CubaPLUS Magazine

It is no secret to anyone that the first value that Cubans give to Playa Girón is historical, since it is the site where in April, 1961 a  mercenary invasion was defeated for the first time in America, sponsored by a foreign power.

But Playa Girón is much more than that. We are talking about one of the most beautiful places for sun and sand and wildlife in Cuba, located in the Ciénaga de Zapata municipality, south of the western province of Matanzas, the largest wetland in the insular Caribbean, a remote area of great biodiversity, where notable native species inhabit, among which extraordinary birds and the Cuban Rhombifer crocodile stand out, in a restricted area.

So vacationers can find good reasons to spend an excellent vacation there, tan their skin on the sand of a good beach, or tour exciting places where the wildlife is very rich and almost virgin. Whether  you go to a coral reef or thick forest, or near a pond or canal. Llearn about  Cuban history, if you want to. The first thing built in 1959 was the Villa Turística Playa Girón, with its small protective boardwalk which, after it was completed in June 1961, went on to perform other functions as a study and housing center.

But in 1978, the original idea of its use for recreation and rest was resumed and the services of some 60 cabins began to be activated for that purpose.in addition to the warm and seductive tropics that surround them everywhere.

Already in the last quarter of the 20th century, numerous Canadian tourists began to arrive, attracted by nature and the comfortable and cheap services received there, given with great simplicity and hospitality, with the added security and peace that reign there, Since 1991, a recreational center began to provide services in Caleta Buena, as part of the Villa Turística Playa Girón. Specializing in the adventure of diving and fishing, with gastronomy, bar, restaurant and cafeteria services. Two years later, converted into a national reference tourist center, with a higher rate of repeat customers, this facility and the town continued to grow.

Located in an area with frequent meteorological phenomena, the facility has experienced very good recovery times during hurricane seasons. But it has always guaranteed the protection of vacationers and the rapid enlistment of services.

According to geographers, Playa Girón is located on a carbonate axis at one end of the so-called Bay of Pigs, in the southern center of the Ciénaga de Zapata.The copious foliage of the forests of Cayo Ramona can be admired to the north, while to the east the vegetable massifs of Guasasa emerge and to the south it can flow into the Caribbean Sea.

Both the splendid forests and the well-protected coves once attracted corsairs and pirates who sought shelter and food in the area of misdeeds that had turned the Caribbean.Evidence has also been found that settlements of ancient native settlers lived there, the Taíno or Arawak Indians.

After many years of practicing beach and nature tourism, the activity of the so-called industry without chimneys is among the most important in the area, along with fishing and the production of charcoal. The tourist offer has increased not only with the Villa that has grown in multiple services. Local entrepreneurs have also launched numerous comfortable hostels that offer a very varied and quality accommodation.