topes de collantes

To escape the hustle and bustle of the town, we made a day trip to Topes de Collantes. We took a taxi to the Mirador del Caribe, 10km out of town and then walked 500m back downhill to the trailhead. The mirador gives a wonderful view and when we were there it was full of hummingbirds and orioles feeding on the succulent flowers.There is a good bilingual map of the Topes de Collantes published by Grupo de Turismo Gaviota SA which we were given at one of the tour offices in Trinidad. It is marked not for sale.The trailhead is signposted Javira, and there's cattle gate there. The trail itself is unmarked but we followed the main path downwards towards the river valley. After about an hour we came upon a campesino homestead with coffee, cattle and pigs and the owner pointed us to a wider path that led, after about half an hour, to the river with its well marked bathing pools and a waterfall upstream. Again, many birds could be seen, including the cute little Cuban todi and the red legged thrush.After bathing in the river we walked another half hour to the main park at El Cubano where we had some drinks. We were surprised that we saw no local tourists at all on the trails or at the park, even though it was a weekend. Consequently there were no taxis to be found but the waiter, having tried unsuccessfully to call us a taxi by phone suggested we wait for the staff bus that arrived around 5pm and gave us a lift the 7km back into town.

We explored this park as part of an overnight 3 city tour from Varadero. This beautiful park was a highlight. The trails were easy for even the older ones in the group, even the Rambo walk down the river was very do-able. One lady had a very swollen foot from the day before, and she even managed the river hike. Of course, she wore out the seat of her yoga pants sliding over the rocks instead of climbing over ;) Lush jungle, waterfall, beautiful birds and plants, a guide to explain what you are seeing, and a delicious lunch! Highly recommend!

We never really found the park. My guess is that we drove around in it. At the visitor center there was no help to get but in Spanish, and as my Spanish is somewhat limited I understood that there was no guides and no tours that day. The drive from Trinidad takes you there on some really bad roads. How the roads can have asphalt waves like that I’ll never understand. Drive carefully and really slowly. The village is sort of cute, and much to my surprise there was an ugly multiple story building.

The tour in the sierra Guamuahaya can be organized by lorry. Old soviet lorries carry the tourists up and down the steep roads across the natural park.The landscape and the vegetation are stunning; for all those fond of nature: don't miss the spot.

About Ecoalojamiento El Manantial I like everything, good people, beautiful water falls, hiking roads. peaceful. I hope than internet in Cuba will be soon.

Topes de Collantes is a nature reserve park with trekking in beautiful forests, swimming in natural lakes, admiring waterfalls (el Rocio, Caburni, el Nicho). You can find some tour guides who bring you on off the beaten path, avoiding the tourists.

We stayed in the Topes de Collantes nature reserve and enjoyed two days camping and hiking the jungle and forest trails. We stayed at Hacienda Codina for the second night and enjoyed the fabulous nature trail which also goes through a 100 foot long cave system. Torch is a must in the cave. Expect to see Trogon, humming birds and masses of flora. Best walked in the afternoon.

On our tour of Cuba we did a day trip to the beautiful Sierra del Escambray aboard a 1960's Russian truck which was an experience in itself as the world of suspension obviously wasn't factored into the erstwhile design! This is a trip to the top of the mountain and the views down to Trinidad and the coast are truly exceptional. The hills themselves are covered in thick tropical vegetation and pine, eucalyptus and luxurious ferns abound. Once at the top of the mountain you can take a reasonably tough 3km walk in one of the national parks through the mountains to La Poceta del Venado and La Cascada, a picturesque waterfall and pool where you can swim - so remember to take your swimmers. After this you then visit a typical rural farm house for lunch and there is also time to visit a coffee museum on the way back to Trinidad. If you are basing yourself in Trinidad for a few days this really is a great day out and comes readily recommended by us.

We came from Cayo Santa Maria and it it was a long drive, 3.5 hours, but we felt it was worth it. We stopped for a snack and had a great view of the mountains and then went walking through the park with a guide who was knowledgeable. We did the rambo part, which was awesome and wold highly recommend it to anyone. Overall a great time and the price($60/person) was very reasonable considering where we came from.

nice eco tour in cuba, we walked to a waterfall, it was a moderate hike over rough ground, so wear good shoes or you will hurt an ankle. swam in a waterfall which was cool but beautiful water.

This was so great, the guide was superb and showed us all the nice spots, birds and other little creatures. The flora was also very nice and then the Rambo tour where my hubby lost his glasses but had lots of fun doing it. So when you visit Cuba visit this, it's very nice

It's about a one hour hike so bring water. Well worth it - bring your camera and your bathing suit. Waterfalls are always amazing everywhere in Cuba.

Did as day trip from Trinidad. Our friends in the Iberostar were sold 'essential' 4x4 transport so slightly expensive but very comfortable on the dodgy roads. Other people managed with normal hire cars. The trails are well marked and maintained and easy going for a party in teens/50s. Lovely waterfall with nearby pool for swimming greatly appreciated.Clean but rather humourless restaurant at the top with large '50s brutalist hotel, but easily made up for by scenery and walks - a must if in Trinidad

They are many different tracks to visit, some of them guided.All of them must be paid, we found them to be quite expensive when compared with other similar places around the world (USD 4~10 p/person *each*, lasting from ~1hr to ~3hr).Signalling is pretty bad (just the entry/exit, then you're at your own), some of the tickets are paid to un-knowledgeable people (e.g. hotel staff) which is pretty disappointing.Nature around the tracks is beautiful and much enjoyable.

My girlfriend and I decided to go to the Vegas Grande waterfall. We expected it to be one of the highlights of our Cuba trip, instead it turned out to be the biggest disappointment. The one-hour hike and swimming in brown water under the equally brown waterfall (probably because of the heavy showers one day before) was just not worth 48CUC we spent for the whole trip (30CUC for taxi from Trinidad and 9CUC admission fee per person). It might be interesting for people who have never seen a big waterfall in their life, but if your country is rich with lakes and waterfalls, I don't think you will be impressed.