The city of Gibara, in the eastern Cuban province of Holguín, offers a wide range of tourist attractions linked to history, sun and sea, which are complemented by urban traditions.
The many tourist sites in Holguín include beautiful beaches that are bathed by the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and very close to the city.
On the west coast of the Bay of Gibara, the city of the same name was founded on the slope of a flat-top coastal hill with high cliffs surrounded by a seawall where there are sandy beaches like El Boquerón and El Faro.
In the interior of the bay, there are clean and pleasant areas, including the beaches Vallado, El Faro, Boquerón and the one known as Playa Blanca (White Beach).
In order to get to Playa Blanca, tourists must take boats that taken them to the beach, which is characterized by very white sand after which that area was named.
Around the bay, there are some hills, including Yabazón (246 meters high), Colorado (255 meters) and la Silla de Gibara (307 meters), which is the tallest elevation in the area and it is perfectly recognizable for its shape of a saddle. All these hills are part of the Maniabón mountain range.
Silla de Gibara and the other hills were described for the first time by Admiral Christopher Columbus in his Navigation Diary during his voyage to the Americas.
Playa Blanca is located between two rocky hills, in the area closer to the mouth of the bay there was a lighthouse for a long time but it was later moved to the other end of the bay, in an area called Punta Rasa.
The small area occupied by the beach is complemented by the facilities provided by Villa Don Lino, in a natural environment where coconut trees are abundant.
With comfortable cabanas and many recreational options for children and adults, Villa Don Lino is an excellent place for families to enjoy their vacations surrounded by nature.
The establishment combines the modernity of satellite TV and air-conditioning cabanas with horseback rides and excursions to nearby sites of historic and cultural interest.
In that regard, Don Lino has become famous as a little big beach, because it holds thousands of charms in a small strip of white sand, a sort of hidden crown jewel bathed by crystal-clear waters.
Precisely, Villa Blanca de Gibara is also a good place to visit, as it holds the province´s major urban architectural environment as well as valuable ruins such as the so-called Cuartelón and Ferdinand VII´s Battery.
In addition, tourists can visit Chorro de Maíta, a first-class archeological site and the only such museum in the Americas, where there is a Taino Village that recreates the way of life of the Araucan potter aborigines, and the city of Banes, known as Cuba´s archeological capital.