Best hike without a guide in Viñales Valley, Cuba

IDYLLIC RURAL ESCAPISM IN VIÑALES

As usual, we found ourselves walking in the dark to start the hike. For a rural destination with minimal machinery, Viñales was surprisingly noisy. Roosters – which every household appears to own – crocked the approaching dawn. Pigs oinked in muddy delight. The sighs of horses were audible over the chirping of cicadas.

Just past the din of our farmyard friends, we arrived at Los Jazmines Hotel in time to watch sunrise light up the misty valley below. Clouds, not yet burnt off by the hot Cuban day, hovered below the top of Viñales most famous sights: it’s towering limestone mogotes. A sea of green tobacco fields were cut by ribbons of rusty brown walking paths.

The spectacular scene was the starting point of our hike. A hike which took us down into the Vinales valley, past lush green tobacco fields and beautiful mogotes before ending in the Valle de Palmarito. We passed friendly farmers on home-made contraptions pulled along by oxen, cowboys on horseback who wouldn’t look out of place in an old western movie, and old characters sleeping under the shade of trees. It’s Cuba uncomplicated.

Here’s how to do it.

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VIÑALES VALLEY HIKE INSTRUCTIONS

Most people who hike in Viñales take a local guide. So, the signage on the trail is not sufficient for anyone trying to do the hike themselves. As a result, we got lost several times. Like most things in Cuba, the trails operate a bit like a cartel; asking anyone for help was met with a firm: “obtener una guía!”

But, we didn’t want to get a guide. And if you fancy the idea of conquering a beautiful Cuban walk at your own pace, here are our detailed instructions.

LOS JAZMINES HOTEL TO EL CUAJANI RESTAURANT

The hike begins the Sendero del Mirador al Valle sign 50m west of Valle de Balcon restaurant, just east of Los Jazmines Hotel (1 on the map). The first couple of hundred meters, as the trail drops down onto the valley floor, are the hardest and steepest on the walk. But there is nothing too difficult, it just requires some careful footwork.

At the bottom, the path splits at another sign. Take the left fork (longer route) and follow the path through a tobacco field – you might even see some leaf hanging out to dry. Just before a sign marked Mirador Casa Postal turn right and follow the path around the mogote. Pass another tobacco field and turn left just after the hut on the left-hand side of the path.

This path crosses a dry river bed, before bending right and arriving at a T-junction. Turn left at this T-junction and follow this path in a (fairly) straight line. As you get close to the road, bear right to meet it opposite El Cuajani restaurant (2). Note: this is different from the El Cuajani marked on google maps.

EL CUAJANI RESTAURANT TO MURAL DE LA PREHISTORICA

Turn left onto the road where there are 2 choices: either turn right shortly after joining the road to head to the Mural de la Prehistorica (yellow line on map) or continue straight and take a longer route.

Taking the longer route, continue along the road and turn right at the ANAP Antonio Maceo sign (3) onto Calle Alfonso. Stay on the grey-ish gravel track keeping the mogote on your right and mangos on your left.

When you are almost halfway around the mogote, the main track heads away from it. Take the thick red-earth track on your right staying closer to the mogote (4). The path quickly passes a horse ranch and comes to a sign saying ENTRE MOGOTE. Turn right and continue until you come to Mogote Art Café – once here, turn right again.

The track now curls left and narrows. After a short time there is a gate in the fence on your right. Walk through the gate to the Mural de la Prehistorica (5) in front of you.

There is a bar and toilets here. But the restaurant was being refurbished when we visited.

MURAL DE LA PREHISTORICA TO RIVER CROSSING

Retrace your steps to the ENTRE MOGOTE sign but continue straight (instead of turning left the way you came). About 50m further, as a lake appears on your left, turn right to take the well-trodden red path (6) which had two black hoses running down it when we were there. If you walk past the end of the lake to a white house with blue trim and a blue water tank you have gone too far.

NOTE: If it’s time for a rest and something to replenish the energy levels, Café Mirador sits on top of the slight rise past the blue and white house. Wind your way up the track and take a break in front of some excellent views.

The well-trodden red path is the main route back to Viñales. The path cuts between two mogotes (the larger one on your right and a much smaller one on your left) and then splits. Take the left fork keeping the large mogote on your right.

Continue down this route until the path meets a river and becomes waterlogged (7). Here you will need to wait for someone to take you across to dry land on horseback. Oswaldo – who ferried us across – assured me he was here with his horse every day. If not, someone in his family will be. Pay him 2 CUC per person to be escorted over the muddy swamp on his horse. Journey time is approximately 2 minutes.

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KEEPING THE FEET DRY HEADING BACK TO VIÑALES

The path now slowly drifts away from the mogote on your right and splits again. You can actually go either way but the shorter right-hand route (closer to the mogote) can be very muddy and wet.

So to keep your feet dry, turn left, then right and staying right until – facing the mogote – you come back to your original path, where you should turn left (8)

From here, the main path runs pretty straight (ignore the paths leaving at right angles) until it passes the end of the mogotes and begins to slowly bend right completing a 90-degree turn. Keep following the main path, ignoring a sign pointing left to Viñales (9). Just after passing Casa Fernando on your left, turn left, then immediately right to join another path (there should be a tree with a red dot in front of you as you join the new path).

This path passes the Cueva de la Vaca driveway and splits again. Take the left fork which joins Calle Adela Azcuy Norte and leads you into town.

At the end of this walk we recommend you have a rest and grab lunch at Mogote Café. The food is good and if you sit upstairs you get a fine view over the fields you’ve just come from. If you also need a coffee the hotel on the main square does a surprisingly good cortadito and has access to the main square wi-fi.

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BEST TIME TO HIKE IN VIÑALES

It’s not just the salsa that’s hot in Cuba. With average high temperatures of about 26 degrees in winter and 31 in summer, a hike like this is best avoided in the hottest months of the year. Additionally, rains torment the island in May and stick around until October.

The best months to do our Viñales hike are the sunny but slightly cooler months of January to April. It was still pretty hot when we did this hike (February) but not as scorching as it could have been.

There’s practically no shade on this hike and It’s relatively long, so start as early as possible and make sure you’re prepared for a long day in the sun.

TRAIL CONDITIONS

The only difficult sections are the first 200m as the path drops down to the valley floor. It’s a little steep, but nothing too difficult at all. Otherwise, this is a relatively easy trail over beautiful Cuban countryside.

The path is rusty red earth with very few rocks – great to walk on, but keep in mind it will be muddy after lots of rain and possibly a little bit slippery.

There are no signs for the path so you will need these instructions and our map to help you along. Make sure you download the area to googlemaps before you set off and save our map by clicking on star.