“Nature and History Community” Tour

“Nature and History Community” Tour

The community of Las Terrazas is located in the Sierra del Rosario, one of Cuba's natural fortresses, declared a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1985. Arriving at Las Terrazas is like entering the intensity of the exquisite wild places where human beings and nature merge. This is the impression given by the evergreen forests, rivers and waterfalls of crystalline waters. To enter the community is to have the certainty that beautiful places really exist and that human efforts to protect the natural environment persist.

The history of coffee cultivation, which began in the region in the 19th century, is one of the main attractions for customers at the Buenavista restaurant, built on the ruins of the coffee farm of the same name, founded by the French.

Area Values

The Community of Las Terrazas is located in the Sierra del Rosario, the first Biosphere Reserve declared for Cuba in 1985. It has a variety of geological and plant formations and a wide diversity of natural, historical and cultural resources scattered throughout its territory. It is located in the easternmost part of the Guaniguanico Mountain Range, in the Sierra del Rosario, in the province of Artemisa, sub-district of Montañas de Guaniguanico. The area occupies part of the Los Palacios Basin, which is filled by Cenozoic sediments of marine alluvial origin, a product of the erosion of the mountains located to the north, and separated from the Sierra del Rosario structural-facial zone by the Pinar del Rio fault. It presents earthy, carbonate and carbonated rocks of 7 formations, ranging in age from the Mesozoic to the recent past. There are two main geomorphological domains: the low mountains and the medium wavy high plains.

The reserve presents a high variety of ecosystems and habitats, which condition its flora and fauna. The flora is made up of 889 plant organisms, grouped into 608 upper plants (trees, shrubs and herbaceous) and 281 lower plants (fungi, mosses and lichens), with 11% endemism, although there are areas that reach up to 34%; while the fauna presents very high endemism in particular groups, such as mollusks, which can reach 40%. Amphibians and reptiles exceed 80% endemism.

These endemics of the flora are mostly of national distribution, although 17 of them represent pine species, among which the male pine (Pinus caribaea), a forest species of multiple economic interest, stands out. The endemic and monotypic Phyllomelia (Rubiacea) genus of the pine forest has only been documented worldwide for Cajálbana and Sierra del Rosario. Eleven percent of the endemics are mainly shrubs. Sierra del Rosario has several plant formations: evergreen, semi-deciduous, pine, quabales, mogote complex and secondary vegetation.

Of the fauna, the most studied groups are amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Ninety species of mollusks belonging to 26 families have been reported in different localities of 2 forest ecosystems. In general, there are 16 species of amphibians, with 81.7% of endemism, grouped in one order and 4 families. So far 33 species of reptiles have been reported, of which 27 are endemic, with 81.8% endemism, grouped in 2 orders and one suborder, belonging to 10 families. There are 117 species of birds reported, in 17 orders and 30 families, 12 of which are endemic. Among the mammals, bats stand out with 11 species, and 2 native representatives of the order Rodentia.

Itinerary

• Reception and welcome cocktail at Curujey Ranch.
• Explanation of the Las Terrazas Social Project.
• Visit to the Community Las Terrazas, walk through the Callejón de La Moka.
• Tasting of a coffee.
• Visit to the Buenavista coffee plantation, a 19th century coffee plantation.
• Visit to the Hotel Moka and lunch in one of the restaurants of the Complex according to availability.
• Time for swimming in the San Juan River.

Departures

This tour starts at Hotel Moka located in Las terraces, but it can be done from other destinations:

• Pinar del Río
• Cayo Levisa
• Viñales
• Soroa
• Hotels in Havana
• Hotels in Varadero

Details of the excursion

• Difficulty Level: Easy
• Amount of Pax: Minimum 2 Pax
• Duration: 6 hrs

Important

For this excursion, transportation with a driver is required to visit the distant points of interest.

Variants

You will be able to select the different variants:

• Collective or Private Tour
• Tour with departure from various destinations and various types of transport depending on the number of pax.