"Baracoa" Top 5 Page for this destination Baracoa by Alain_Smeets

The first of the seven villages founded by the Spaniards was Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa, which was founded in 1511-12 and it was the first capital and archbishopric of Cuba. It's currently known as Baracoa, the town's name comes from an aboriginal word meaning "presence of sea".

We came in Baracoa after being in Santiago de Cuba and we immediately liked this place. It’s quieter and the second evening we already had a street feast. We had here a great time and it’s definitely better to visit Baracoa then Santiago. Especially if you like to hike, you have here a lot of opportunities.

View over Baracoa

We wanted to take the bus to go on a hike in Yumiri, but asked a guy in a jeep if he could take us 7 into his jeep and that was no problem. We drove with him on a hilly road and always when he went downhill he shut off the engine to spare fuel. See my travelogue "With 10 people in a small army jeep towards Yumiri".

A great place to visit.

Me during the hike to el Junci (photo: Jean)

Yumiri has a special meaning: in the time of the Spaniards, the original inhabitants the Indians were their slaves. A lot of them didn't like this way of life, which was totally different from their normal free life. They took their own life by throwing themselves from the rocks into the dept of the valley with the yell: Yumiri on their lips. This means something like I die or I'm free. I didn't find this translation in any dictionary.

And then you also have the table mountain El Junci, you can see him already from the harbour, but you can also go there and take a hike to the top. We almost succeded to find the top on our own, but .... See my travelogue "Stranding in sight of the top from El Junci".

• Pros:A relaxed city with beautiful landscapes
• In a nutshell:Go there to experience another Cuba