Isla de la Juventud
The Cueva de Punta del Este, a national monument 59km southeast of Nueva Gerona, has been called the 'Sistine Chapel' of Caribbean indigenous art. Long…
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Isla de la Juventud
Large, very detached and set to a slow metronome, La Isla is both historically and culturally different to the rest of the Cuban archipelago. Mass sugar and tobacco production never existed here, and until the Castro revolution, the island yielded to a greater American influence. Eclectic expat communities, which call on Cayman Island, American and Japanese ancestry, have even thrown up their own musical style, a sub-genre of Cuban son known as sucu sucu. Today the island, bereft of the foreign students that once populated its famous schools, is sleepy but extravagantly esoteric: with a prison masquerading as a museum and scuppered ships just waiting for you to dive down to – or to party in! The opportunities for getting (way) off the beaten track will appeal to divers, escape artists, adventurers and committed contrarians.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
Isla de la Juventud
This beach is the location of the National Maritime Park, accessible by a 90-minute boat ride from the marina just south of Hotel Colony. The white-sand…
Isla de la Juventud
On October 17, 1870, the teenage José Martí spent nine weeks of exile at this farm-prison before his deportation to Spain. Legend has it that the…
Isla de la Juventud
This farm has played an important part in crocodile conservation in Cuba over the last few years and the results are interesting to see. Harboring more…
Isla de la Juventud
Where have all the folk from Nueva Gerona gone? Gone to cool off in Presa El Abra, every one. On a scalding La Isla afternoon, you'd best join them. With…
Isla de la Juventud
Playa Larga is the star of La Isla's south-coast beaches, lying about 12km south of the village of Cayo Piedra. The long strip of white sand fronting a …
Isla de la Juventud
Situated 6km west of La Fe, several kilometers off the main road (look for the sign), Jungla de Jones is a 'botanical garden' containing more than 80 tree…
Isla de la Juventud
Two blocks east of Parque Guerrillero Heroico, you'll see a huge black-and-white ferry set up as a tatty memorial next to the river. This is El Pinero,…
Guidebooks
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