Alejandro de Humboldt National Park

Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt is a national park in the Cuban provinces of Holguín and Guantánamo. It is named after the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt who visited the island in 1800 and 1801. The park was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 for of its size, altitude range, complex lithology, landform diversity, and wealth of endemic flora and fauna.




Alejandro de Humboldt National Park in Cuba

The rivers that flow off the peaks of the park are some of the largest in the insular Caribbean. The park is said to be the most humid place in Cuba^[1] and this causes a high biological diversity. The park has an area of 711.4 km² (274.7 sq mi), of which 68.89 km² (26.6 sq mi) land area and 2.25 km² (0.9 sq mi) marine area. Elevation ranges from sea level to 1,168 m (3,832 ft) on El Toldo Peak.

16 of Cuba's 28 endemic plant species are protected in the park including such fauna as Dracaena cubensis and Podocarpus ekman. Fauna present in the park includes various species of parrots, lizards, hummingbirds, the endangered Cuban Solenodon (endemic), Hutia and snails.

Desembarco del Granma National Park

Desembarco del Granma National Park is a national park in south-eastern Cuba, in what is now Granma Province. The park is named after the yacht in which Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Raúl Castro, and 79 of their supporters sailed from Mexico to Cuba in 1956 and incited the Cuban Revolution.

Caguanes National Park

Caguanes National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Caguanes) is a national park in Cuba. It is located in the Yaguajay municipality in the northern part of Sancti Spíritus Province, on the northern (atlantic) coast of Cuba.

It is established around the Caguanes peninsula and includes 10 small cays (Cayos de Piedra) that reach out in the Bay of Buena Vista (a Ramsar Convention site), as well as the Guayaberas swamps and mangroves. The park covers an area of 204.87 km² (79.1 sq mi).^[1]

Conservation

The coastal landscape is characterized by caves, arches and niches that open to the sea. A total of 79 caves were numbered in the area.^[2]

The ecosystem consists of more than 200 species, 24 of them endemic.^[2] 112 species of birds nest in the marsh and coastal area. A large population of mariposa bats is present in the Tres Dolinas cave. A decline in migratory aquatic birds (spoonbills, flamingos, pelicans) nesting in the marshes was registered here. The closure of three sugar mills reduced the pollution in swamps and bay, and numbers were increasing as of 2007.^[3]

35 archeology sites are also conserved here, most of them representing cave dwellers. Cave murals can be found in the partially submerged cave system.