Artemisa

It is one of the new provinces created in 2010, comprised by 8 municipalities. It has gained great economic importance for being the seat of the Special Development Zone of Mariel. It is characterized by being the seat of the famous Orchid Botanical Garden of Soroa, the International Cinema School of San Antonio de los Baños, and for its rural communities, examples of the development of sustainable tourism in Biosphere Reserves.

Capital: Artemisa Extension: 4,004.27 square km Municipalities: Mariel, Guanajay, Caimito, Bauta, Güira de Melena, Alquízar, Artemisa, Bahía Honda, Candelaria and San Cristobal Demonym: artemiseño/a Limits: It limits to the north with the Florida Straits and the Gulf of Mexico, to the east with the provinces of La Habana and Mayabeque, to the south with the Gulf of Batabanó, and to the west with the province of Pinar del Río It is accessed mainly by land, through the country's road and railroad network.

Access: PLACES OF INTEREST MIL CUMBRES

Beautiful rolling hills located in the municipalities of La Palma, Los Palacios and Bahia Honda. the most significant feature of its geography is the Pan de Guajaibón with 699 m.a.s.l. thus being the highest elevation of the west of the Island. Mil Cumbres is characterized by important cave systems and numerous streams, emphasizing the many canyons of Sierra Azul and the cave system of Mamey And Canilla, on the northern slope of Pan de Guajaibón.

SIERRA DEL ROSARIO

Located on the eastern border of the Guaniguanico mountain range, La Sierra del Rosario is the first Biosphere Reserve of Cuba, and received this distinction on February 15, 1985. It has over 800 species of plants with 34% of endemism. Its fauna presents almost all the species that inhabit the Island, with the particular presence of the zunzuncito (Mellisuga helenae) or bee hummingbird, known as the smallest bird of the world, the tocororo and the woodpecker. In its area you may find Soroa

touristic center and Las Terrazas Complex.

SOROA

Carretera de Soroa, km 8, Candelaria

A natural landscape of great beauty that attracts visitors from all over the world, it is named after the Spanish brothers Lorenzo and Antonio Soroa, who arrived in the area in 1856 and purchased several coffee plantations. Located in the limits of the Sierra del Rosario, it has several attractions:

SOROA ORCHID BOTANICAL GARDEN

It was opened in 1952 by the Canarian lawyer Tomás Felipe Camacho in honor to his wife and daughter. Known for its extensive collection of orchids, the construction of the garden began in the vicinity of Rancho Pinilla. Exotic native specimens from Asia, Central and South America started to expand the garden, which over the years has come to possess more than 20,000 plants representing 700 species, of which 250 are endemic to Cuba. Today it is the largest orchid farm of the country and one of the most important in the world. It also has a library specialized in orchids.

EL SALTO DE SOROA (SOROA´S WATERFALL)

With a height of 22 m.a.s.l., this waterfall originated in Manantiales River, is one of the wonders of Cuban geography, also known as the “Rainbow of Cuba.” It descends along natural courses up to the waterfall pool, where visitors may take refreshing baths while enjoying a splendid panorama.

“LAS TERRAZAS” TOURISTIC COMPLEX

Habana-pinar del Río Highway, km 51, Las Terrazas Community, Candelaria, Tel 048 578578

It is a rural sustainable development project located in the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve, just 60 km west of Havana. It has a rural settlement whose architecture is in harmony with the environment.

It offers a varied tourist product and has several facilities among which the Hotel Moka (Las Terrazas, Candelaria, Artemisa (Tel 048 578601-02) stands out. Here, the visitor may enjoy a reinterpretation of Cuban colonial architecture

and book specialized guides services, bird watching tours, horseback riding, mountain bikes, rowboats and kayaks; as well as Baños de San Juan camping site (Phone 048 578700), which offers rustic cabins and tents rental.

CANOPY TOUR

A spectacular attraction for adventure lovers. From the Hotel Moka you may travel at high speed hanging from a cable stretched for several hundred meters, even above the lake. The Canopy Tour can be booked at the Hotel Moka.

POLO MONTANEZ’S HOUSE

A museum dedicated to the memory of musician and local composer, Polo Montañez, who achieved worldwide fame for the traditional style and freshness of his compositions.

RUINS OF CAFETAL BUENA VISTA

Located 2 km east of Hotel Moka, it preserves the ruins of an old plantation coffee built in 1801. The main building is currently an elegant lookout restaurant, located at 240 m high.

SAN JUAN RIVER BATHS

A natural spa located on the banks of the San Juan River. It has natural pools with crystalline waters, some of them of considerable depth and with mineral-medicinal waters.

ROUTES AND TRAILS

There are seven paths with different levels of complexity, although all are suitable for the average tourist:

Cañada del Infierno Path Las Delicias Trail Serafina Trail The Terraceo The Pleasure of Walking The Stool. The Tocororo´s Song

RUINS OF ANGERONA OLD COFFEE PLANTATION

Artemisa Cayajabos Road, km 5, Artemisa

It is a sample of the splendor of coffee plantations in the western

region of the Island during colonial times. Recognized in the first quarter of the nineteenth century as the most important coffee plantation in Vuelta Abajo, and the second most important in Cuba, it was founded by a German, Cornelio Souchay, and his wife, a Haitian, Ursula Lambert, who bought these lands in 1813. The love legend of the owners of Angerona has inspired several literary works and the film Roble de Olor.

The old coffee plantation, declared a National Monument in 1989, preserves part of the house, the house of the farm steward, the cisterns system for the water storage, the walls for the confinement of the slaves and the lookout tower. At the entrance of the hacienda was a statue of the Roman Goddess Angerona, goddess of silence, carved in Carrara marble, which may now be seen in the Municipal Museum of Artemisa.

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF CINEMA AND TELEVISION OF SAN ANTONIO DE LOS BAÑOS

Sponsored by the New Latin American Film Foundation, the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez was directly involved in its foundation. It was created for the training of film artists and for the development of the film industry in different countries.

BEACHES

Artemisa's coasts are of little relevant as sun and beach destinations, except for Playa Baracoa, located 16 km west of Havana and very popular for national tourism in summer, and Playa

Salado, with rough sands that make it the ideal seat for a karting track and Playa Herradura.