Description of the attraction
The Gran Piedra National Park is located northeast of the city of Santiago de Cuba. The unique beauty of the plains and mountains and the exotic lush tropical vegetation, the gentle azure sea and the fertile mild climate attract travelers and tourists from all over the world.
The area of the park is 3357 hectares, and it owes its name to a huge rock weighing about 65 thousand tons. The Gran Piedra rock is part of the country's highest mountain range, the Sierra Maestra. Disputes about the origin of this giant boulder are still ongoing. Geologists will never understand where the Gran Piedra rock came from, which means “big rock”. Its parameters are 25 m in height, 51 m in length, and 30 m in width. According to the Guinness Book, which includes the stone, this is the world's third largest natural monolith.
In Gran Piedra rock climbing and amazing hiking are possible. Among tourists, these excursions are the most popular and they take place every day, although there is a small fee for the ascent. Climbing the rock is also not easy - there are 452 steps that are located around the mountain. But the effort will not be in vain. From the summit of Gran Piedra, an amazing, one of the most majestic views in Cuba opens. On a clear day, you can see the nearby islands of Jamaica and Haiti.
National Park Gran Piedre will amaze you not only with its majestic giant, but also with the riot of the tropics, with an abundance of all kinds of living creatures. Here you can meet exotic birds, kartakubas, tokoro, sparrowhawks. The flora of the park includes 222 species of ferns and 352 species of orchids. Cypresses, eucalyptus pines, fruit and peach trees, apple trees - all these trees grow everywhere, and during the harvest time you can taste delicious fruits.
Nearby there is a tourist center of the same name, an observatory, a floriculture and numerous abandoned coffee plantations.
