Trinidad, the City of Dreams

Place yourself in a four hundred year old city located in the center of Cuba. Add such details as narrow cobblestoned streets, wide wooden doors, large windows, fountains in central courtyards, decorative railings, and brick red tiles, all lending a colonial elegance to the mansions and small palaces that majestically stand around you. You won't have any other choice but to say that you are in Trinidad.

This timeless town, formerly named Santísima Trinidad, was founded in 1514 by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar near the banks of the Guaurabo River and on the hillside of the Escambray Massif.

Being a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988 together with the Valle de San Luis and the Valle de los Ingenios (the "Valley of the Sugar Mills") and with 73 archaeological and industrial sites, Trinidad is one of the most visited towns in Cuba. According to historical documents, there were 48 sugar mills in the valley in 1840. There are still some excellent examples, like the Guáimaro sugar mill, from that period seen in still standing towers, machinery and mansions. Most of the harvesting was performed by slaves with the number reaching as high as 11,897 in 1827.

One of the most important sites to visit in the valley is the 43.5 metre high tower of the Manaca-Iznaga Sugar Mill. Rising proudly and seemingly impervious to time, it was considered a symbol of the 19th Century and the view of the surrounding landscape from the top is still breathtaking