Pinar del Río Province


photography
Valle de Viñales, Pinar del Río, Cuba. Public Domain.
photography
Valle de Viñales, Pinar del Río, Cuba. Public Domain.
photography
Valle de Viñales, Pinar del Río, Cuba. Public Domain.
photography
Valle de Viñales, Pinar del Río, Cuba. Public Domain.

Pinar del Río has a typical tower karst or cockpit karst area near Viñales. The eroded karst towers are locally called Mogotes. The dome or plateau shaped limestone mounds are usually full of caves. They form the Cordillera de Guaniguanico, a low range of hills. It extends about 64 km northeast from Mantua and comprises the Sierra de los Órganos and the Sierra del Rosario. Especially the Sierra del Rosario is a typical Cockpit Karst area with limestone cones, which are heavily karstified.

The small town of Viñales lies right in the middle of this tobacco country and is a famous center of cigar production. The area around Viñales is a famous caving area, but the city is also the location of the National School of Speleology, the most important speleological organization of Cuba. There are numerous caves open to tourists, some of them are show caves, others may be visited on cave trekking trips with guides from the National School of Speleology.

Sacred Tomás's Great Cavern near Moncada is the location of cave trekking tours organized by the National School of Speleology. This tour take approximately two hours.

Several caves at Punta del Este are famous for aboriginal pictographs. They can be found at Ambrosio Cave and at Musulmanes Cave.