I'm Going to Pinar del Rio

Originally inhabited 4,000 years ago by the Guanahatabey, no towns were founded in Cuba's westernmost Pinar del Rio during the first period of the Spanish conquest. The first settlement occurred in 1717 when tobacco growers moved from Havana, but it was not until 1867 that the town of Pinar del Rio became a city.

The most important geographic characteristic of the province is the east-west arc formed by the Sierra del Rosario and the Sierra de los Organos, with the 692-meter-peak of Pan de Guajaibón the tallest in the area.

The landscape of the beautiful Viñales Valley is dotted with the famous mogotes or hummocks, round top limestone elevations with vertical slopes often hiding caves crossed by underground rivers.

Another symbol of this area is the vegas (tobacco fields), famous for growing the best tobacco in the world. Natives taught Europeans how to smoke the leaves and it has always been one of the main sources of income for the country. Brands like Montecristi, Cohíba, H.Upmann, Partagás and Vegueros are internationally known.

History and Culture

The region's cultural infrastructure, with more than 60 cinemas, theaters and 20 museums, gives testimony to the many important figures of science and literature who were born here. Among these is the museum of...