Pinar del Río (Pinar del Río) is the capital of the province of the same name and is located 162 km from Havana .The city, formed in 1774 by the captain of the Spanish army, became one of the last settlements in Cuba, founded by the Spaniards .In 1896, Captain Antonio Maceo brought to Pinar del Río a second war of independence in an attempt to divide the island into two parts, as a result of which the city got a boost to the development of .After the 1959 revolution, the economic state of Pinar del Río improved, facilitated by the construction of a national highway from Havana and the flourishing of the tourist industry in the 1980s .Today Pinar del Rio is located in the main tobacco growing region and is the center of the cigar industry .
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How to get to Pinar del Rio
From the railway station of Pinar del Rio, daily trains to Havana (7.5 convertible Cuban pesos (CUC), 30 min, departure at 8:45), and also to Guan (2 CUC, 2 h, departure at 7:18 and 18:30) with a stop in Sabalo.
Search airfares to Havana (nearest a / p to Pinar del Rio)
By bus
Víazul buses operate daily from Pinar del Rio to Viñales (cost 6 CUC, departure time 11:30 and 16:30) and Havana (11 CUC, 8:50 and 14:50). At 7:30 in Pinar del Rio, the buses stopping at Maria-la-Gorda (María la Gorda) stop at 18:30, following the way back. Buses to Havana, following through Soroa, stop at Pinar del Río at 8:30.
By boat
To get to the island of Cayo Levisa (Cayo Levisa), you should take the bus to the bay Bahía Honda via Viñales. You need to get off at Mirian, 4 km from Palma Rubia, from where boats leave for the island, but you'll have to spend the night at the station.
The fare is indicated for May 2011.
Climate
Partly cloudy, thunderstorms +26 ° С in the afternoon +24 ° С at night ° С water |
Partly cloudy, light rain +25 ° С in the afternoon +23 ° С at night ° С water |
Clearly +25 ° С in the afternoon +23 ° С at night ° С water |
| Weather forecast in Pinar del Río for 10 days | ||
Transport
Rent-a-car offices Micar, Transtur and Havanautos are located in several hotels in Pinar del Rio and offer a decent choice of cars. And in Transtur you can also moped and rent for 24 CUC per day.
Bicycle taxis around the city will cost 5 pesos.
Kitchen
Restaurant Paladar El Mesón on Martí Este No 205 specializes in Caribbean dishes. Seafood is prepared in the Paladar Nuestra Casa restaurant at Colón Sur No 161, where they serve "filete Canciller", a fish stuffed with ham and cheese. And in the center of the city, on Martí Este No 52, there is another restaurant specializing in seafood - El Marino.
Entertainment, Excursions and Attractions Pinar Del Rio
In Pinar del Rio, visit the tobacco factory of Francis de Tabacos Francisco Donatien, whose building until 1961 served as a prison, or go on a tour of the factory Fábrica de Bebidas Casa Garay, where a secret recipe makes brandy from guava. The factory is located at Isabel Rubio Sur No 189, the entrance fee is 1 CUC, the schedule is from 9:00 to 15:30 on weekdays and from 9:00 to 12:30 on Saturdays.
A stone's throw from the tobacco factory in Plaza de la Independencia is the best gallery in Pinar del Río with a collection of local artists. The gallery is open from 8:00 to 21:00 from Monday to Saturday.
The Museum of Natural Sciences Museo de Ciencias Naturales Sandalio de Noda is housed in a Moorish mansion built in the Neo-Gothic style by the local physician and traveler Francisco Guasch. In the museum you can see everything from a tyrannosaur to a stuffed giraffe. The entrance fee is 1 CUC, the museum is open from 9:00 to 18:00 from Monday to Saturday and from 9:00 to 13:00 on Sundays.
And in the historical museum of Museo Provincial de Historia collections of objects from pre-Columbian times to the present day are collected.
Neighborhoods Pinar del Rio
30 km north of the city in the Sierra de los Organos, the valley is located Vinales (Valle de Viñales), is notable for the so-called "Mogote" - steep hills with flat peaks reaching 400 m, which is already over 160 million years old .In the surrounding mountains there are many caves - Cueva del Indio, Cueva de José Miguel and Cueva de Santo Tomas, considered one of the largest in Latin America..In the valley lies the camp of the runaway slaves of Palenque de los Cimarrones, the botanical garden of Casa de Caridad, and near Valle de Viñales there is the giant "Prehistoric fresco" (Mural de la Prehistoria) by artist Leovihildo Gonzalez with people and animals depicted on a cliff top with a height of 120 m .
From Pinar del Rio, you can make an excursion to the town of Soroa, whose natural landscape offers mountain biking and mountaineering .In the city flows the Manantiales River (Manantiales) and there are unique baths, the so-called "pools of love" - Poza del Amor .This region is the natural habitat of the smallest frogs in the world..Here live about 80 species of birds, many of which are endemic, in particular, tocororo, which is considered the national bird of Cuba .In Soroa there is an orchid garden Orquideario de Soroa, where there are more than hundreds of varieties of these flowers .The orchid garden is located in the mountains of the Sierra del Rosario and is a biosphere reserve .On the high hill in Soroa is the "Cloud Palace" Castillo Las Nubes, built in 1867 .Andalusian Don Pedro .Since 1967 .in the palace there is a restaurant open for visitors from 8:00 to 16:00 .
And in the community of Las Terrazas, UNESCO proclaimed the first ecological reserve in Cuba, the ruins of a French coffee plantation of the 19th century.
Diving in Pinar del Rio
The island of Cayo Levis, part of the Los Colorados archipelago, is located on the northwest coast of Cuba and is considered a popular dive site. The island is surrounded by huge coral formations, where jellyfish, parrot fish, algae live, and also there are sea wolves, Cuban carp and some crustaceans. One of the best dive sites here - La Corona de San Carlos.
In the westernmost point of Cuba - Maria la Gorda, on the Guanaahabibes peninsula (Guanahacabibes) is an international diving center. Since this place is historically connected with pirates, ancient anchors and ship cannons are found everywhere in this area. Black corals grow here, barracudas, marine lawyers come across among the inhabitants.
Events
Baseball matches take place at the Estadio Capitán San Luis stadium from April to October, and the Pinar del Rio team is considered the best in the country.