Pinar del Rio City

Pinar del Rio - Other Cities and Attractions

The city of Pinar del Río was founded in 1774 and with a population of 120,000 it’s the capital of the province of the same name. The name, meaning “Pine of the River”, refers to the tall pines that grace river banks around the province, and especially flourish near in the extreme western side of the island.

Pinar del Río is in fairly well upkeep by Cuban standards, especially considering the nationwide shortages of paint and construction materials. Like Havana, Pinar del Río features many pieces of beautiful architecture. It has a particular abundance of highly decorated, well maintained neoclassical buildings.

Historically, the city and the surrounding area have been important in tobacco production. In the 18th century, smugglers seeking to evade the Spanish monopoly on the tobacco trade chose this area because of its distance from the government in Havana, as well as the prime soil and conditions.

As sugar cane became Cuba’s primary cash crop, and single greatest source of economic income, however, the importance of Pinar del Río’s tobacco crop fell and the city suffered from administrative neglect. Today Pinar del Río manufactures some of Cuba’s finest cigars, using tobacco leaves grown near the city. It is still considered an unimportant city by many Cubans, despite its size and economic significance relative to the rest of the towns in the province.

Attractions Pinar del Rio city

Casa Garay Fábrica de Guayabitas del Pinar>

This little factory produces the town's signature Guayabita del Pinar liquor. They produce two types, dulce (sweet) and seco (dry). Both are cane liquors distilled with the fruit berries of a local bush. It's a good quality sipping liquor that, if you stretch your imagination, is almost brandylike.

Fábrica de Tabacos Francisco Donatién

Several fine brands are rolled at this renowned cigar factory. You can walk through the timeless rolling station, where a caller reads news and short stories to keep the rollers interested. You'll also visit rooms where the final selection and grading, labeling, and boxing take place. You can buy some of the wares here, or at the well-stocked Casa del Habano across the street.

Guach Palace

Located in the capital of Pinar del Río, this has been called the strangest building in Cuba. It’s an old mansion built in an eclectic style and houses the museum of natural sciences, which exhibits significant examples of the wildlife of Pinar del Rio and of other latitudes. Among the specimens of the primitive fauna of Pinar del Rio, whose fossil remains are exhibited in the museum, is the plesiosaurus.

This enormous marine animal lived in the seas that covered the territory millions of years ago, including the Viñales Valley. Trygonias fossils, considered the oldest fossils in Cuba, are also on display.

The central courtyard has an exhibit of full-scale sculptures of prehistoric reptiles, mammals and birds, as well as a bass-relief mural depicting the evolution of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. This Institution does considerable extension work through the groups of "Friends of Nature" that foster the conservation and study of Cuba's natural heritage.