This fortress, which now houses the Hotel El Castillo, dominates a hill overlooking Baracoa. It is a former castle looking out over red-tiled roofs, the town’s expansive, oyster-shaped bay and the landmark mountain called El Yunque (The Anvil), named for its singular shape. Although construction on it started in 1739, the fort wasn't finished until nearly 200 years later. Even if you don't stay here, stop by for the views of El Yunque and the city.

A peculiar elevation of vertical slopes and flat top located 8 km off the Baracoa city, Columbus described it in his diary notes of his first trip to Cuba in 1492. El Yunque de Baracoa, declared National Monument and symbol of the city of Baracoa, considered an ecological island that called the attention of Admiral Christopher Columbus in his first trip to the Americas, serving as an orientation feature due to its unusual characteristics (flat topped). The fauna of the Yunque is rich and diverse there are abundant woodpeckers, humming birds, jutias, lizards, reptiles. There is a natural viewpoint at 573 m, from which one can see a vast landscape of green mountains and rivers with the Bay of Baracoa as backdrop.

In the Main Square is a bust of Hatuey, the brave Indian leader who resisted early conquistadores until he was caught by the Spanish and burned at the stake. There’s also a very lively Casa de la Trova here. It is worth wandering along the Malecón, the seaside avenue, from the snug Fuerte Matachín (an early 19th-century fort that has a small but informative municipal museum inside) to the Hotel La Rusa, which is named after a legendary Russian émigrée who over the years hosted celebrities such as Che Guevara and Errol Flynn.

The Alejandro de Humboldt National Park is of the most important places for the preservation of the endemic flora of the region. The name of the park is an homage of the German Alejandro de Humboldt, an important scientist who went all over the island in the 19th century, achieving the title of Cuba’s Second Discoverer. It covers the provinces of Guantánamo and Holguín, in the northeastern region of the country with an extension of 10,680 hectares. This Park was declared World Heritage in 2001 and is one of the mountainous richest endemic ecosystems in the world. The landscapes of the area are typical and at the same time unique in the country, showing contrasts between the mountains of Sagua-Baracoa, with the vegetation of tropical humid forests. The park has camping places, accommodations, guided routes and high qualified staff to solve any doubt or problem of the visitors. 64 species of birds have been reported in its fauna, out of which 12 are endemic, which makes this area very appropriate for their observation. The region represents the last habitat of the Royal Woodpecker, and among mammals, one of the last ones for Almiques. Here we can also find one of the most beautiful species of snails in the world: The Polymita. Enjoy the forest, rivers, puddles and waterfalls in a rainy environment which create an incomparable landscape. A real treasure you cannot miss on your trip to the Eastern side of Cuba.