Horseback Trekking in Viñales, Cuba

Of all the places we visited in Cuba, Viñales was definitely one of my favourites and one that I would recommend as a must-see for anyone visiting Cuba. If you don't take my word for it, then I'm sure the pictures below will convince you!

We arrived early afternoon on the Viazul bus from Laz Terrazas (no complaints about that bus service from me, the bus was pretty old but comfortable enough and never felt unsafe) and were met by a huge crowd of local people trying to convince us to stay in their Casa Particular. It was kind of overwhelming  so we took shelter in the bus ticket office. The lady who worked there spoke perfect English and invited us to stay at her casa in a very non-pushy way, which of course made us much more inclined to accept her offer! There are plenty of Casa Particulars to choose from in Viñales, I don't think it would be fair to promote one over the other, the only thing I would say is that when choosing your own make sure you pick one with a roof terrace so you can watch the sunset while you sip mojitos in the evening.

That afternoon we visited El Jardin Botanico de las Hermanas Caridad y Carmen Miranda, which I would definitely recommend if you have a spare hour or so. You'll be met by someone at the gate offering a free tour (they do ask for a small donation at the end but aren't pushy about it) and they'll show you around the beautiful gardens, pointing out their vast array of plant species as well as introducing you to the puppies, rodents and parrots that live there. We then wondered into town to grab some food and have a look around. There's one main street lined with different cafes, restaurants and gift shops - totally geared up for tourists! In the evenings the tripadvisor/lonely planet recommended eateries had large queues outside, so we gave them a miss, but were pretty excited when we found an "eco restaurant" a bit further down the road. Unfortunately it seemed that this place had seen how popular El Romero in Las Terrazas was and literally copied and pasted their menu (including their introduction to the restaurant), but then added a few meat and fish dishes for good measure.

Our casa owner helped us to book a horseback tour for the next morning, we requested through the tour company that the Lonely Planet recommended but whether it was them or one of her friends we weren't sure. It didn't matter though because the day turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. Our guide picked us up at our casa in the morning and walked with us to the edge of town where we met our horses and embarked on a gorgeous journey through tobacco plantations and mogotes. I don't think my words could do it justice, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The tour included a stop off at one of the tobacco farms, where the friendly farmer showed us how he dried the leaves and rolled them into cigars, allowing us to try one dipped in honey, which is apparently the way Che Guevara likes them. I'm not a smoker, but I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to try a freshly rolled cigar on a Cuban tobacco plantation. It wasn't half bad you know, although not a habit I would like to take up long term. Our guide also took us to explore a small cave, which was pretty cool.

Overall I would say that a horseback tour through Viñales is a must when visiting Cuba. Viñales is a lovely town and a great place to spend a night or two, there isn't much else to do, but if you have extra time we did hear that Cayo Jutias is a beautiful beach day trip.

Heading to Cuba? Check out the seven things I wish I'd known before my trip