Las Terrazas in Sierra del Rosario

An Overview by Authentic Cuba Travel®

Las Terrazas is a community of little more than 1000 inhabitants in the centre of an environmentally rich area known as Sierra del Rosario mountain range, a massif in the Cuban west which was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

The community was built around an artificial lake in the San Juan River and its water mirror is one of the most famous in Cuba. You can tour around its environment by hiking through the foliage, ziplining under the Canopy, cruising the lake, taking a refreshing dip in one of the numerous natural baths, or simply strolling and admiring the surrounding nature.

The first thing to admire is the impressive vegetation of pines, eucalyptus, cedar trees, and mahoganies more than 50 years old and 40 meters high. You may find it hard to believe, but this whole place was an area of semi-desert by the middle of the 20th century because of the deforestation that took place over more than 4 centuries. In 1968, they came up with a plan to reforest around 50 square km and to gather the families isolated in the mountain ranges into several communities. The system they used was that of flat terraces, to avoid the soil deterioration due to the intense rains of the place, making this the first project for the Cuban ecologic, social, and sustainable development.

Recreational activities in Las Terrazas are all related to Nature: hiking, trekking, and birdwatching of such endemic species as the Tocororo, the Zunzuncillo, the Cartacuba, and the Carpintero. The local touristic information desk offers varied options and the required equipment for each activity.

In this community one can breathe the hospitality of the Cuban country people. A walk along the Callejon de Moka, where the Fonda de Mercedes and the Cafe de Maria can be found, are enough for you to see for yourself the customs and traditions of rural Cuba.

This area is the birthplace of the late singer and composer Polo Montanes and his old lakeside home is now a museum.

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