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Museo Nacional Camilo Cienfuegos
This excellent museum was opened in 1989 and is eerily reminiscent of the Che Guevara monument in Santa Clara. Camilo fought a crucial battle in this town…
Mark Read
Sancti Spíritus Province
This small but well-endowed province is Cuba at its loveliest, also guarding a precious chunk of the country's fantastical historical legacy. Sancti Spíritus Province boasts nature worth exploring. The best on Cuba’s underwhelming south coast, Playa Ancón is a stunner. And then there are mountains. Outside Trinidad, the haunting Escambray offers outstanding hiking on a network of picturesque trails.
A postcard come alive, Trinidad is one of the most intact colonial towns in the Americas, with red-tile roofs, cobblestone streets and pastel houses with castle-sized colonial doors. Its underdog rival, the city of Sancti Spíritus offers a more intangible, crumbling allure. In 2014, both celebrated their 500th anniversaries to much fanfare and an invigorated shine on their finest architecture.
But there's even more: a surprisingly varied cache of oft-overlooked curiosities, including lightly trodden eco-parks, a seminal museum dedicated to guerrilla icon Camilo Cienfuegos, and the Unesco-protected Bahía de Buenavista.
Explore Sancti Spíritus Province
- MMuseo Nacional Camilo Cienfuegos
This excellent museum was opened in 1989 and is eerily reminiscent of the Che Guevara monument in Santa Clara. Camilo fought a crucial battle in this town…
- Museo Histórico Municipal
Just off Plaza Mayor, this grandiose mansion, Trinidad's main museum, belonged to the Borrell family from 1827 to 1830. Later it passed to a German…
- JJobo Rosado
This 40-sq-km managed-resource area is still little-explored by independent travelers, although organized groups come here. Organize guided hikes through…
- CCasa de la Guayabera
The favored uniform of South American strongman presidents and blushing grooms at Mexican beach weddings, the guayabera shirt was purportedly 'invented'…
- PPuente Yayabo
Looking like something out of an English country village, this quintuple-arched bridge is Sancti Spíritus' signature sight. Built by the Spanish in 1815,…
- SSan Isidro de los Destiladeros
After lengthy excavations, the ruins of this once grand sugar mill are accessible to the public. Dating from the early 1830s and sophisticated for its…
- MMirador de la Loma del Puerto
Six kilometers east of Trinidad on the road to Sancti Spíritus, this 192m-high lookout provides the best eagle-eye view of the valley with – if you're…
- PPlaza Mayor
Trinidad's remarkably peaceful main square is located in the heart of the casco histórico and is the town's most photographed spot.
- PParque Serafín Sánchez
While not Cuba's shadiest or most atmospheric square, pretty Serafín Sánchez is full of understated Sancti Spíritus elegance. Metal chairs laid out inside…
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Sancti Spíritus Province.
See
Museo Nacional Camilo Cienfuegos
This excellent museum was opened in 1989 and is eerily reminiscent of the Che Guevara monument in Santa Clara. Camilo fought a crucial battle in this town…
See
Museo Histórico Municipal
Just off Plaza Mayor, this grandiose mansion, Trinidad's main museum, belonged to the Borrell family from 1827 to 1830. Later it passed to a German…
See
Jobo Rosado
This 40-sq-km managed-resource area is still little-explored by independent travelers, although organized groups come here. Organize guided hikes through…
See
Casa de la Guayabera
The favored uniform of South American strongman presidents and blushing grooms at Mexican beach weddings, the guayabera shirt was purportedly 'invented'…
See
Puente Yayabo
Looking like something out of an English country village, this quintuple-arched bridge is Sancti Spíritus' signature sight. Built by the Spanish in 1815,…
See
San Isidro de los Destiladeros
After lengthy excavations, the ruins of this once grand sugar mill are accessible to the public. Dating from the early 1830s and sophisticated for its…
See
Mirador de la Loma del Puerto
Six kilometers east of Trinidad on the road to Sancti Spíritus, this 192m-high lookout provides the best eagle-eye view of the valley with – if you're…
See
Plaza Mayor
Trinidad's remarkably peaceful main square is located in the heart of the casco histórico and is the town's most photographed spot.
See
Parque Serafín Sánchez
While not Cuba's shadiest or most atmospheric square, pretty Serafín Sánchez is full of understated Sancti Spíritus elegance. Metal chairs laid out inside…
Guidebooks
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