Alejandro de Humboldt National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Alejandro De Humboldt National Park, 2001), Inscribed As One Of The Most Biologically Diverse Tropical Island Sites On Earth · Baracoa, Guantanamo

UNESCO inscribed this park in 2001 with a citation that called it one of the most biologically diverse tropical island sites on earth, and the reason is chemistry: the rocks here are serpentine and ultramafic, toxic to most plants, so what grows has evolved specifically for this ground and grows nowhere else. The result is endemism at a rate found almost nowhere - hundreds of plant species unique to these mountains, the painted polymita snails whose shells are banded in colours that look artificial, the Cuban parrot and tody, and the almiqui, a venomous insectivore that was believed extinct for decades before turning up again. The park runs from the mountains down to Taco Bay, where mangroves meet clear water. Guides are compulsory and the access is from Baracoa, which is itself four hours from Santiago over a mountain road - so almost nobody comes, and that is a large part of why there is still so much here to come for.

Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt, Moa y Baracoa, Guantanamo, Baracoa, Guantanamo, Cuba

Open daylight hours with an entrance fee, and GUIDES ARE COMPULSORY on all trails - you cannot walk in alone. Access is from Baracoa, about an hour, and trips are arranged the day before through casas particulares or the Ecotur office. WHETHER THE PARK IS OPERATING DEPENDS ON FUEL AND STAFFING, which in the current crisis varies. Heavy rain closes trails.

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