Bariay-Playa Esmeralda

• Pick up at 08: 00h in your accommodation at Holguin / Gibara / Guardalavaca in vintage American car heading to Cayo Bariay (Holguín).
• Accompanied by a local guide, in the Parque Monumento Nacional Bahía de Bariay, you will enjoy the combined experience of knowing the life in the Cuban fields with the history of the Bay where Cristobal Colón disembarked . It includes swimming in natural pools, aboriginal dances, horseback riding and oxcart tour.
• The excursion ends at Playa Esmeralda, with time to relax and the possibility of snorkeling in its sublime blue waters.
• Lunch will be held in the surroundings, and will be based on traditional dishes.
• Return times vary depending on place of accommodation of the client.

The Bahía de Bariay National Park is a protected natural area located 37km from Holguín. Its natural and historical treasures include more than 40km of coasts, six bays, one of which was the scene of the landing of Cristobal Colón to the new world on October 28th, 1492, three rivers, seven cays, more than 150 caves, beaches, several natural forests with rich flora and fauna and hundreds of trails.

You will tour the park on horse, to enjoy the peculiar beauty of the landscape where Cuban nature and the blue of the Atlantic Ocean mix with sculptural and architectural works. You will visit the Monumental pieces which represent the meeting between European and aborigen culture. They were designed in classic hellenic style, in 1992 by the Holguin artist Caridad Ramos in the 500th anniversary of the landing.

As a recreationof this historical episode, in the Park you will find an interesting archeological museum that shows the vestiges of the village that Cristobal Colón visited and the replica of an aboriginal village, built following the description made by the Admiral in his diary. There you can enjoy the representation of a typical aboriginal dance by locals.

Tour goes on on a cart pulled by oxen, with a stop at the house of a local peasant who will explain the way of life in the Cuban fields and will offer you a typical Cuban coffee and coconut water extracted from coconut trees of Bariay.

Tour ends at Playa Esmeralda, 5km from Guardalavaca. This beach, together with Guardalavaca and Playa Pesquero, hosts the most important hotel zone in Holguin. Time for swimming, relaxing or snorkeling in this small paradise surrounded by cliffs, golden sands and emerald waters.