Valley of Viñales

This valley is a UNESCO world heritage. Valle de Viñales (in spanish) is located in the Piñar del Río Province in the north-west of Cuba. Being a world heritage means, people aren’t allowed to change the landscape. They are forbidden to build telephone or electricity lines by using pillars to hold them up in the air. So, you won’t see any of them in the valley. But, most, if not all, farms do have sun collectors for making their own electricity near by the houses. The people own different electrical devices. Not only devices in the kitchen, but also devices like radios or TVs.

The soil in the valley is very red. You might have noticed this in my earlier posts on tobacco farming. But in my photo gallery at the end of this post you can see, that I didn’t change the color in my photos accidentally.

In the background you can see one of the three cuban mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guaniguancio. This characteristic landscape is formed by steep-sided limestone hills and flat, fertile valleys like this one. In spanish the hills are called mogotes.

The farmers here grow manioc, sweet potato, sugarcane, rice and, of course, tobacco. About 70% of the cuban tobacco harvest is originating from the  Piñar del Río Province.

Take care!

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