Las Terrazas Complex - nestled in the heart of Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve has a total extension of 250.70 km2 of mountains and lush nature - it's a lively rural experience of sustainable development that mixes 5000 Ha of forests and flora and wildlife protected with tourist services and social experiences. Located only 60 km west of the city of Havana, it's nice to make the journey by car, only takes an hour.
Las Terrazas
The center of the complex is a semi-urban settlement flanked by a lake of medium proportions and with an architecture that is a model of integration with the surrounding environment. The total population is around 900 inhabitants and there are several service facilities
Las Terrazas Community
What to see? What to do?
In Las Terrazas recreational activities are all related to Nature: hiking, trekking, bird watching, rowing boats and baths in rivers of crystalline and calm waters, which can be combined with visits to the ruins of French coffee plantations of the 19th century or yo The Orchid of Soroa. It's the perfect place for the traveller who loves nature or wants to relax in a calm environment of beautiful la
Places to visit
• Rancho Curujey: It offers complete information of the complex, there is a bar and it's a viewpoint with a splendid view.
• Las Terrazas Community. It's in the center of Las Terrazas biosphere Reserve, you cannot visit the area without getting here. In the community there are workshops of artisans, ceramics, screen printing, wood carving and a museum dedicated to the memory of Polo Montañés, singer and local composer who achieved national and international fame with his unique musical style. There are several restaurants and accommodations among them that highlight the Hotel Moka. There is also a canopy that allows an aerial walk over a large part of the lake and the community. It stands out for its peculiar architectural style: houses and buildings are integrated into the mountainous landscape.
Canopy Tour
• Aquatic Activities Center. In the lake at the entrance of the Community (village) you can rent paddle boats and water bicycles, trout fishing is allowed but with return to the catch water (catch release, or fish and drop).
Aquatic Activities Center.
• Hacienda Unión. A recreational farm developed in the vicinity of the ruins of the Union coffee plantation - from the beginning of the 19th century, attended by a peasant family, there is a restaurant and a beautiful tropical garden The Union Garden. You can reach it by road.
• Ruins of Buenavista Cafetal. Partially restored, it's a viewpoint 240 meters above sea level, there is a specialized restaurant in the owners' house (restored) and the access to it is by road.
Ruins of Buenavista Cafetal
• Baños del San Juan, a natural spa on the San Juan river that has natural pools of crystalline waters, some deep and with mining-medicinal properties. In the place there is bar-cafeteria and You can reach it by road.
Baños del San Juan
• Baños del Bayate, on the river of the same name, there is a bar-cafeteria and it's reached by an embankment directly from the southern part of the Community.
Routes and trails:
There are 7 delimited paths with different degrees of complexity although all of them are suitable for the average tourist:
1. The Route of the Cañada del Infierno. Tour along the canyon that forms the Bayate River where you can optionally take baths, passes through the ruins of the coffee plantations San Pedro and Santa Catalina, It has a length of 5 km.
2. Las Delicias Trail. With about 4 km in length, it travels part of the NE area of the complex and ends at the Mirador San Juan Valley.
3. Trekking the Pleasure of Walking. A journey of about 9 km from the Mirador of San Juan Valley to the Buenavista Cafetal, passing through the ruins of the Santa Susana, La Mariana, Ermita and San Carlos coffee plantations and the vicinity of the Joven Niagara and Hidden Salto waterfall. Designed for bird watching, it's easy to see Tocororos, Nightingales and Woodpeckers, among others.
4. The Serafina Trail. It has a length of 5 km through gallery forests, passing through the ruins of the Santa Serafina coffee plantation, there' s a possibility of bird watching.
5. El Terraceo Trail. 3 km route through the terraces created by man on the slopes of the mountains to be planted with trees. Bird watching, too.
6. Hiking The Stool. With a length of 8 km this path has a wide panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and valleys, when you reach the top of La Loma del Taburete at 453 meters of altitude you have a view of the south coast over the waters of Batabanó Gulf. The descent ends in the San Juan River Baths.
7. Hiking Under the Song of Tocororo. With a length of 5 km, it begins in the community of Las Terrazas and ends in the ruins of Cafetal La Union, crossing mountains and forests. It' s an area with abundant birds.
