Cuba Guide
Varadero and Matanzas
Varahicacos Ecological Reserve
Address: The eastern extreme of the peninsula
Opening time: Visitor centre, daily 8am–5pm
Just down the road from the dolphinarium, at the eastern extreme of the peninsula, is the three-square-kilometre Varahicacos Ecological Reserve, also called the Parque Natural Hicacos. Billed as "the other Varadero", this is the only part of the peninsula where you can experience relatively unspoilt (if undramatic) landscapes, view the flora and fauna up close and learn some of the area's history. As the last few plots of unprotected land in Varadero are cordoned off and developed for tourism, however, the reserve is becoming increasingly surrounded by enormous hotel complexes.
The visitor centre is by the side of the road, at a turn-off from the Carretera de las Morlas about a kilometre past the Marina Chapelin. From there you can follow one of three routes, each featuring one or more of the reserve's ecological or archeological features. Shortest is the half-hour-long visit to the Cueva de Ambrosio, where a large number of Ciboney cave paintings have been discovered. Some of the pictographs are easily deciphered but there are plenty more obscure images to exercise the imagination. The Cueva de Musulmanes, a smaller cave where human bones over 2500 years old were found, is included on a trail which also offers insights into the local wildlife and plantlife. The third and longest route, the Sendero a la Laguna, takes in an impressive 500-year-old cactus, then circles round the Laguna de Mangón and finishes at the ruins of a colonial salt storehouse and site of the first salt mine in Latin America.
On any of the three routes you will be accompanied by a specialist guide, which you can pay for at the visitor centre, but to guarantee an English-speaking one you should arrange to go with a tour group through one of the information centres or buros de turismo. It costs $3–3.50CUC per person to be guided around any of the three set routes, but you can also arrange tailor-made excursions to suit your preferences.