Viñales Nacional Park, Cuban Ecotourism Paradise

Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Mar 17. -Viñales Nacional Park, famous for its jurassic mogotes (Karst mountains), receives every year thosands of Cuban and foreign visitors, who go over caves and roads, surrounded by living fossils, such as palma corcho (cork palm).

One of the most outstanding options for tourists is Santo Tomas, one of the largest cave systems in Latin America, which received the World Heritage Cultural Landscapes award.

Yoel Martinez, director of the Nacional Park, said to Prensa Latina that Maravillas de Viñales path, ideal for bird watching from a lush forest, is also preferred by nature lovers from various continents.

Martinez said that from 2002 up to the current year, 82,000 Cuban and foreign visitors have enjoyed the ecotourism proposals of that place, which also includes tours through El Cable cave, among other places prominent for their natural and scenic values.

Among the source markets are Germany, France, Spain, the UK, and Italy, Martinez said. In about 15,000 hectares (37,500 acres), the area's flora consists of more than 200,000 species, whose endemism in carbonate substrates approaches 30 percent.

The stunning scenes of the Valle de Viñales have being painted from earlier centuries by famous artists such as Domingo Ramos. (Prensa Latina)