Villa Clara Province% 42 / pop 803,690

Why Go?He wasn’t born here, never lived here and died in the dis-tant Bolivian mountains, but Che Guevara is synonymous with Villa Clara, for liberating its capital, Santa Clara, from Batista’s corrupt gambling party. Yet, the patchwork of misty tobacco fields and placid lakes wedged between the Sierra del Escambray and Cuba’s northern keys offers reasons other than Che to drop by.

The city of Santa Clara is an important junction for cross-country travelers, with a cutting-edge nightlife and some palatial casas particulares, while nearby the Escambray peaks glimmer with adventure possibilities centered on the mirror-like Hanabanilla lake.

Picturesque Remedios is the region’s oldest settlement, and its somnolence is annually shattered by a frenzied fire-work party, Las Parrandas. Northeastward, on Villa Clara’s coveted coast, beach life revolves around the archipelago of the Cayerías del Norte, Cuba’s fastest-growing resort zone. The presence of an adjacent Unesco Biosphere Reserve has meant development has been relatively sustainable – so far.

When to Go¨¨ It’s hard to conceive of a better time to take a trip to Villa

Clara than December. The 24th, specifically. That’s right. Swap a boring Christmas for one of the Caribbean’s hottest street parties in Remedios.

¨¨ Head over to the Cayerías del Norte for the start of the high season, which runs December through March, when the chances of the skies raining on your beach parade are as low as they get.

Best Beaches¨¨ playa Ensenachos (p277)

¨¨ playa Las Salinas (p277)

¨¨ playa El Mégano (p277)

¨¨ playa Santa María (p276)

Best Local Life¨¨ parque Vidal (p261)

¨¨ La Marquesina (p268)

¨¨ La Casa de la Ciudad (p263)

¨¨ Centro Cultural las Leyendas (p274)

¨¨ Caibarién (p275)

Santa Clara .................261Around Santa Clara .......................... 270Embalse Hanabanilla ............... 270Remedios .................. 272Caibarién ................... 275Cayerías del Norte .... 276

©Lonely¨Planet¨Publications¨Pty¨Ltd

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