Parque Nacional La Güira

cuevas de los portales

This is one of the most beautiful places in Cuba, and certainly one of the least visited. A river cuts through a mountain, forming three joined caves. The caves are big and open so you don't need flashlights or a guide. The jungle outside the caves is wilderness.

Che Guevara lived in the cave in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He figured that if the Americans bombed the rest of Cuba, he'd be ready to lead the fight against the invaders. In and around the cave are plaques explaining that he played chess on this bench, wrote letters on this table, fired his rifle at that tree for practice, etc.