Cuba at its best: Hiking the valleys of beautiful green Viñales

When we visited Cuba I was quite surprised by the diversity of the nature on the island! After some beaches and beautiful colonial cities we traveled to Viñales, located on the west tip of the island. As soon as you get in the area you see the landscape changing: tropical, extremely green vegetation, lots and lots of palm trees, pools of water, smoothly shaped “elephant” hills. This beautiful serene city is the hub of a hiking paradise.

Playa del Este: Cuban style beach holiday

When entering Havana you will notice it immediately: there’s a grayish haze hanging above the city. A result of years and years of pollution.

This results in the fact that streets and buildings literally color 50 shades of gray.

And even though the beautiful, brightly painted old timers bring charm and nostalgia, as soon as they pass you, they quickly disappear in a thin blue line of exhaust gases. Leaving you breathing for air.

Luckily Havana is situated at the North-West coast of Cuba. During the hot and smoggy summer months (July-August) the citizens of Havana flee the city to one of the beaches east of the city: the beaches of Playa del Este.