National Park Caguanes

The archaeological and natural history of the Caguanes region is fascinating and unique. Archaeological studies began in the 1940s, highlighting the discovery of two funerary caves in the eastern keys of Caibarién. In 1958, during an expedition in honor of the International Geophysical Year, indigenous drawings were discovered in the caves of Colón, Ramos, and de las Conchas, the first of their kind in Cuba in the 20th century. Remains of a small indigenous settlement were also found in Cayo Caguanes, including pebbles and stone balls associated with burials.

In the Caguanes region, 63 aboriginal archaeological sites have been identified, of which 19 are paleontological and 40 are related to historical-cultural elements, mainly linked to the development of the sugar industry and ruins of ancient settlements. Additionally, there are 14 monuments and plaques. Among the paleontological evidence are remains of species such as the Megalocnus rodens (a large prehistoric sloth rodent), the Sloth (Parocnus brownii), various species of hutias, crocodiles, and the Arboreal Sloth (Neocnus gliriformis). In 1986, the Giant Owl (Ornimegalonyx oteroi) was discovered, considered of great scientific value for its degree of conservation.

One of the most unique features of the Caguanes National Park is the karst heights present in the Stone Keys, such as Cayo la Aguada, Cayo Lucas, Cayo Salinas, Cayo Fábrica, Cayo Cueva, Cayo Ají Chico, Cayo Ají and Ajicito, Cayo Ermita, Cayo del Obispo, and Cayo Palma, as well as in the coastal karst elevations of Punta Caguanes, Isla del Medio, Caguanes, Guayarúes, and Judas. These formations, composed of Miocene rocks from the Güines formation, facilitate the creation of horizontal phreatic caves and caverns of the Caguanes subtype.

Cayo Caguanes is one of the keys with the largest number of caves and caverns, with 35 caves in 114 hectares, totaling 15 km of galleries, making it one of the places with the highest cave density per square meter in Cuba. Fourteen of these caves have the status of local monuments. In these caves and caverns, numerous karst dissolution geoforms can be observed, such as columns, eccentrics, natural bridges, sinkholes, skylights, fungiforms, stalactites, stalagmites, and lapiez (“diente de perro”).

In the low coastal plain areas, there are accumulative and lacuno-palustrine forms associated with the formation of salt marshes, swamp grasslands, mangroves, and coastal lagoons, which constitute an important ecosystem for the refuge and feeding of fauna, especially birds. Associated with submerged relief forms are submarine geoforms of great ecological importance, such as the “cabezos,” submerged rocky outcrops that provide refuge for diverse marine fauna. So far, four “cabezos” are known within the National Park, which are biodiversity centres for marine life and natural substrates for coral development.

These findings and characteristics highlight the high historical, cultural, and natural potential of the Caguanes region, making it an archaeological and ecological treasure of Cuba.