If you only picture Cuba’s beaches, Havana, and old fashioned cars when envisioning your travels through the forbidden island, you’re missing a stunner: Vinales, Cuba. I, too, didn’t know about the town which became my favorite during my 2008 Cuba trip, until my travel partner steered me there. I hope I can lure you to its beauty, too!
“Viñales?” I asked my Cuba travel buddy, Oliver. “What’s so special about that place? I’ve never even heard of it.” Oliver gave me a knowing look as we boarded the bus.
“Just trust me,” he said, smiling. Wow, am I glad I did!
As you can see from these photos, Viñales is a lush, green dream. Human settlements are limited to small wooden houses and subtle tobacco farms. One of the best ways to see the landscape is to take a horseback tour, as we did. We even got to see cigars being hand made… by a man with an impressive mustache.
The best part of the landscape of Viñales, however, are the karst rock formations — dramatic gumdrops of green — which are called “mogotes” in Spanish. Whenever I glimpse karsts around the world, as I have in Vang Vieng, Laos, or in Halong Bay, Vietnam in Asia, a shiver of excitement runs through me. Karsts! They are the best, just popping out there to exclaim, “Hello! I’m a karst!”
As with everywhere else we traveled in Cuba, the local people were lovely. We stayed in a “Casa Particular” instead of a hotel, which is a private home the government has allowed to take in tourists. It is well known that the food in Casas Particulares is excellent, as it is both home-cooked and exempt from the food rationing and restrictions required for local Cubans. Note the whole fish, below.
In addition to great Cubans, we also befriended jolly tourists from other countries. Though Americans have been barred from Cuba travel for fifty years, tourists from elsewhere in the world have been taking full advantage of travel to the island for decades. Our horseback tour group consisted of an Israeli, a Brit, and an Aussie… in addition to our macho guide.
For those who are tempted to skip Viñales, Cuba in favor of a beach, don’t be too hasty. Our hotel had a luscious blue pool overlooking the mountains, as you can see from this photo, below. Beautiful beaches are on offer the world over; the landscape of Viñales, however, is one of a kind.
Sigh… Did you know Cuba was this uniquely beautiful? (If it gets your creativity running, check out my round-up of 40 art prompts from around the world — including this town!)
As I post this right now, Boston is under its third foot of snow, and it’s my sixth day blocked from teaching due to the blizzard. It’s good to remember that there are warm, green places on Earth, isn’t it, Cuba?
What do you think: Is Viñales, Cuba a place you would like to go? Had you ever heard of it before? Do share!

The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English, fitness fan, and mother of two who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched Around the World “L” Travel and Life Blog in 2009, and over 4.2 million readers have now visited this site. Lillie also runs TeachingTraveling.com and DrawingsOf.com. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media!
Christina @ Mr & Mrs Romance
Friday 25th of March 2016
Great photos! We loved Vinales, it was a highlight from our trip as well. My husband loves cigars and was in his element there.
Lillie
Friday 25th of March 2016
Hah! Awesome!
Stephen
Saturday 7th of March 2015
Looks beautiful. I read that this was Fidel Castro's favorite place in all of Cuba.
Lillie
Saturday 7th of March 2015
Oh, so interesting!
Mary @ Green Global Travel
Monday 9th of February 2015
Viñales is a new name for me, but it sure is a gorgeous place! Awesome find :)
Mary @ Green Global Travel
Sunday 8th of February 2015
Beautiful photos - love those scenic mountains in the background! Cuba is definitely on our bucket list.
Penny Sadler
Saturday 7th of February 2015
OH yes please! These photos are great! I'd love to go. And I love seeing something different about Cuba aside from the old vintage cars. I love the color of those cars, and the design, but it was sort of like isn't there anything else in Cuba? Great job.
Lillie
Saturday 7th of February 2015
Thanks, Penny! I'm working on the third and fourth Cuba articles right now which have plenty of non-car surprises, so stay tuned!