Jeep Safari “NATURE TOUR BIRDWATCHING ON THE BERMEJAS TRAIL”

Jeep Safari “NATURE TOUR BIRDWATCHING ON THE BERMEJAS TRAIL”

We offer a diverse selection for panoramic tours of the most significant sites in Cuban history, culture and contemporary life. So this is a treat for those seeking some vacation adventures on their Cuba holiday tour.

This tour lets you know the Cienaga de Zapata National Park, declared by UNESCO in 2000 Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar site. This is an important birdwatching area and the largest and best preserved wetland of Cuba, and one of the largest in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Attractive and exclusive Jeep Safari tour, which will have the opportunity to make a tour mixing adventure and enjoyment of nature, knowing the natural historical values of Matanzas southern coast, the incredible beauty of the seabed to do a snorkeling in the coral reef in the protected area of Península de Zapata:

PROGRAM:

• Pick up at the hotel in jeeps.
• Transfer to the Zapata Swamp area.
• Visit to the Bermejas trail.
• Bird watching in the channels of the "Salinas de Brito" area.
• Main species to observe: Aquatic birds, migratory the great majority (Flamingos, spoonbills, ivis, herons, etc.).
• Snorkeling, lunch and open bar at Punta Perdiz.
• Visit to the farm "Fiesta Campesina" and tour of the facility.
• Return to Varadero.

Values of the Area:¨The Bermejas Wildlife Refuge¨

The Bermejas Wildlife Refuge is located in the eastern part of the Peninsula de Zapata Protected Area of Managed Resources and Biosphere Reserve, north of the town of Bermejas. Access is via the road from Playa Girón to San Blas and other secondary roads that reach the limits of the area. It consists of a substrate of carbonate rocks formed in the Neogene period of the Quaternary, from the Jaimanitas formation. It is a low, flat, gently sloping, karst, internally fractured sea plain with some evidence of marine terraces and karst formations covered or semi-covered by peat and clay thicknesses.

The vegetation is characterized by semi-deciduous forests with fluctuating humidity and elements of sub-perennial forests in more humid areas, although marshland, savannah vegetation and intermittent lagoon vegetation are also found. Some of its endemic species are Heterosavia laurifoliayjicarita (Casasia calophylla). The soplillo (Lysiloma latisiliqua), jucaro (Bucida sp.) and palms (Sabal sp. and Roystonea regia) also predominate. It has been established that the natural resources prioritized for conservation are: the forest - lake habitat as a whole and, at a specific level, the Yamaquey species (Belahiria mucronata) and the rooster's egg (Tabernaemontana citrifolia).

There are 11 species of ants, including the biting and fleeing ant (Pseudomyrmex pazosi), which is endemic to our country, and others like the fire ant (Solenopsis geminata) and the santanica ant (Wasmannia auropunctata). Nine species of dragonflies are also reported, with a high density of populations of the species Erythrodiplax umbrata; five species of terrestrial mollusks, with one endemic species, Eurycampta supertexta.

Among the endemic amphibians we find the Eleutherodactylus riparius. The record of bufo (Bufo empusa) dates from the 19th century (Gundlach, 1880), and the Bufofustiger is also observed.

Bermejas has 19 of the 24 endemic bird species present in the ecoregion. In only 1 ha, it is possible to visualize 16 of the 19 endemic species. Among the endemic nesting birds are banana siskin (Glaucidium sijú), cotto siskin (Gymnoglaux lawrencii), churro woodpecker (Colaptes fernandinae), green woodpecker (Xiphiodiopicus percussus), parrot (Amazona leucocephala), catfish (Aratinga euops), tocororo (Priotelus temnurus), partridge pigeon (Starnoenas cyanocephala), camao (Geotrygon caniceps) and longtailed hawk (Accipiter gundlachi).

The native mammals of Bermeja are represented by the orders Rodentia and Chiroptera. The presence of representatives of the order Artiodactyla is also reported. The conga hutia (Capromys pilorides) and lacarabalí (Mysateles prehensilis), less abundant in the area. Five bat species live there. Due to the scarcity of karst in the site, most species seek daytime rest in the foliage of the palms or in holes opened in the palms by woodpeckers.