My girlfriend and I decided to go to the Vegas Grande waterfall. We expected it to be one of the highlights of our Cuba trip, instead it turned out to be the biggest disappointment. The one-hour hike and swimming in brown water under the equally brown waterfall (probably because of the heavy showers one day before) was just not worth 48CUC we spent for the whole trip (30CUC for taxi from Trinidad and 9CUC admission fee per person). It might be interesting for people who have never seen a big waterfall in their life, but if your country is rich with lakes and waterfalls, I don't think you will be impressed.
We never really found the park. My guess is that we drove around in it. At the visitor center there was no help to get but in Spanish, and as my Spanish is somewhat limited I understood that there was no guides and no tours that day. The drive from Trinidad takes you there on some really bad roads. How the roads can have asphalt waves like that I’ll never understand. Drive carefully and really slowly. The village is sort of cute, and much to my surprise there was an ugly multiple story building.
We stayed in the Topes de Collantes nature reserve and enjoyed two days camping and hiking the jungle and forest trails. We stayed at Hacienda Codina for the second night and enjoyed the fabulous nature trail which also goes through a 100 foot long cave system. Torch is a must in the cave. Expect to see Trogon, humming birds and masses of flora. Best walked in the afternoon.
It's about a one hour hike so bring water. Well worth it - bring your camera and your bathing suit. Waterfalls are always amazing everywhere in Cuba.
About Ecoalojamiento El Manantial I like everything, good people, beautiful water falls, hiking roads. peaceful. I hope than internet in Cuba will be soon.
Topes de Collantes is a nature reserve park with trekking in beautiful forests, swimming in natural lakes, admiring waterfalls (el Rocio, Caburni, el Nicho). You can find some tour guides who bring you on off the beaten path, avoiding the tourists.
They are many different tracks to visit, some of them guided.All of them must be paid, we found them to be quite expensive when compared with other similar places around the world (USD 4~10 p/person *each*, lasting from ~1hr to ~3hr).Signalling is pretty bad (just the entry/exit, then you're at your own), some of the tickets are paid to un-knowledgeable people (e.g. hotel staff) which is pretty disappointing.Nature around the tracks is beautiful and much enjoyable.
We came from Cayo Santa Maria and it it was a long drive, 3.5 hours, but we felt it was worth it. We stopped for a snack and had a great view of the mountains and then went walking through the park with a guide who was knowledgeable. We did the rambo part, which was awesome and wold highly recommend it to anyone. Overall a great time and the price($60/person) was very reasonable considering where we came from.
The tour in the sierra Guamuahaya can be organized by lorry. Old soviet lorries carry the tourists up and down the steep roads across the natural park.The landscape and the vegetation are stunning; for all those fond of nature: don't miss the spot.
nice eco tour in cuba, we walked to a waterfall, it was a moderate hike over rough ground, so wear good shoes or you will hurt an ankle. swam in a waterfall which was cool but beautiful water.