The most moving ruins in Las Terrazas are about 1.5km up the hill from the Puerta las Delicias eastern gate, and accessible by road. Cafetal Buenavista is…
John Elk III / Getty Images
Las Terrazas
The pioneering ecovillage of Las Terrazas dates back to a reforestation project in 1968. Today it’s a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, a burgeoning activity center (with a canopy tour) and the site of the earliest coffee plantations in Cuba. Not surprisingly, it attracts day-trippers from Havana by the busload.
Over-nighters can stay in the community’s sole hotel, the mold-breaking Hotel Moka, an upmarket ecoresort built between 1992 and 1994 by workers drawn from Las Terrazas to attract foreign tourists. Close by, in the picturesque whitewashed village that overlooks a small lake, there’s a vibrant art community with open studios, woodwork and pottery workshops. But the region’s biggest attraction is its verdant natural surroundings, which are ideal for hiking, relaxing and birdwatching.
Explore Las Terrazas
- CCafetal Buenavista
The most moving ruins in Las Terrazas are about 1.5km up the hill from the Puerta las Delicias eastern gate, and accessible by road. Cafetal Buenavista is…
- CCasa-Museo Polo Montañez
The former lakeside house of local musician Polo Montañez, regarded as one of Cuba’s finest-ever folk singers, is now a small museum containing various…
- SSan Pedro & Santa Catalina
These ruins of a 19th-century coffee estate are down a branch road at La Cañada del Infierno (Trail to Hell), midway between the Hotel Moka access road…
- HHacienda Unión
About 3.5km west of the Hotel Moka access road, the Hacienda Unión is a partially reconstructed coffee-estate ruin that features a country-style…
- LLa Plaza
In the middle of Las Terrazas village at the top of a large knoll, this mini-mall encompasses a cinema, a cafe, a library and a small ecomuseum that gives…
- GGalería de Lester Campa
Several well-known Cuban artists are based at Las Terrazas, including Lester Campa, whose work has been exhibited internationally. Pop into his lakeside…
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Las Terrazas.
See
Cafetal Buenavista
The most moving ruins in Las Terrazas are about 1.5km up the hill from the Puerta las Delicias eastern gate, and accessible by road. Cafetal Buenavista is…
See
Casa-Museo Polo Montañez
The former lakeside house of local musician Polo Montañez, regarded as one of Cuba’s finest-ever folk singers, is now a small museum containing various…
See
San Pedro & Santa Catalina
These ruins of a 19th-century coffee estate are down a branch road at La Cañada del Infierno (Trail to Hell), midway between the Hotel Moka access road…
See
Hacienda Unión
About 3.5km west of the Hotel Moka access road, the Hacienda Unión is a partially reconstructed coffee-estate ruin that features a country-style…
See
La Plaza
In the middle of Las Terrazas village at the top of a large knoll, this mini-mall encompasses a cinema, a cafe, a library and a small ecomuseum that gives…
See
Galería de Lester Campa
Several well-known Cuban artists are based at Las Terrazas, including Lester Campa, whose work has been exhibited internationally. Pop into his lakeside…
Guidebooks
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