The painted houses
Blue, yellow and pink.
Elena.laps — CC BY-SA 4.0 · acediscovery — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marc-Lautenbacher — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert — CC BY-SA 4.0
Trinidad is a town in Sancti Spíritus Province in central Cuba and one of the best-preserved cities in the Caribbean from the days of the sugar trade. UNESCO listed it in 1988 with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, for its part in that trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its streets today look as if they have changed little. Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded it on 23 December 1514 as the Villa de la Santísima Trinidad, and Hernán Cortés recruited men here for his expedition of 1518. Its wealth came later from sugar, grown and milled in the valley by enslaved Africans, and the rich built large houses that still stand around the main square. You walk streets paved with uneven stone between single-storey houses in blue, yellow and pink, with tall wooden window grilles. Horse carts and old cars pass now and then. The main square has a large yellow church, seen from outside, and palm trees. From above you see red roofs with the blue Escambray Mountains behind. The valley is about 4 km away in a straight line from the viewpoint, and Topes de Collantes about 12 km. The stones are rough, so wear comfortable shoes, and take care at night when lights fail. Getting here can be hard with fuel shortages, so arrange transport ahead. The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Cuba because of fuel, power and water shortages, so read the current advice before you plan.
Blue, yellow and pink.
A yellow church and palms.
Red before the mountains.
Central Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus Province, Cuba
Two days suit the town and the valley, with a third for the mountains.
It is a long road trip that fuel shortages can affect, so arrange it ahead and confirm the day before.