Granma Province%23 / pop 836,400

Why Go?Few parts of the world get named after yachts, which helps explain why in Granma (christened for the boat in which Fidel Castro and his bedraggled revolutionaries clambered ashore to kickstart the overthrowing of the Batista regime in earnest in 1956) Cuba’s viva la Revolución spirit burns most fiercely. This land is where José Martí died and where Granma native Carlos Manuel de Céspedes freed his slaves and formally declared Cuban independence for the first time in 1868.

The alluringly isolated countryside helped the Revolu-tionary cause. Road-scarce Granma is one of Cuba’s remot-est regions with lofty tropical mountains dense enough to have harbored a fugitive Fidel Castro for over two years in the 1950s.

Isolation has bred a special brand of Cuban identity. Gran-ma’s settlements are esoteric places enlivened with weekly street parties (outdoor barbecues, archaic hand-operated street organs), and provincial capital Bayamo is among the most tranquil and cleanest places in the archipelago.

When to Go¨¨ pockets of Granma have a balmy climate and during

January and February Marea del portillo is the warmest place in Cuba.

¨¨ Bayamo’s biggest celebration is also in January (the Incendio de Bayamo, on the 12th).

¨¨ In the far-wetter Sierra Maestra mountains, March and April are the driest times for hiking, with bearable nighttime temperatures.

¨¨ December 2 is the anniversary of the Granma landing and it is celebrated with a ceremony at Los Coloradas.

Best Hikes¨¨ Comandancia de la plata

(p388)

¨¨ El Salto (p396)

¨¨ pico Turquino (p390)

¨¨ Sendero Arqueológico Natural el Guafe (p395)

Best Revolutionary Sites¨¨ Alegria del pio (p394)

¨¨ Comandancia de la plata (p388)

¨¨ Casa Natal de Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (p380)

¨¨ Museo las Colorados (p394)

Bayamo...................... 379Gran.Parque.Nacional.Sierra.Maestra............388Manzanillo...................391Niquero.......................393Alegria.del.Pio............394Parque.Nacional.Desembarco.del..Granma.......................394Pilón............................395Marea.del.Portillo.......396

©Lonely¨Planet¨Publications¨Pty¨Ltd

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1.enjoy.one.of.c

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balmiest.microclimates.in.

Mar

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lo.(p396).

2.trek.to.Fidel’s.

wartim

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ncia

de

la P

lata.

(p388).in.Gran.Parque.

Nacional.Sierra.Maestra.

3.investigate.marine.terraces.

and.archaeological.remains.in.

Parq

ue N

acio

nal D

esem

barc

o de

l Gra

nma.(p394).

4.Get.a.dose.of.mountain.

air.and.customs.in.S

anto

Do

min

go.(p389)..

5.im

merse.yourself.in.the.

unique.Bayam

o.party.spirit.

with.pork.roast,.street.organs,.

a.chess.game,.or.a.fiesta.like.

Fies

ta d

e la

Cub

anía.(p385).

6.relax.by.the.river.with.

the.bayameses.(people.from

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arqu

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(p382).

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cry.of.independence.in.M

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(p392).

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