Rock art found in Cuba 2020

In 2017 I wrote about Rock art in Cuba. In 2020 it was announced that some new rock art had been found in Cuba. This is in the Sierra del Infierno in the province of Pinar del Río.

The Sierra del Infierno, (red arrow) is fairly close to Vinales where I went in 2015.

Fourteen groups of paintings have been found, they are black geometric drawings.

See more on oncubanews, Mar 2nd 2020.

Rock art in Cuba

News of a new cave painting site in Cuba was announced in August 2017. I went to Cuba in 2015 and wasn't aware of any rock art.

The news item "Speleologists Discover New Cave Painting Site in Cuba" can be seen here. It says that 'Cuban speleologists have discovered a new cave painting site in a cave located at the Sierra Maestra mountain range, in southern Granma province'.

The mountains have a long history of guerrilla warfare, such as the Cuban Revolution and Cuban Wars of Independence, including the time when Fidel Castro hid in the area with his supporters. Map from Wikipedia -

I was in Santiago de Cuba province and saw the mountains, they are volcanic -

The rock art consists of a group of pre-Columbian petroglyphs (carvings or incisions made in the rock). These engravings are the first ones reported in that area of Cuba. Photo taken from Prensa Latina -

The discovery is particularly important because the seven cave painting sites previously identified in that province are located in the western extremity, near Cabo Cruz. Wikipedia map -

Vinales Valley, Cuba, world heritage site

The Vinales Valley in Cuba is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Vinales Valley is located in the Sierra de los Organos at the western end of Cuba.

It is a stunning karst landscape, a valley encircled by mountains and dotted with mogotes that rise up to 300 m. Mogotes are tall rounded hills that rise abruptly from the plain.

Vinales is inscribed in 1999 as a cultural site. The valley is used for traditional methods of agriculture and tobacco. The indigenous architecture of the farms and villages shows the multi-ethnic society of the area, which was colonised in the early 19th century.

There are many caves in the hills although I wasn't able to visit any. Many were inhabited for centuries before the arrival of the Spanish colonists. Escaped slaves in particular lived in the caves.

Vinales is in Pinar del Rio province, the capital is also called Pinar del Rio.

Morning mist in the valley -

Cuba cenote

I spent some time in Cuba in Sept 2015, but unfortunately was unable to visit any caves. However I did see my first cenote.

Cenotes are sinkholes that contain groundwater and usually connect to underground water bodies. The name is commonly used in the Mexico and Caribbean areas.

La Cueva de los Peces is on the southern coast of central Cuba, at the Bay of Pigs.

It is 17 km south of Playa Larga, in Matanzas province, La Cueva de los Peces is a 61-meter-deep sinkhole. There are lots of fish.

Interesting 'fossils' in the floor -

This is the coast where the cenote water presumably comes out -

The sea is crystal clear