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Viñales Valley () is a karstic depression in
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. The valley has an area of and is located in the Sierra de los Órganos mountains (part of Guaniguanico range), just north of Viñales in the Pinar del Río Province. In 1999, the valley was inscribed as a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
as a natural and cultural landscape because of its use of traditional
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
-growing techniques.


Overview

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and other crops are cultivated on the bottom of the valley, mostly by traditional
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
techniques that have been in use for several centuries. These labor-intensive techniques are said to make for higher-quality tobacco than if mechanical methods are used. The valley is dotted with small farms and villages which have been occupied since the time of the '
conquistadores Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
'. Some vernacular colonial-era architecture is maintained. The culture of the valley has been influenced by a mixture of cultures: indigenous peoples, enslaved black Africans and their free descendants, and Spanish colonizers and later Europeans. Many
cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
s may be entered from openings in the surrounding hillfaces, including Cueva del Indio and Cueva de José Miguel. The conspicuous
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
mounds rising like islands from the bottom of the valley are called '' mogotes.'' They can be up to 300 m tall. Viñales is a major tourist destination offering mainly
hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...
and
rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...
. The local climbing scene has started to take off in the early 21st century, with many new routes being discovered. These have stimulated an increase in local tourism.


Geography

The extraordinary geomorphological formations known as '' mogotes'', which are found nowhere else in Cuba, have sometimes not only attained the dimensions of mountains, but formed a variety of unusual shapes. The only comparable geological structures in the world are those found in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, in the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...
,
Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
, the Thai highlands,
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, and in the
South China Karst The South China Karst (), a UNESCO World Heritage Site since June 2007, spans the provinces of Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan. It is noted for its karst features and landscapes as well as rich biodiversity. The site comprises seven clust ...
region. In the valley, elevations such as Alturas de Pizarras are formed from a variety of rocks. They have been dated as the oldest existing in the country and also in the Caribbean area.


Conservation

Many
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
plants and animals are specific to this valley. Flora found in the region include ' (syn. ''Bombax emarginatum''), mountain palm ('' Gaussia princeps''), '' Ekmanianthe actinophylla'', and '' Microcycas calocoma''. Fauna includes
bee hummingbird The bee hummingbird, zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird (''Mellisuga helenae'') is a species of hummingbird, native to the island of Cuba in the Caribbean. It is the smallest known bird. The bee hummingbird feeds on nectar of flowers and bugs foun ...
(''Mellisuga helenae'', zunzún), Cuban trogon (''Priotelus temnurus''), Cuban tody (''Todus multicolor''), Cuban solitaire (''Myadestes elisabeth'') and Cuban grassquit (''Tiaris canorus'').


Mural of Prehistory

The valley of Dos Hermanas has what is known as the Mural of Prehistory, a contemporary work. It is painted on a stone of one of the elevations. This mural shows the evolution of life in a natural sense of Cuba. The Mural of Prehistory is located in the mogote called Pita. It can be found on a perpendicular slope. The rock was washed and drains were made in it to avoid erosion due to the rain. It is 120 meters high and 160 meters in length. The artist was Leovigildo González Morillo, who was Director of Cartography of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba. In it are represented Guanahatabeye Indians, species of mammals, gigantic animals, and some mollusks. The Mural includes 12 sections, showing the evolutionary process of men and animals in the Sierra de los Órganos, in its different stages.


Photo gallery

File:VinalesCaves.jpg, Palenque de los Cimarrones File:PinarDelRioCuba2.jpg, Viñales Valley File:Szene im Valle des Vinales, Kuba.jpg, Viñales Valley File:VinalesValleyCuba.jpg, Viñales Valley File:Countryside around Viñales - Cuba - 10 (5289803074).jpg, Viñales Countryside


See also

* Topes de Collantes


References


External links

*
UNESCO Viñales Valley webpage

Main website for rock climbing in Cuba, especially Vinales.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinales Valley Geography of Pinar del Río Province Valleys of Cuba National parks of Cuba World Heritage Sites in Cuba Tourist attractions in Pinar del Río Province Tobacco in Cuba