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Baconao Park is a large park region, located about 20 kilometers away from the city of
Santiago de CubaSantiago de Cuba is the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island nation of Cuba, some east south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
, with a total surface of {{km2 to mi2|848.57|abbr=yes|wiki=yes}}.
History
The name
Baconao is related to the name of a little native that lived in the south of
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
during the
pre-ColumbianThe Pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic to European colonization during the...
period. Legend mentions a magical tree, called
bacona, that allowed the kid to play music from the lagoon's snails.
This little Cuban was known for his fishing and swimming skills, as well as playing
Batos (Cuban original baseball game).
The kid used to sit under the
bacona tree to play music from his snail. Everybody in the village was fascinated, and thought that the ability to play the music was a gift from the magical tree. Therefore, they began to call the kid
Baconao.
One day, the young boy left the village for a trip, and never came back. The villagers believed that the kid's magic returned back to the trees, and as time passed, the whole area got the name
Baconao.
In 1987, it was declared a World Heritage Biosphere Reserve by the
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
.
Attractions
The park contains a variety of attractions beside
wildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
refuge-Other uses:*Area of refuge, a location in a building that may be used by occupants in the event of a fire* A mountain hut in Europe especially in the Alps* Women's refuge is another term for Women's shelter...
s and
coffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of "coffee cherries" that grow on trees in over 70 countries. It has been said that green coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world behind crude oil. Due to its...
plantationA plantation is a large farm or estate, usually in a tropical or subtropical country, where crops are grown for sale in distant markets, rather than for local consumption. The term plantation is informal and not precisely defined....
s.
Great Rock (Gran Piedra)
The
Great Rock is a large rock of
volcanic3. Conduit
4. Base
5. Sill
6. Dike
7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano
8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano
10. Throat
11. Parasitic cone
12. Lava flow
13. Vent
14. Crater
15...
origin, measuring {{m to ft|51|abbr=yes|wiki=yes}} long, {{m to ft|25|abbr=yes}} high, and {{m to ft|30|abbr=yes}} wide. Its estimated
weightIn the physical sciences, the weight of an object is the magnitude, W, of the force that must be applied to an object in order to support it in a gravitational field. The weight of an object in static equilibrium equals the magnitude of the gravitational force acting on the object, less the effect...
is more than 63 thousand
tonThe term ton or tonne generally refers to a unit of mass. However, there exists more than one measure of mass that are named "ton", so one has to be specific when using the term. While they do vary considerably, a ton is generally one of the heaviest units of mass referred to in colloquial speech...
s.
It is possible to climb 459 stone steps to the summit of the
rockIn geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
, and stand 1,234 meters above
sea levelMean sea level is the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation.- Measurement :...
for a panoramic view. It is said that on a dark night one can see the lights of
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
Prehistoric Valley
In the
Valle de la Prehistoria visitors encounter
dozenDozen is another word for the number twelve. The dozen may be one of the earliest primitive groupings, perhaps because there are approximately a dozen cycles of the moon or months in a cycle of the sun or year. The dozen is convenient because its multiples and divisors are convenient: 12 = 2...
s of life-size model
dinosaur{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS=
Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg...
s
sculptedSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard and/or plastic material, sound, and/or text and or light, commonly stone , metal, glass, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by finding or carving; others are assembled, built together and fired, welded, molded,...
in
stoneIn geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
and other
prehistoricPrehistory is a term used to describe the period before recorded history. Paul Tournal originally coined the term Pré-historique in describing the finds he had made in the caves of southern France...
creatures lurking in lush vegetation.
Farm (Granjita Siboney)
The farm is the place where the attackers of the
Moncada BarracksThe Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after General Guillermon Moncada, a hero of the War of Independence. On July 26, 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. This armed attack is widely accepted...
(Cuartel Moncada) led by
Fidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician, one of the primary leaders of the Cuban Revolution, the Prime Minister of Cuba from February 1959 to December 1976, and then the President of the Council of State of Cuba until his resignation from the office in February 2008...
, spent the night prior to the attack on July 26, 1953.
Botanical Garden
There is also a {{km2 to mi2|0.45|abbr=yes|precision=2}}
gardenA garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form is known as a residential garden. Western gardens are almost universally...
, called
Jardin Ave de Paraiso, dating from 1860, that was laid out on a former
coffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of "coffee cherries" that grow on trees in over 70 countries. It has been said that green coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world behind crude oil. Due to its...
plantation and features a series of colour-coded gardens with unique scents and displays in each.
Museum of History of Terrestrial Transport
The museum displays over 2,500 small-scale car
replicaA replica is a copy that is relatively indistinguishable from the original. Replicas are often used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference Engine No...
s.
Aquarium
The
aquariumAn aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
is {{m to ft|30|abbr=yes}} deep, and has a
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability...
tunnel, and a
DolphinariumDolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly...
.
Baconao Lagoon
The
lagoonA lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow salt or brackish water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral reef, or similar feature. Thus, the enclosed body of water behind a barrier reef or barrier islands or enclosed by an atoll reef is called a lagoon. This...
has an area of {{km2 to mi2|4|abbr=yes}}. There is also a reproduction of a
TaínoThe Taínos are pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is believed that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawakan people of South America...
VillageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town or city. Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York City and the Saifi Village in...
, and a restaurant specialized in
seafoodSeafood is any sea animal or plant that is served as food and eaten by humans. Seafoods include seawater animals, such as fish and shellfish...
.
External links
{{portalpar|Cuba|Flag of Cuba.svg}}
{{Protected areas of Cuba}}