Baracoa - City of Cuba

Baracoa is a municipality and city in Guantánamo Province in extreme eastern Cuba. It was founded by the first governor of Cuba, the Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in 1511, which makes it not only the oldest Spanish settlement in Cuba but also its first capital . It is located on the spot where Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba on his first voyage. It is thought that the name stems from the indigenous Arauaca language word meaning "the presence of the sea."

Baracoa lies on the Bay of Honey (Bahía de Miel) and is surrounded by a wide mountain range , which causes it to be quite isolated, apart from a single mountain road built in the 1960s.


The original inhabitants of the island were Taíno. They were eradicated by the Spanish all over Cuba except here and this is the only place where descendants still live. A local hero is Hatuey, who fled from the Spanish in Hispaniola and raised a Taíno army to fight the Spanish in Cuba. According to the story Hatuey was betrayed by a member of his group and sentenced to burn at the stake. It is said that just before he died a Catholic priest tried to convert him so he would attain salvation Hatuey asked the priest if Heaven was the place where the dead Spanish go. When he received an answer in the affirmative he told the priest that he'd rather go to Hell.

Before the Cuban Revolution the only access was by sea, but in the 1960s a 120 km long road from Guantánamo named La Farola was built through the mountains, which was one of the showcases of the revolution. The road had already been planned by the Batista government, but never got built. The highest point of the road is at over 600 m and it passes 11 bridges.

The remote location at the eastern end of the Cuban island has kept the influence of mass tourism quite low, despite the idyllic location. Baracoa can be reached by bus from Santiago de Cuba or by plane from Havana .

To the east the Fuerte Matachín (built in 1802) houses a museum and further east is a beach at the mouth of the river Miel. To the west the fuerte La Punta houses a restaurant, with a smaller beach next to it. And the third fort, El Castillo, on a steep hill with a commanding view of the town and both bays, is now Hotel El Castillo. The other hotels in Baracoa are Hotel Porto Santo, Hotel La Rusa, Hostal La Habanera and Villa Maguana. There are also a few casas particulares. The Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Asunción houses the earings of the Cruz de la Parra, a cross that Cali is supposed to have brought from Spain. Although it has been carbon dated to approximately that period, it is made from a local woodtype, which means at least part of the story is not correct.

There are two music venues near the central Parque Independencia, the touristy Flan de Queso and the more traditional Casa de la Flana.