Baracoa is known as the First City of Cuba. This was the first village founded on the island. Magic, colors and adventures surround this exotic and emblematic city.

By the name of Our Lady of Asunción de Baracoa this city is a place with a plethora of natural charming sites. It is said that the name of Baracoa is aboriginal and means "availability of a sea" as an accurate reference to its original settlers who lived in a complete sea panorama contrasting with the mountains and river arteries of the site. It is a truly picturesque place that extends along 921.2 km2 where some 82,000 people live. This area belongs to the Sagua-Baracoa mountaneous system. The main rivers are Miel, Duaba, Yumurí and Toa. Toa River is the most plentiful of Cuba with several falls, one of them reaches 17m high by the name of El Saltadero, an ideal place for rafting.

La Farola and Other Attractions The access to this captivating city is made by a very distinct way, just winding along the mountains where La Farola is found. The most interesting section of this road is Altos de Cotilla, over 600 m above the sea level.The temperature there is very cold even in summer and springs run down the mountains from which visitors can drink fresh and crystalline water.There are four comfortable hotels: El Castillo, Porto Santo and La Rusa. Porto Santo, a farm near the airport where the La Cruz de La Parra (La Parra Cross) was found, a relic today preserved in the Church of Baracoa. It is said that this valuable article was made by the Spaniards during the first trip to the Americas with local precious woods and that Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas used it to say mass. At the beginning of the 19th century, French settlers from Haiti, emigrated to this area, after the slaves’ revolt. They settled their haciendas here and made famous crops such as coffee and banana. On the other hand, at the end of the last century, they developed coconut production, thus turning the area into the first exporting zone of this dry fruit. With the passing of time, tradition endowed the people from Baracoa with the pleasure of making their own recipes of sweets derived from this white mass. Very typical food is tasted in Baracoa as Cucurucho, a sweet made of coconut and pineapple, wrapped in yagua leaves with a conical shape; chocolate bars are also made since this is a cocoa producing area. Colonial fortresses have a peculiar charm. The Castle, La Punta Fort which now houses a restaurant, the large fortified towers of Joa and the Cemetery. These are constructions made of stone. Baracoa is in fact a unique site for naturalists or for travelers searching for a place of active relaxation in an ideal landscape.