Jardin Botanico de Cienfuegos

A National Monument Founded In 1901 As A Harvard Sugar Cane Research Station, Now Holding Around Two Thousand Species And One Of The Great Palm Collections In The World · Pepito Tey, Cienfuegos

In 1901 an American sugar magnate named Edwin Atkins set aside part of his estate east of Cienfuegos to trial new varieties of cane, and within a few years Harvard University had taken it over as a tropical research station. The cane experiments are long gone; what remains is ninety-odd hectares holding around two thousand species, and in particular one of the finest palm collections on earth - something close to two hundred and eighty species of palm, many of them rare, standing in avenues and groves that have had a century and a quarter to mature. There is a bamboo collection of similar quality, an enormous ficus, orchids and a great deal of shade. It is a National Monument, it is seventeen kilometres from the city, and the crisis shows in the upkeep - parts are frankly overgrown. What it also has is total shade under a century-old canopy, which on a hot Cienfuegos afternoon is worth the drive on its own, and guides who can tell you which of the palms around you are the rare ones.

Pepito Tey, Cumanayagua, Cienfuegos, Pepito Tey, Cienfuegos, Cuba

Open daylight hours with an entrance charge; guided walks are offered at the gate and are worth taking because very little is labelled in a way a visitor can use. About seventeen kilometres east of Cienfuegos city towards Cumanayagua. MAINTENANCE HAS SUFFERED in the economic crisis and parts of the collection are overgrown - the row does not pretend otherwise.

Jardin Botanico de Cienfuegos on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos