Valle de los Ingenios, Cuba

The central province of Sancti Spíritus holds the privilege of being the only one in the Cuban archipelago on which territory are settled two of the first seven villages founded at the beginning of the 16th century by the Spaniard adelantado (conquistador) Diego Velázquez: the Sancti Spíritus and the Santísima Trinidad. Sancti Spíritus, preserves on its old town buildings which denote the diversity of styles which for three centuries enriched notably its confusing urban framework and among which stand out the Iglesia Parroquial Mayor Church, the Principal Theater and the Bridge above the Yayabo River.

However, Trinidad, considered a city-museum, is the one which has one of the most complete colonial architectural complexes, a fact recognised by the UNESCO in December 1988, when it was declared World Heritage. Stand out the Plaza Mayor Square and the Iglesia Mayor de la Santísima Trinidad Church, which treasures among its most valuable pieces the famous True Cross.

Of the splendour of the peak of the sugar industry in the village of Trinidad in the 17th century, tells the nearby large Ingenios Valley, also declared World Heritage by the UNESCO and it constitutes an important archeological reservation.

Barely a dozen of kilometers separate the old town of Trinidad from the beaches of the Ancón Peninsula and Blanco Cay, bathed by the waters of the Caribbean Sea and considered among the best ones in the Southern coast of the island. Also nearby the center is located the mountain massif of Escambray which invites the most intrepid ones to live days of intense activity in the Topes de Collantes National Park, located 800 meters high above the sea level where the National Monument of Salto de Caburní Falls stand out among its numerous attractives. Although it offers the possibility of improving the life quality in the ideal environment brought by a resting and health center known as Kurhotel.

In the central part of the province, at the same time, is located the biggest artificial lake in the country, the Presa Zaza Dam, which is full of trouts and it can reach the seizes which points it among the best ones of its species at international level.

Toward to North, the Caguanes National Park, recently declared by the UNESCO as Biosphere Reservation, has an important cave system in which you can find numerous places with archaeological interest and flooded caves.

Sancti Spíritus is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is the identically named Sancti Spíritus. Another major city is Trinidad. Sancti Spíritus is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is the identically named Sancti Spíritus. Another major city is Trinidad.During the 17th century, both Dutch and British pirates attempted to take control of what is today Sancti Spíritus province, but with little success, as the Spanish garrison held them off. From 1660 to 1680, Trinidad was plagued by pirates from Jamaica and Tortuga, and on two occasions, pirates razed the city.

The provinces of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, and Villa Clara were once all part of the now defunct province of Las Villas. Tourism is a big earner for the province, with most of the tourism centered on the old city of Trinidad, a World Heritage-listed city which has dozens of colonial buildings (and almost no 20th-century architecture), dating back to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.

Francisco Iznaga,[2] a Basque landowner in the western portion of Cuba during the first thirty years of the colonization of Cuba, was elected Mayor of Bayamo in 1540. Iznaga was the originator of a powerful lineage which finally settled in Sancti Spíritus and Trinidad, the location of the Torre Iznaga. His descendants fought for the independence of Cuba and for annexation to the U.S., from 1820 to 1900.

In the area, as with most of Cuba, sugar cane and cattle are important commodities. Large surfaces are irrigated in the farmland between Zaza Reservoir, Zaza River, and Jatibonico River in La Sierpe region. Some tobacco and rice are also grown.