La Farola

Immediately beyond Cajobabo [1], the highway turns north and climbs into the Sierra del Purial along La Farola, initiated during the Batista era (it was called the Vía Mulata) and completed since the Revolution to link Baracoa [2] with the rest of Cuba.

This highway spirals uphill through the valley of the Ríos Yumurí and Ojo. The road narrows with the ascent, the bends growing tighter, the views more dramatic and wide-ranging. Soon you are climbing through pine forests amid the most non-Cuban landscapes in Cuba.

The summit (Alto de Coltillo) hosts a tiny café, beyond which the road drops through a moist valley until you emerge by the sea at Baracoa [2].

The unlit road is subject to landslides. Drive with care!