Banes

Banes is a municipality and city in the Holguín Province of Cuba.

The name comes from the inhabitants Taino language word Bani, meaning "valley"

The municipality of Banes is located in the Northern area of the province of Holguín. It is one of the most fascinating tourist destinations in the West of Cuba, not just for its wonderful beaches and idyllic corners, but for having the most important archeological remains of the country, belonging to the former Taínos.

At historic level, Banes, city founded in 1887, has two beautiful buildings: the Faro de Lucrecia Lighthouse opened in 1868 and the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad Church made up by an exotic mix of architecture styles.

Having a walk where the Cuban president Fulgencio Batista  was born in 1901, in addition to the parks and squares you will find on your way, visit the old houses of the big fishes of the American company United Fruit, mainly the owner of the city until 1950s.

Regarding the Taíno origins of the territory, you cannot miss the well known Indocuban Baní Museum, which among its most precious objects has the Ídolo de Oro, symbol of the fertility goddess Atabey.

Enjoy the archeological capital of Cuba visiting from the archeological sites to the parks built for the amusement of locals and tourists, such as the Cárdenas Park, and discover the fascinating precolumbin cultures of the West of Cuba.

Geography

The municipality is divided into the barrios of Angeles, Berros, Cañadón, Durruthy, Este, Flores, Macabi, Mulas, nuevo Banes, Oeste, Retrete, Río Seco, Samá (includes Guardalavaca), Marcané, Veguitas and Yaguajay

To see

Indocuban Baní Museum

Declared National Monument, this extraordinary museum treasures a complete collection of objects belonging to aboriginal cultures of the insular Caribbean.

It is a museum specialized in the aboriginal culture which gather collections where there are objects made of ceramic, metals, bones, etc.; distributed along the four exhibition rooms of the gallery: the introductory, ceramic, necklaces and Mezzanine.

Martí Park

The origins of this building go back to Juan Manuel Domínguez Dumois, coming from Santiago de Cuba, who arrived to Banes during the reconstruction of the city at the beginning of the 20th century.

Chorro de Maíta Museum

Declared National Monument in 1991, this is a must visit, exceptional place on your visit to the city of Banes, better known as Cuba’s Archeological Capital.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad Church

Enclose in the Martí Park, in the center of the city of Banes, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad Church was the places where Fidel Castro Ruz was married to Mirta Díaz Balart.

Guardalavaca

Located in the municipality of Banes, Guardalavaca is the third Cuban tourist point. It is one of the first ports discovered by Columbus and he fell in love with it. Place of refuge for corsairs and pirates, it was ideal for the smuggling, especially for products coming from Europe in exchange for cattle skin.

source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banes,_Cuba http://www.tripcuba.org/banes-holguin