Soroa

Soroa sits in the Sierra del Rosario biosphere reserve, and it has two things: an orchid garden laid out on a hillside in the 1940s by a Canary Islander in memory of his daughter, holding several hundred species with a strong Cuban endemic collection, and a waterfall on the Manantiales river reached by a short walk down a stepped path. A viewpoint above the village, the Mirador de Venus, is a steep twenty-minute climb with the whole valley from the top.

The landscape

• The orchid garden - several hundred species on a terraced hillside, with a strong endemic collection.
• The waterfall - a drop on the Manantiales river, reached by a stepped path and swimmable below.
• The Mirador de Venus - a steep climb to a viewpoint over the valley and the sierra.
• The forest - Sierra del Rosario biosphere reserve, with good birding on the trails.

When to go

December to March is the best orchid flowering. The waterfall carries most water from May to October, when the garden is greener but wetter. Mornings are best for birds and for the climb to the viewpoint.

Before you go

Both the garden and the waterfall are charged separately and neither takes long, so this is a half day rather than a destination. The garden has suffered from under-investment and is not what it was. The waterfall is modest and can be reduced to a trickle in a dry spring.

Nearby

Las Terrazas is a short drive east in the same reserve, and Havana is an hour and a half northeast.

Key facts