 San Pedro de la Roca castle (Photo: Wikipedia) |
Granma province, 675 km east of Havana, witnessed key events in Cuba’s history. With 4 out of 9 of Cuba’s cultural heritages, Granma promises to become a popular tourist destination. Bayamo, the second town established by the Spanish in Cuba, is considered the cradle of the island nation. Cuba’s national anthem was written and first sung in Bayamo.
On October 10, 1868, Bayamo became the birthplace of Cuba’s fight for independence from the Spanish colonialists. Visitors to Granma should not miss the Sierra Maestra Mountains, especially Turquino Mountain, at 1974 meters the highest peak in Cuba. Local authorities are drafting a development master plan for Granma, in which two tourist routes relating to Ernesto “Che” Guevara, a leader of the Cuban revolution, and national hero Jose Marti, will be combined in a project called “Revolutionary itineraries”.
Another famous tourist site is the ancient town of Havana which is well-known for administrative, military, and cultural works built 400 years ago.
 Trinidad (Photo: Dieter Mueller) |
Trinidad town was founded in the early 16th century and named by Christopher Columbus to honor the Holy Trinity. Many buildings here were built in the 18th or 19th century.
 National park Desembarco del Granma(Photo: Ray Osorio) |
The national park Desembarco del Granma is named after a boat that carried Fidel Castro, his brother Raul, Che Guevara, and 79 other revolutionaries from Mexico to Cuba in 1956. The park, with its beautiful beach, cliffs, and waterfalls, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1999.
Located 10km from Santiago de Cuba, San Pedro de la Roca castle is a popular tourist destination. It was built to defend the port city of Santiago on an architectural plan based on Italian Renaissance principles.
Statistics from Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism indicate that 4 million foreign visitors came to Cuba last year, up 14.5% from the previous year. That number should reach 4.2 million this year.