Cuba, a tourist destination par excellence in the Caribbean region, offers unique options to vacationers interested in the island's nature, history and culture.

Traditional sun and beach options, sports events, meetings and medical treatments are complemented by scuba diving and snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters that surround the Caribbean island.

The Cuban archipelago also offers more than 70,000 square kilometers of insular platform and some 5,000 kilometers of coasts, which are bathed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

In addition, nearly 6,500 varieties of fish, crustaceans, sponges and mollusks, and an 850-kilometer coral reef in perfect state of preservation turn the island into one of the best-preserved underwater ecosystems in the region.

María La Gorda is in the Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve, in Cuba's westernmost province, Pinar del Río. It is an excellent place for diving enthusiasts because of its crystal-clear and warm water, and 40 dive spots. In addition, divers can also watch the largest black coral reserve in Cuba.

In addition, another 32 diving sites await divers in an area between the Bay of Matanzas and the western end of Jardines del Rey (King's Gardens). That zone includes very attractive sites such as the Ojo del Mégano cavern and the Cayo Piedras del Norte Marine Park, which is the only one of its kind in the Cuban archipelago.

Besides, the flooded caves in Ciénaga de Zapata (Zapata Swamp) are excellent for cave diving, while the world-famous six-meter-tall coral column known as Notre Dame, because it resembles the cathedral of the same name in France, is in the central province of Cienfuegos.

The world's second largest coral reef, which runs for 400 kilometers parallel to the keys Sabinal, Guajaba, Romano and Cruz, gets closer to Cuba's north coast in Santa Lucía beach. The coral reef is a safe haven for 200 species of sponges, 500 of fish and even the remains of 27 sunken ships.

One of the best dive sites is on Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth), where extraordinarily-beautiful coral reefs run parallel to the islet's south coast, where another attraction is the Punta Francés National Marine Park.

Precisely, that breathtakingly-beautiful area is near the Hotel El Colony and runs along six kilometers of coast, between Punta Pedestales and Punta Francés.

Tourists can dive in 56 sites, many of which are inhabited by large colonies of corals and sponges. That zone also offers caves, passages and tunnels

El Colony is an excellent site for underwater photography, so several international meetings of that kind are held there ever year.

Experts say the best dive sites in the region are Pared de Coral Negro, Túnel del Amor, Cueva Azul, El Pasaje Escondido, Cueva de los Sábalos, Piedra de Coral, El Salto, Ancla del Pirata, Paraíso de las Levisas and Pequeño Reino.