred meters on a dirt road to another highway. Turn right and cross a bridge over the Río Las Casas. At the next junction, turn right again and you’ll soon come to a sign indicating the access road to Finca El Abra.

    reviewed

  4. B

    Museo de la Lucha Clandestina

    As fascinating as a dusty Beatles bootleg, the Museo de la Lucha Clandestina is stuffed with rarely seen artifacts of the revolutionary struggle against Batista. There are reams of letters written by the imprisoned Castro and others, timeworn M-26-7 regalia, and some revealing prison photos of the young Fidel and his band of merry Moncadistas hanging out in the Presidio Modelo, c 1954.

    reviewed

  5. C

    El Pinero

    On Calle 28, you’ll see a huge ferry painted black and white and set up as a memorial next to the river. This is El Pinero, the original boat used to ferry passengers between La Isla and the main island from the 1920s until 1974. On May 15, 1955, Castro and the other prisoners released from Moncada returned to the main island on El Pinero.

    reviewed

  6. D

    Nuestra Señora de los Dolores

    On the northwest side of Parque Central is the church of Nuestra Señorade los Dolores. This Mexican colonial- style church was built in 1926, after the original was destroyed by a hurricane. In 1957 the parish priest, Guillermo Sardiñas, left Nueva Gerona to join Fidel Castro in the Sierra Maestra, the only Cuban priest to do so.

    reviewed

  7. E

    Museo Municipal

    The Museo Municipal is in the former Casa de Gobierno (1853). It houses a small historical collection with assorted pirate tidbits mixed in with the usual bones and birds.

    reviewed