Mark Read

Viñales

When Pinar del Río's greenery starts to erupt into craggy mogotes (limestone monoliths) and you spy a cigar-chewing guajiro driving his oxen and plough through a rust-colored tobacco field, you know you've arrived in Viñales. Despite its longstanding love affair with tourism, this slow, relaxed, wonderfully traditional settlement is a place that steadfastly refuses to put on a show. What you see here is what you get – an agricultural town where front doors are left wide open, everyone knows everyone else, and a night out on the tiles involves sitting on a sillón (rocking chair) on a rustic porch analyzing the Milky Way.

Attractions

Must-see attractions for your itinerary

El Jardín Botanico de las Hermanas Caridad y Carmen Miranda
Viñales
Just opposite the Servi-Cupet gas station as Cisneros swings north out of town, you'll spot an outlandish, vine-choked gate beckoning you in. This is the…
Finca Agroecológica El Olivo
Viñales
Go directly to the source. Viñales' celebrated farm-to-table restaurant, Olivo, gets most of its ingredients from this farm in nearby Valle del Silencio…
Finca Raúl Reyes
Viñales
Finca Raúl Reyes, 1km north of the town center, is a tobacco plantation where you can enjoy fruit, coffee, puros (cigars) and a dose of throat-warming rum…
La Casa del Veguero
Viñales
To learn about the local tobacco-growing process, stop by this tobacco plantation just outside Viñales on the road south to Pinar del Río and see a fully…
Museo Municipal
Viñales
Positioned halfway down Cisneros, Viñales' pine-lined main street, the Museo Municipal occupies the former home of independence heroine Adela Azcuy (1861…
Gallería de Arte
Viñales
A tiny art gallery next to the Casa de la Cultura in Viñales town center. Worth a stop on a rainy day!
Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús
Viñales
This small cream-colored church anchors Viñales' equally diminutive main square.
Casa de la Cultura
Viñales
The sturdy building with its noble arches on the main square is the Casa de la Cultura, one of the oldest structures in town. Dancing lessons are held…