Exploring the province

Mayabeque is one of the 15 provinces of the Republic of Cuba, which emerged on August 1, 2010, when the National Assembly of People’s Power of Cuba agreed to amend Law No. 1304 of 1976 on the “Political Administrative Division”, approving the creation of the provinces of Mayabeque and Artemisa from the segmentation of the former province of Havana. The name comes from the Mayabeque River and the beach of the same name on the southern coast (for more details of the etymology of this indigenous name see the article on the river of the same name). The capital of the province of Mayabeque is the city of San José de las Lajas.2345

The Mayabeque Province is the smallest in the country with the exception of the city of Havana and the smallest population. San José de las Lajas is also the smallest provincial capital of Cuba. The province is bordered to the east by Matanzas, to the south by the Gulf of Batabanó, to the north by the Florida Strait and Havana and to the west by the Province of Artemisa.

Main Sights

The beaches of Jibacoa on the north coast are the main tourist attraction of the province, with a typical landscape of a deep blue sea (Gulf Stream) and coastal rocky hills with several hotel facilities (Hotels Breezes Jibacoa and Villa Trópico) and camping bases of the east coast of Havana: Las Caletas, La Laguna, Peñas Blancas, Puerto Escondido, and so on. Also of high scenic value are the Via Blanca that borders the north coast (viewpoint of the Bacunayagua bridge) and the elevations of the Escaleras de Jaruco, which has a hotel and camping base.

The beaches on the southern coast are characterized by their muddy and shallow waters, the Playita de Batabanó, Playa Mayabeque, El Rosario and El Caimito are some of the areas of enjoyment in the south of the province. The Mayabeque River has its main mouth in the Mayabeque Beach which is an attraction for visitors to this place; its waters are cold and sometimes turn a reddish color due to the vegetation of Red Mangrove that surrounds the river.