Jeep Tour "COFFEE ROUTE. EXPERIENCE HERITAGE AND TRADITION" (4 Days / 3 Nights)

Jeep Tour "COFFEE ROUTE. EXPERIENCE HERITAGE AND TRADITION" (4 Days / 3 Nights)

You will get an exclusive about the beginnings of the Coffee in Cuba, the first plantations, the first settlements, as well as the French influence in the culture of the east of the country. You will see the Franco-Haitian influence in the formation of our rich culture, architecture and modern gardening. You can also enjoy a landscape with a peculiar beauty where the existing microclimate, the high degree of endemism, the varieties of ferns, orchids, mosses, the fauna that surrounds it and the visual 360 degrees make it a unique attraction in its type.

A fascinating story, now a World Heritage Site, unfolds within a natural landscape located in a Biosphere Reserve, with coffee as its central theme.

Includes:

• Transportation: 4x4
• Specialized guide services
• Accommodation: Hotel Rex, La Gran Piedra, Hotel El Saltón
• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Combined ecotourism, adventure, and rural tourism activities
• Cultural and recreational activities

Program:

DAY I: The Night Before:

• Accommodation at the Islazul Rex Hotel, full board (CP).
• 6:00 PM Start of a guided walking tour to the Casa Dranguet Coffee Heritage Interpretation Center or Café Constantin for the opening of the route.
• 7:15 PM Transfer to the Matamoros Restaurant for a delicious Creole dinner.
• 8:30 PM Transfer to the Tumba Francesa La Caridad de Oriente venue, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage site, to enjoy an evening of Tumba music that invites visitors to immerse themselves in a spectacle of authentic drumming, dances, choreography, and songs from the melting pot of Cuban culture.

DAY II: Fraternidad:

• 7:15 AM Departure by jeep with a specialized guide to the town of Nueva Isabel, where the ruins of the Fraternidad hacienda are located.
• 9:30 AM Arrival at the Fraternidad coffee plantation. This restored hacienda, now a living museum, allows visitors to appreciate the architectural style of the French settlers from Saint-Domingue in the late 18th and 19th centuries, particularly their use of space for production and daily life, which fostered the current Cultural Landscape. The proximity of the Santa María del Loreto Plateau and the surrounding rural environment will provide excellent opportunities for photography.
• 10:20 AM Continue the jeep tour for 700 meters to the ruins of the Santa Paulina hacienda, observing the Fraternidad hacienda's water reservoir (a dike used by the French to store water for their agricultural processes). - In Santa Paulina, you can observe the use of terraces, adapted to the terrain, allowing for a comparison between the different construction styles of the French settlers. Time for photos and admiring the landscape of gallery forests, native vegetation, and river crossings.
• 10:45 AM Continue the jeep tour for 500 m to Llano de San Felipe, where you will begin a 1.2 km mule ride or hike to the ruins of the San Luis de Jacas coffee plantation. This settlement features a majestic hydraulic system resting on 28 segmental arches. Time for photos and enjoy the scenery.
• 11:45 AM Continue the uphill hike for approximately 1.3 km to the ruins of the San Juan de Escocia coffee plantation. Here you will have unparalleled views of the area and can observe amazing planters with low walls that recreate various geometric shapes. Time for photos and enjoy the scenery.
• 12:30 AM Begin the descent, approximately 2.5 km to Llano de San Felipe.
• 1:15 PM Return by jeep, 6.3 km to the town of La Lucía.
• 1:45 PM Enjoy a picnic lunch prepared with local products in the town of La Lucía, accompanied by local talent from the Ramón Cultural Center.
• 3:00 PM Swim in the Baconao River in the town of La Lucía. Time for rest and swimming (45 min).
• 3:45 PM Depart by jeep to Yerba de Guinea and continue 36 km to the Cristo Junction on the National Highway.
• 5:15 PM Continue towards the Gran Piedra Protected Natural Landscape. where you'll find 111 of the 171 ruins of French coffee plantations that make up the Archaeological Landscape of the first coffee plantations in southeastern Cuba, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 in the Cultural Landscape category.
• 5:40 PM Jeep ride up 14 km along the road network leading to La Gran Piedra. A stop will be made at the Juan Morales natural viewpoint located at km 11.5, which offers excellent views for landscape photography enthusiasts.
• 6:10 PM Arrival at the Gran Piedra Hotel. Warm welcome in the hotel courtyard with seasonal fruits and natural juices.
• 6:30 PM Check-in and transfer to your room.
• 7:00 PM Coffee Ritual in the hotel courtyard (45 min).
• 8:30 PM Dinner in the hotel courtyard with a themed menu and ambiance.
• 9:30 PM Recreational show organized with artistic talents from the mountain community

DAY III: Gran Piedra:

• 7:30 AM Breakfast at Hotel Villa La Gran Piedra.
• 8:15 AM Ascend via a self-guided trail consisting of 454 steps to the "Gran Piedra" Natural Lookout.
• This site is one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the area, known as "the colossus among the clouds." It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest rock of its size at an altitude in the world (1225 meters above sea level) and the third largest overall.
• Visitors can enjoy a landscape of unique beauty, where the existing microclimate, the high degree of endemism, the variety of ferns (the second site in Cuba with the greatest number of species, 330), orchids, mosses, the surrounding fauna, as well as the 360-degree view it offers, make it a one-of-a-kind attraction.
• 9:15 AM Descent will begin along the path that leads to the community.
• 9:25 AM Transfer by Jeep to the "La Isabelica" Museum, the first museum founded after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution on May 18, 1961, and a National Monument. Here you can appreciate elements of the original complex such as the manor house, the warehouse, the kitchen, the drying sheds, the mill, among others.
• 10:15 AM Visit to the ruins of the former French hacienda La Siberia, now the "Bird of Paradise" ornamental plant garden. You will see that most of the nurseries where the plants are located retain the original walls and staircases of the old hacienda.
• Depending on the time of year, agritourism activities will be offered, such as: preparing the flowerbeds, adding organic matter, planting seedlings, watering, pruning, cleaning the flowerbeds, and caring for the plants.
• 11:45 AM Return to the hotel by Jeep.
• 12:00 PM Check out.
• 1:00 PM Traditional Cuban lunch at the Villa's restaurant.
• 3:00 PM Jeep transfer (120 km) to the mountainous municipality of Tercer Frente, geographically located in the western part of Santiago de Cuba province, in the heart of the Sierra Maestra mountain range. This area is the island's largest coffee producer and is home to the Coffee Processing Plant, the Cocoa Processing Plant, and the Central Coffee and Cocoa Research Station. The journey will take you through the towns of El Cobre, Jicotea, Dos Palmas, Pilón, Las Coloradas, La Marsellesa, Candelaria, Minas de Cambute, Arroyo Rico, Cruce de los Baños, and Filé, before arriving at the Hotel El Saltón. The views along the way offer a striking contrast of mountains, rivers, farm animals, farmers, and coffee plantations on both sides of the road.
• 6:45 PM Arrival at Hotel El Saltón, a resort located in a well-preserved natural setting, near coffee plantations. Welcome cocktail and check-in.
• 8:00 PM Traditional Puerto Rican dinner.
• 9:00 PM Enjoy the "Guateque Campesino" show, featuring artistic talent from the community's House of Culture, linked to the Mascafé Project.

DAY VI: III Frente:

• 7:00 AM “Sunrise in the Countryside” Visit to the “Las Delicias del Saltón” farm, located 500 m from the hotel (20 min), to enjoy the daily life of a coffee farmer.
• 7:30 AM Coffee breakfast with farmer Juan Manuel Ruiz and his family, featuring food from their own production. Visitors will exchange experiences and insights into rural life, allowing them to immerse themselves in the local way of life.
• 8:30 AM Visit to a coffee plantation, located 150 m from the house.
• Observe, learn, and participate in different activities depending on the stage of the coffee production process, such as cleaning, manual pruning, fertilization, and harvesting.
• You will also participate in the farmer's daily tasks, such as feeding poultry, milking cattle, and tending to other crops like root vegetables and other vegetables.
• 10:00 AM Swim in the river.
• 10:45 AM Return to the Hotel
• 11:45 AM Return to the Hotel and Check-out.
• 1:00 PM Traditional Venezuelan Lunch at Hotel Villa El Saltón.
• 2:30 PM Transfer by Jeep to the Mario Muñoz Monroy Third Front Martyrs Mausoleum, where a guided tour will provide visitors with information about the site. Time for photos.
• Return to the City and End of the Tour.