Marea del Portillo Beach, Granma. Cuba

• ( 6 reviews)
• Marea del Portillo. Granma Province. Cuba
• Daily
• Destination: Granma

Rating Marea del Portillo Beach

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Marea del Portillo, well known because of its black sand, extends over 2 km. It lies 108 km. south of Manzanillo Airport, in Granma. Besides the peculiar coloring of the sand, it also owes its charm to its location within a bay sheltered by the Sierra Maestra mountains and bordered by coconut and palm trees.

Visitors can enjoy horse rides, walks along ecologic paths (leading to waterfalls such as the ones on Cilantro and Las Yaguas rivers), motorboat rides, visits to neighboring keys and sea sports.

The nearness of the beach to a coral reef and the sunken ships at Santiago de Cuba waters, makes diving a tempting activity for tourists. That’s why the Cuba Albacora Scuba Diving Center, operating on the very beach, has 17 diving spots offering immersions down to the coral reef (from 10 to 35 m. deep). In the area there is a varied presence of tropical fish, including red snapper, barracuda, morays, mollusks, trumpet fish and lobster.

An ample fauna is represented by enormous sponges of different species, colonies of black coral, gorgonias, soft corals, brain and fire coral among others.

Other interesting sites are the steep sloping of the seabed at Cayo Cruz and Cristóbal Colón ship: one of the battleships belonging to Spanish Admiral Cervera’s fleet, who lost a sea battle against the American fleet at Santiago de Cuba bay
 

Marea del Portillo Beach Map

Marea del Portillo Beach is located in Granma

The territory limits to the north with the provinces of Las Tunas and Holguín; to the west with the Gulf of Guacanayabo; to the south with the Caribbean Sea, and to the east with Santiago de Cuba. It has more than 760 000 inhabitants in its 8 470 , Km2 of territorial extension.

There are two airports: Sierra Maestra, located in Manzanillo for international operations, and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, in Bayamo, for domestic flights. By road, the Central Highway links Granma with the other cities of the country. The Sierra Maestra majestic mountains, main mountainous group of Cuba, the intense blue colour of the Caribbean Sea and the fertile plains bathed by rivers coming from the high mountains present Granma as presenting a wide range of contrasts. "Desembarco del Granma" National Park is within the limits of this province, declared by UNESCO, as World Natural Site.

The province is known as the Birthplace of Cuban Nationality and preserves a rich historical and cultural heritage. It was in this city where the National Anthem of Cuba was sung for the first time. In this region is indispensable to visit Desembarco del Granma National Park, with its very interesting natural phenomena and areas of exceptional beauty. There are also other places to be visited, such as La Demajagua Park, where on October 10th, 1868, the Cuban struggles for independence began; Manzanillo, a coastal city wrapped in an atmosphere of pirates and corsairs' legends, and Bayamo, provincial capital and National Monument.

A stay at Marea del Portillo hotel, with a beach that draws attention for the dark colour of its sand, is ideal to discover the charms of Cayo Blanco, a place of suggestive sea bottoms; to enter the impressive system of marine terraces or to come closer to the natural and archaeological reservation El Guafe. Excursions to its mountainous system are one of the biggest attractiveness, for the visitor has the possibility to go into one of the more preserved, intimate, and better places of Cuban nature.

 

 

 

Review about Beaches: Marea del Portillo Beach