Santiago East

South-East and Santiago covers the Cuban Oriente — the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín and Guantánamo, at the eastern tip of the island. It is the region furthest from Havana (870 km), the hottest, the most African and the most rebellious in Cuba. Historical cradle of the first Spanish colonies (Baracoa founded in 1511, Santiago in 1515), theatre of the Castro revolution (Granma landing at Las Coloradas in 1956, Sierra Maestra guerrilla warfare, final victory proclaimed in Santiago on 1 January 1959), undisputed capital of Afro-Cuban music (son cubano, rumba, conga), it offers the most authentic and most intense Cuban experience.

Santiago de Cuba (425,000 inhabitants), the country's second city, is the region's beating heart. Historic capital before the transfer to Havana in 1607, cultural capital of Oriente, Cuba's most African city, it lives at its own rhythm — hotter, more Caribbean, more festive and more rebellious. Casa Diego Velázquez (1522, considered the oldest colonial building in the Americas), the UNESCO Castillo del Morro (17th-century fortress guarding the bay), the Moncada barracks (1953, Castro's failed attack), the Santa Ifigenia cemetery (Martí mausoleum, Castro's tomb since 2016) and the Casa de la Trova (legendary son cubano institution) are its essential sites. The Santiago Carnival (third week of July) is the biggest in Cuba.

North-east of Santiago, the Sierra Maestra unfolds its lush peaks — Pico Turquino (1,974 m, the highest point in Cuba) is climbed in 2-3 days from Bartolomé Masó or Santo Domingo. It was here that Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos and their guerrillas led the revolution from the Granma landing on 2 December 1956 to victory in January 1959. The Comandancia de la Plata (Castro's HQ, reached on a day hike from Santo Domingo) is a powerful historic site.

At the eastern extreme, Baracoa (Cuba's end of the world, 190 km from Santiago via the spectacular La Farola road) is the oldest Cuban city (1511), which remained isolated until the 1960s. Lined with deserted beaches, bathed in tropical humidity conducive to cocoa cultivation, dominated by the El Yunque sugar loaf (575 m), it offers a unique Caribbean atmosphere — mixed-race, nostalgic. Baracoa cocoa is among the world's finest and local cuisine (cucurucho with coconut, coconut milk, fish grilled in coconut sauce) is distinctly different from the rest of Cuba.