Hiking through the Tobacco Fields of the Viñales Valley
The limestone rocks of the Viñales valley are something special early in the morning or in the evening, when the light of sunrise or sunset strikes them and mist drifts through the valley. The first sunrise wasn’t as spectacular as the evening before, but the great swathes of mist were wonderful to watch.
A hike through red earth
Once the mist had cleared and we had a hearty breakfast behind us, we set off on a big hike through the valley – at over 30 degrees it came to a good 20 kilometres in the end. The landscape with its red, fertile earth is wonderful for hiking, and on the way we stocked up on coffee and honey. Unfortunately our luggage was already too full, otherwise even more honey would have come with us. Criss-crossing tobacco and rice fields, we headed back to Viñales in the evening: shoes dirty, the end-of-day beer after this sweaty day more than earned. The Viñales Valley is a karst depression of around 132 square kilometres in the Sierra de los Órganos; it has been a World Heritage Site since 1999 because tobacco is still grown here largely by hand using centuries-old methods. The limestone hills around it hide caves such as the Cueva del Indio.
The limestone hills of Viñales silhouetted in the morning mist, the sky pink.Palms in thick fog, only their crowns standing out.Limestone hills in the mist and palms above the blanketed valley.Palms and a wooded slope emerge from the fog.Palm tops poking out of the swathes of mist – a joy to watch.Fog between the palms, a limestone hill behind.Dark limestone hills above a sea of fog, the sky pink and lilac.The last swathes of mist drift away and the valley opens up.Two yoked oxen in front of a wooden cart by the turquoise house.Panadería El Pilar on a blue wall and the Cabaña Manzana sign.A rider by the pond, the limestone hills on the right.A turquoise wooden house and houses in the valley before the limestone hills.A man in a hat drives two oxen along the track.The head of a yoked ox in front of shutters.Cultivo de Piña on a painted stone and a rooster under the wooden roof.Steep, overgrown limestone hills above the green meadow.Fruit, bottles and a Piña Colada board at the stall.A wooden plough against the plank wall and green bananas.A sheer limestone wall, overgrown on top, trees at its foot.A jagged cave entrance in the limestone.From the dark cave out to rock and trees.Palms growing on the steep limestone wall.Young rows of crops on red earth, the limestone hills behind.A green meadow between limestone hills and grain on a tarpaulin.A large, densely overgrown limestone hill above the meadow.A sandy path along a post fence – a good 20 kilometres in over 30 degrees.A brown cow lying in the dry grass before the rocks.A large tree, a cow lying down, red earth.People bent over the fertile red earth, a barn behind.A barn with a steep palm-thatched roof by the sandy track.Valley and limestone hills under clouds, twice.Two horses, one with a blaze, one with an orange blanket.Two men in straw hats in the tobacco field, leaves in their arms.A pale blue house behind the fence, trees and a limestone hill.Dusty trainers on dry earth – shoes filthy, the day done.Limestone hills as a dark silhouette under clouds.A small red-roofed house below the wooded rock.A track in the valley, a man leading two oxen.A red-and-white classic car on the track before palm-thatched roofs.A fenced field with a palm-thatched barn, the open valley beside it.A green house, banana plants and a colourful painting on the rock face.Two limestone walls, a dark hole in the rock on the left.A rusty cart and chickens in front of the bushes.A track with palms, small houses and a lone rock.A vegetable cart by the roadside and a yellow sign with two pedestrians.Low sun behind clouds, the limestone hills in silhouette.A trainer against an ornate metal table – the evening beer more than earned.
