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It’s finally time for your long-awaited departure to Cuba. Wave goodbye to friends and family, before you board the flight and embark upon your challenge!
On arrival in Havana, you will be met at the airport by your Charity Challenge local expedition leader who will transfer you to your hotel for a welcome cocktail and dinner. (D)
Accommodation: Hotel
Founded in 1519, Havana is the Caribbean’s largest city and you will have plenty of time to explore it. Among other attractions in the Cuban capital, you will visit Old Havana, Plaza de Armas and Cathedral Square street markets. After lunch, you will leave the city for your transfer (four to five hours) to Hanabanilla Lake, where you will overnight in a hotel. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Hotel
Lake Hanabanilla is Cuba’s largest man-made reservoir, surrounded by tropical vegetation and small farmsteads. You will take a boat across the lake and continue trekking to Casa de la Gallega, an old hacienda. A further hour’s walk brings you to the Salto de Rocio, a 25m high waterfall. You will spend the night under the eaves of the Casa de la Gallega hacienda. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Hacienda
The next four days are spent trekking across the awe-inspiring Escambray Mountains. The highest peak of Cuba’s second largest mountain range is Pico San Juan at 1,140m. The slopes are swathed in pine, ancient tree-ferns, bamboo and eucalyptus. From the Casa de la Gallega you hike mostly uphill, reaching a second hacienda in the late afternoon. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Hacienda or Camping
The day starts on the hacienda’s educational trail. The route passes a cave in the mountains, as you head for Topes de Collantes. Topes is renowed as a medical centre due to its clean and pure air. From here it’s a steep descent to Salto Caburni, before completing the day’s hike at a small hotel back in Topes de Collantes. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Hotel
After breakfast it’s an arduous – mostly uphill trek – along the Vega Grande, which means large fertile plain. This trail takes you through dense vegetation deep into the heart of the Escambray Mountains. You reach Mi Retiro hacienda for a late lunch, before returning for an overnight stay in the hotel in Topes de Collantes. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Hotel
The last day of your trek is through dry scrub with occasional views of the turquoise Caribbean. As the hours pass, you visit our third and final waterfall before celebrating your achievements with lunch and cocktails at a local restaurant. From here you drive to the coast of the Ancon Peninsula, just outside Trinidad. The night is spent in a hotel on southern Cuba’s best beach. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Hotel
Chill out at the beach or in the hotel pool. Alternatively, you can explore the charming town of Trinidad. With its cobbled streets and colonial housing, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has hardly changed in more than 150 years. Later you transfer back to Havana for a celebratory dinner and the chance to sample some of Cuba’s finest exports – rum and cigars! Overnight in centrally located hotel. (B,L,D)
Accommodation: Hotel
Spend more time sight-seeing or perhaps take part in a salsa or rumba lesson. If you’re feeling hungry you could grab a bite at one of Havanas many paladares (local Cuban houses that cater for paying guests). Supper is provided in a restaurant close to the airport, before your evening flight back to the UK. (Please note lunch is not included today). (B,D)
You arrive back in the UK at London Heathrow airport in the afternoon.
BELIEVE >> ACHIEVE >> INSPIRE