Zapata Swamp
The Largest Wetland In The Caribbean, A Ramsar Site And Biosphere Reserve, Holding Three Bird Species Found Nowhere Else And The Critically Endangered Cuban Crocodile · Playa Larga, Matanzas
The Zapata peninsula holds the largest wetland in the Caribbean - a vast flat mosaic of swamp forest, saw grass, mangrove and salt lagoon on Cuba's southern coast, protected as a Ramsar site and a Biosphere Reserve. For birdwatchers it is the single most important place in the country: three species live here and nowhere else on earth - the Zapata wren, the Zapata rail and the Zapata sparrow - and the bee hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world at about five centimetres, is found in the scrub. The critically endangered Cuban crocodile survives in the wild here and in one other swamp, with a breeding station at Guama. Almost all of it needs a licensed guide, most of it is seen at dawn, and the mosquitoes are, without competition, the worst in Cuba. Playa Larga at the head of the Bay of Pigs is the base, and the birding guides who work out of its casas particulares are among the best in the Caribbean and the real reason people make the journey.
Parque Nacional Cienaga de Zapata, Playa Larga, Matanzas, Playa Larga, Matanzas, Cuba
The reserve areas require a licensed guide and are entered at dawn for birding; arrangements are made the day before at Playa Larga. Las Salinas has a gate and a vehicle track. The Guama crocodile farm and the lagoon boats keep daytime hours. WHETHER GUIDES AND BOATS ARE RUNNING depends on fuel, which varies. Roads flood in the wet season.