Soroa

Soroa known as “Cuba’s Rainbow” is located in the western part of the Sierra del Rosario Mountains and in Candelaria county in the extreme southeastern of the province of Pinar del Rio. The county of Candelaria is the smallest in the province and closest to Havana. The Sierra del Rosario was recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1985. This area has 25 000 hectares and includes Soroa and Las Terrazas.

Surrounded by exuberant nature, Soroa owes its name to French Jean Paul Soroa who at the end of the 18th century was impressed by the splendorous vegetation of the area, installing his coffee plantations and naming the place after him. The area has a mountainous section made up of low and medium elevations with narrow valleys between the mountains developed along the rivers. The main rivers in the area are: El Bayate and Manantiales which includes a beautiful and peaceful waterfall.

In the surrounding areas of Soroa you may find a wide and rich variety of flora and fauna of great scientific importance. The flora has a diverse number of trees, shrubs, wild orchards, fern as well as small palms of great interests for being a living fossil that dates back to the Jurassic period. It is also an attraction for bird watchers with a strong presence of endemic species of them the Tocororo considered the National Bird; the Zunzun or Hummingbird; the Carta Cuba; Tomeguin del Pinar among others.

Soroa is an ideal site to practice a variety of outdoors recreational activities. The area’s natural environment opens up possibilities for walking, horseback riding, alpinism or bike tourism.

The most famous attraction in Soroa is the Orchard Botanical Garden with 700 species from all over the world, out of which 250 are endemics from Cuba. In 1942, Tomas Felipe Camacho an attorney from the Canary Islands wanted to construct in this area a rest house and dedicated part of his life to the impressive art of cultivating orchards.