Moka Hotel On September 28, 1994, the flagship Moka Hotel was founded, perched on a patch of woodland up in the El Salon Peak that hedges Las Terrazas community under tall royal palm trees. This four-star lodging is an intimate, fancy and ideal establishment for relaxation in contact with nature. It makes guests feel like living in a four-star forest, quite a chance to hard to pass up. The Moka Hotel features 26 comfy rooms –three of them are triple, one suite and the rest are double- and is outfitted with a tennis court, an alfresco grill, a restaurant, a lobby bar and a swimming pool. Guests here also have access to laundry service, national and international phone communication, eight pay-TV channels and Internet hookup down at the lobby.

As a complement to the accommodations, guests may choose from five different houses and buildings to stay at within the community. Each of these rooms has been designed in a peculiar, tailor-made fashion. Based on a concept of humbleness and rationality, the hotel was carefully and decorated without dodging any details. In order to achieve the climax of exquisiteness, local and national fine artists agreed to decorate all interiors with their own works.

Buanavista Coffee Plantation Between 1991 and 1994, the ruins of the former Buenavista coffee plantation, built in the 19th century by French immigrant Saint Selarrabe, got a new lease on life. An exceptional piece of evidence of Cuba's coffee farming system, the farm's rooms were all refurbished. Today, there are records of approximately 70 similar ruins that remain buried under the lush vegetation, as if they were waiting for archeologists or talented historians to dig them out and unravel all the secrets ingrained inside their soggy walls.

Bayate River Valley Down the southwest tip, nearly 2 miles from Las Terrazas community and next to one of the tributaries of the Bayate River whose watercourse bathes these fertile lands, the Union Farm has been rekindled out of the ruins of the same French coffee plantation the estate was named after. Now, the place boasts a garden of tropical ornamental plants and the Peasant's House, a harmonic blend of history, botany and rural traditions that combine to create this emblematic location. Visitors may make out the full scope of the countryside scenery. The natural environment teams up the hospitality of a local rural family to make it one of the most sought-after travel spots around. Right here, only a few travelers can resist the wafting smell of Cuban cuisine while the food is being cooked with charcoal and firewood.

Not far from there, the Bayate Baths –a charming place by the homonymous river- where visitors get in close touch with the Cañada del Infierno (Hell's Stream) and are seduced to take a swim in its crystal-clear waters. The proximity to the ruins of the San Pedro coffee plantation –built in the 19th century by French immigrant Pedro Leret- gives visitors the possibility of hiking their way around the place. There are dregs of former French-style coffee plantations and farms all along this wonderful fluvial valley.

Next to a tiny creek that comes rolling down from the mountains and surrounded by mariposas –Cuba's national flowers- stands out the Duporte Studio. His house is a seducing place where the artist reveals for us the charms of the island nation's flora splayed on either cardboard or glass, that magnificent and natural wildlife sprinkled with the absolutely necessary touch of ancient times, casts a spell of sorts on us. His works make the tiny orchid and the fruit of the ceiba reach out the realm of a refined message.

Near the San Juan Lagoon, right at the entrance of the village, visitors notice the presence of a building of blue-painted doors and windows. The building's bottom floor sports a sign that reads: Ariel Studio, a young talented painter and artisan with a style of his own. With sharp skillfulness, Ariel turns every peg of wood into a motley expression of Cuba's daily life.

Not far from there, the Boathouse meets the eye. This stilt house is nothing but a boat that serves lovers who love waiting for the setting sun with anticipation. As the reddish and orange shades light the sky, the image of the peaceful community is reflected in the water. The freshness of the place –especially in the summer nights- invites people to stick around and taste an exquisite seafood meal.

On the subset side of town, the Lester Studio emerges as a ghostly floating image as lovely as the artist's works. This enchanted paradise conceived from Lester's own expressive needs, reveals the muse that makes his prodigious hands wield the brush and splay marvels on canvass. Carob trees come out of his own nature, pieces of great ecological profile , a community that grows on next to him. Clear landscapes, lots of colors trapped in the rising haze that pops up when the rain lets up, lush forests, enigmatic ceiba trees, a coal kilns next to the mountains, secular livelihood of coal makers and, paradoxically, the doom of the woodlands.

Pretty closet to him, the expression of the daily going in the pentagram carved at the base of the furrow or behind the wheel of the machine that made him come up with the gift of local music. The Polo Montañez Folk Club is a pilgrimage trail for thousands of fans who worship the music of this formidable singer and songwriter who ran by the name of Fernando Borrego Linares. His former getaway is now a shrine to the creative heritage Polo Montañez cherished during his short-lived but fast-paced race to stardom. As visitors walk past the house's threshold, they feel a special atmosphere, as if the author of A Bunch of Star were waiting right there for them. His image on the screen, a recorded song or the mementos that hang on the white walls, keep Polo's spirit alive.

The San Juan Baths Nearly a couple of miles south of the human settlement lies one of the most beautiful places of Cuba's geography: the San Juan Baths, a natural spa that goes back in time to the 19th century, a time when springs of sulfurous waters were all the rage. In 1995, the baths were reopened to the public, featuring new stalls and a variety of new services. The calmness and beauty of the environment prompted local authorities to set up five rustic cabanas atop a nearby hill, using traditional materials similar to those utilized by hicks to build their own coarse shacks where they stash their tools. These shacks are now lovely rooms named after Cuban birds and ready to meet the demands of adventure seekers. There's no better chance of being in direct contact with the surrounding nature.

Curujey Ranch By the shore of a small lagoon where the waters of the San Juan River flow into, Curujey Ranch was opened on New Year's Eve 1995. A bold structure designed to serve as an information center, this facility mixes manmade stuff and nature to piece together an incredibly coveted recreational choice. The lake, known as El Palmar, gives now day trippers the possibility of taking a swim in its waters, a boat ride or just to stare at the astounding beauty the surroundings have to offer.