Santiago de Cuba

Santiago sits in a bowl of hills at the head of a deep bay in the far east of the island, closer to Haiti than to Havana and different from it in almost every respect: hotter, hillier, more Caribbean and with much deeper Afro-Cuban and Haitian-descended roots. It is where son developed and where the trova tradition is still strongest, and the July carnival is the largest and least tourist-shaped in the country. The Castillo San Pedro de la Roca guards the bay mouth and carries the city's World Heritage listing.

What you actually see

• Parque Cespedes - the central square with the cathedral and the oldest house in Cuba on it.
• The Tumba Francesa - a Haitian-descended music and dance tradition maintained by a society in the city.
• Casa de la Trova - the venue where the city's song tradition is played nightly.
• The July carnival - drums, congas and street parades, the biggest in the country.

When to go

November to April is the dry season and the most bearable; the east is hotter and more humid than Havana. The carnival falls in the last week of July, in the worst of the heat, and is worth timing for anyway. Hurricane season runs from June to November.

Honest expectations

It is a long way from Havana, meaning a flight or the best part of a day on the road, which is why short trips skip it. The city is steep, hot and harder work than the western towns. Practical shortages and persistent hustlers are the same as elsewhere in the country.

Nearby

El Cobre is half an hour northwest, La Gran Piedra and Baconao are east, and the Sierra Maestra rises west.