Desembarco del Granma National Park
Desembarco del Granma is a national park in southeastern Cuba in Granma province. The name of the park can be translated into Russian as « Disembarkation from Granma ». Granma is a yacht on which Raul Castro, Che Guevara and another 79 associates arrived in Cuba to organize a revolution. The park was organized in 1986 and has an area of 261 km2.
The lands of the national park are a unique geological and geomorphological area with a large number of sea terraces, cliffs, as well as impressive cliffs from the karst. Desembarko del Granma has survived almost pristine, near the coast there is one of the largest limestone terraces in the world, called Escalera de los Hihantes ( Giant Ladder ). The upper point of the terraces is located at an altitude of 360 meters and gradually 8 steps on the ground and 12 steps under water goes to a depth of 180 meters. On the steps of the terraces violent vegetation. Due to sea currents under water, visibility reaches 40 meters, which makes these places very attractive for divers. The underwater world is striking with its bizarre formations of coral and algae, caves and grottoes, inhabited by a large number of tropical fish, manatees and turtles.
Desembarko del Granma has an extremely rich plant world. Here 512 species of plants are recorded, while over 200 of them do not grow anywhere else. Animals are few - only 13 mammals, 44 species of retilia, seven amphibians and 110 species of birds. Among them, it is worth noting the protected Caribbean manatee, blue-cooked pigeon, as well as the hummingbird « Sunsunito » - with its size of 63 mm is the smallest bird in the world. In the sea among the corals you can see various turtles: olive, Ridley's turtle, Hawksbill.
In the park, hundreds of years ago, the Tainu Indians performed their rites, the remains of which were found here. At the right time, approximately 900 people live in the park, who are direct descendants of the Tainu Indians. Desembarko del Granma is a little-known tourist destination. According to recent estimates, annually there are no more than a thousand tourists in the park, including the Cubans themselves.
