Baracoa Airport - Gustavo Rizo, Cuba

Artemisa is a new region in Cuba located west of Havana. The region was established after the old province of Havana was divided, creating both Artemisa and Mayabeque. Artemisa is a real breeze of fresh air for the visitor leaving Havana. It features a fertile plain from the end of Havana to the beginning of the mountains of Sierra de Rosario. Tourists tend to disregard this are because its towns do not have much touristic interest, but are a true weekend for the Havana locals.

One of the great attractions of Artemisa is the town known as Las Terrazas, the ecological capital of Cuba, that enjoys a unique situation. Artemis is also known for offering a wide range of natural outdoor activities in the lush hillsides of Sierra del Rosario.

In this area, life follows a slower pace. This region enjoys a microclimate with more rain and temperatures three to four degrees lower than in Havana. The best time to visit the area is between February and May, when weather is more benevolent and rain is not too common. During April, in San Antonio de los Baños, is held the International Humor Festival.

Note that this region, alongside with Mayabeque, forms one of the best areas in Cuba for cycling and tourisms with roads rarely crowded by cars and bike being the most common means of transportation. Drivers are respectful. Even more, roads from Havana are perfect for bikes!

The most interesting areas in Artemisa are: Artemisa capital, San Antonio de los Baños, a mountain resort; Las Terrazas, the ecological capital of Cuba; and Bahía Honda. Artemisa Province is one of the two new provinces created from the former La Habana Province, whose creation was approved by the Cuban National Assembly on August 1, 2010, the other being Mayabeque Province.[2][3][4] The new provinces were enforced on January 1, 2011.

Artemisa was the largest city and municipality of the former La Habana Province. The newly formed province combined the eight western municipalities of La Habana Province and three eastern municipalities of neighbor province Pinar del Río (Bahía Honda, Candelaria and San Cristóbal). The capital and largest city is Artemisa (47,000 pop. in 2015).

The new province is only larger than Havana city and Mayabeque, but with more population than four other Cuban provinces. It is the most densely populated, after Havana city and Santiago de Cuba.

The economy of the Artemisa province is based mainly on agriculture (fruits, potatoes, rice, vegetables, sugar cane) and industry of building materials (two cement factories), food processing industry and power plants. It contains the important port of Mariel in the northern coast. The province is also important in the military sector with the main Cuban Air Force base (San Antonio de los Baños) the Western base of the Cuban Navy (Cabañas Bay) and the Military Academy (College) "Antonio Maceo" in Caimito.