CIENFUEGOS.- Traveling to the Guamuhaya Massif means witnessing one of the most beautiful natural spectacles in the Cuban archipelago.
The peaks, covered with the infinite green of the trees that populate them, are cut against the clouds to form visual arabesques that reward the most fertile imagination.
Its rivers and lakes are as luxuriant as its intramontane valleys.
Those who travel to Cuba should not ignore the wonders of this mountain range (also known as El Escambray, which surrounds the provinces of Cienfuegos, Villa Clara and Sancti Spíritus), such as the Hanabanilla Lake, the Martín Infierno Cave, the San Juan Peak, the highest point of the second largest mountain range in Cuba, and El Nicho natural park.
El Nicho, like most of the natural beauties mentioned above, is located inCienfuegos province, and is one of the jewels of nature tourism in this central area of the country.
This place, located in Cumanayagua municipality, captivates by the waters that descend from its waterfalls and flood with millions of drops a pure air in maximum degree, the natural pools turned into a great prize for the hiker who completes the journey, the paths between the forests, its fauna and vegetation...
IDEAL FOR NATURE TOURISM
Nature tourism finds here a place frequented by national and international travelers, youth expeditions and even teams of photographers interested in capturing the beauty of the torrent, or the colorfulCuban trogons-our national bird finds a warm refuge there-, along with Cuban todies, parrots, woodpeckers and hummingbirds that live in its trees.
Part of the Guanaroca-Yaguanabo-El Nicho Wildlife Refuge, the 60-square-kilometer biological corridor is populated not only by these birds, but also by some 65 endemic plants.
In addition to Hanabanilla Lake, a few kilometers away, from El Nicho you can reach other places of interest in the mountainous geography of Cienfuegos, such as the steep Ventana Hill, or settlements such as El Nicho, San Narciso, El Sopapo, Vista Hermosa, and others.
It is possible to spend the day in El Nicho, because in addition to the central objective of touring the place, there is a restaurant owned by Palmares, who is also in charge of the tourist management of the Park, along with Gaviota, its manager.
RESTART OPERATIONS
The Park is open to the public, and it only stopped during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April 2021, it restarted operations, mainly with tourists from Russia, a market that until then had maintained a stable flow only with the Cuban northern keys and Varadero. However, from that moment extended its preferences to the Kingdom of the Waters trail in El Nicho.
This trail offers dozens of waterfalls and natural pools in an almost virgin landscape, hidden among the mountains, and ending at the Hanabanilla viewpoint.
Cubanacán and Cubatur travel agencies promote, from Varadero, excursions to this geographical area with many attractions for the development of ecotourism.
El Nicho is visited by about 10,000 tourists of different nationalities every year. In addition to Russians, most of them are Germans and Italians.
U.S. BLOCKADE RESTRICTED THE ARRIVAL OF VISITORS
The intensification of the suffocating blockade measures during the Trump administration led the U.S. government to prohibit the arrival of cruise ships to Cuban ports. The port of Cienfuegos benefited greatly from this permanent transit and many tourists departed from these ships to El Nicho.
This beautiful natural park is also visited by thousands of Cubans, despite the increasingly pressing transportation and fuel limitations.
Once a widespread modality, today camping or other forms of unscheduled visits are not allowed in the area, as the site has been the object of depredations. Therefore, it is a necessity and a challenge to preserve it for the benefit of both nature and man.
Such care for the site is beginning to bear fruit. There is a verifiable natural splendor and the trails are very clean.
As one of the most attractive nature tourism products in Cuba, El Nicho is wearing its best clothes and confirming its fame as a fabulous place for visitors.
