Viñales
Encyclopedia
This article is about the town. For the adjacent UNESCO world heritage site, see Viñales Valley
.
Viñales is a small town and municipality in the north-central Pinar del Rio Province
of Cuba
.
The town consists mostly of one-story wooden houses with porches.
The municipality is dominated by low mountain ranges of the Cordillera de Guaniguanico such as Sierra de los Órganos. Typical outcrops known as mogote
s complete the karst
ic character of the landscape.
Before European settlement, the area was the home of a remnant Taíno
population swelled with runaway slaves.
The area was colonised at the beginning of the 1800s by tobacco growers from the Canary Islands
, who settled in the Vuelta Abajo
region.
The first settlement in Viñales is documented in 1871, in the form of a ranch belonging to Don Andrés Hernández Ramos.
The town was established in 1878 as a typical community, with church, school, hospital and recreation park.
Viñales is an agricultural area, where crops of fruit, vegetables, coffee and especially tobacco
are grown by traditional methods. Fishing
is also an important part of the area's economy.
Tourism centered on the Viñales Valley
is developing, the area being protected by constitution since February 1976, and declared a national monument in October 1978. The Viñales Valley has been listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
since November 1999, for the outstanding karst landscape and traditional agriculture as well as vernacular
architecture, crafts and music.
Attractions in Viñales include the Museo Municipal, Casa de Caridad Botanical Gardens, Museo Paleontológico, Palenque (a Maroon
village) and the nearby cave
s (Cueva del Indio, Cueva de José Miguel, Cueva de Santo Tomás) in Valle de Viñales National Park, which were refuges for runaway slaves. There is also a cave that doubles as a nightclub.
Casas particulares (private residences that have been tailored and licensed to operate as bed and breakfasts) offer accommodations to visitors year-round. There are also three hotels located a few kilometers outside of town, rated three stars: La Ermita, Los Jazmines, and Rancho Horizontes San Vicente. The campismo Dos Hermanas comprises 54 cabins (available to tourists), a swimming pool and restaurante..
Viñales Valley
Viñales Valley is a karstic depression in Cuba. The valley has an area of and is located in the Sierra de los Organos, just north of Viñales in the Pinar del Río Province....
.
Viñales is a small town and municipality in the north-central Pinar del Rio Province
Pinar del Río Province
Pinar del Río is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba.-Geography:The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost province and contains one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guaniguanico, divided into the easterly Sierra del Rosario and...
of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
The town consists mostly of one-story wooden houses with porches.
The municipality is dominated by low mountain ranges of the Cordillera de Guaniguanico such as Sierra de los Órganos. Typical outcrops known as mogote
Mogote
Mogotes are isolated, steep-sided, residual, hills, which are composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite and surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. These hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form. This term was originally used for karst hills developed in the folded limestone in...
s complete the karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
ic character of the landscape.
History
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
population swelled with runaway slaves.
The area was colonised at the beginning of the 1800s by tobacco growers from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, who settled in the Vuelta Abajo
Vuelta Abajo
Vuelta Abajo is a district in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. It lies in the extreme western part of the island, bordered on the north by the Órganos Mountains. A great deal of tobacco is grown in the district, and "Vuelta Abajo" can also refer to the high quality type of cigar tobacco from...
region.
The first settlement in Viñales is documented in 1871, in the form of a ranch belonging to Don Andrés Hernández Ramos.
The town was established in 1878 as a typical community, with church, school, hospital and recreation park.
Economy
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
are grown by traditional methods. Fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
is also an important part of the area's economy.
Tourism
Viñales Valley
Viñales Valley is a karstic depression in Cuba. The valley has an area of and is located in the Sierra de los Organos, just north of Viñales in the Pinar del Río Province....
is developing, the area being protected by constitution since February 1976, and declared a national monument in October 1978. The Viñales Valley has been listed as a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
since November 1999, for the outstanding karst landscape and traditional agriculture as well as vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
architecture, crafts and music.
Attractions in Viñales include the Museo Municipal, Casa de Caridad Botanical Gardens, Museo Paleontológico, Palenque (a Maroon
Maroon (people)
Maroons were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America, South America, and North America, who formed independent settlements together...
village) and the nearby cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s (Cueva del Indio, Cueva de José Miguel, Cueva de Santo Tomás) in Valle de Viñales National Park, which were refuges for runaway slaves. There is also a cave that doubles as a nightclub.
Casas particulares (private residences that have been tailored and licensed to operate as bed and breakfasts) offer accommodations to visitors year-round. There are also three hotels located a few kilometers outside of town, rated three stars: La Ermita, Los Jazmines, and Rancho Horizontes San Vicente. The campismo Dos Hermanas comprises 54 cabins (available to tourists), a swimming pool and restaurante..
Demographics
In 2004, the municipality of Viñales had a population of 27,129 with a 0.69%/year increase. With a total area of 704 km² (271.8 sq mi), it has a population density of 38.5 /km2.External links
- Vinales Municipality
- "Valle Son Music" A collection of son and salsa groups performing in Viñales
- "Viñales Tours & Accommodation" Tourist information on the town of Viñales
- "Viñales, Land to Dream" Viñales Page Information