Cuevas de Punta del Este
On your trip to Isla de la Juventud do not miss Punta del Este Caves, also known as the Sistine Chapel of Rock Art in Cuba.
Cuevas de Punta del Este
© burossealain
The Cuevas Punta del Este (Punta del Este Caves), with an are of 33 km2, are located at the southeasternmost point of Isla de la Juventud.
The first pieces of data collected about Punta del Este Caves are from 1903, but it wasn’t until 1922 that some elements of archaeological interest were found, specifically a pre-Columbian temple found by the Cuban scientist Fernando Ortiz. Many years later, in 1967, official efforts towards the rescue and conservation of the caves began, although they had been razed by previous settlers to whom the caves had been home.
Along the walls and roofs of the five large caves, scientists have found more than 230 pictograms that have been the reason for it to be named the “Sistine Chapel of Rock Art”. According to some studies, these paintings date back to before the year 850 BC. The designs are lineal, abstract and geometrical, and symbolically have black and red as their prevailing colours.
The best-known piece is a solar calendar made up of 28 concentric circles with a red arrow between them. When the sun enters the main cave, it follows the astral route illuminating different sections of the mural.
More information:
Location:
Isla de la Juventud, Cuba.
Interactive map:
Cayo Largo del Sur:
What to see:
Why "Trip Cuba"?
Trip Cuba is an organization of Cuban agencies whose objectives are:
- ✓ To make Cuba, its culture and its heritage known.
- ✓ To promote sustainable tourism.
- ✓ To support the local economy, prioritizing direct contact with Cuban agencies.
Travel Agencies
If you are a travel agency or tour operator and you are looking forward to any assistance or collaboration to plan trips to Cuba, rely on our extensive experience
Copyright www.TripCuba.Org © - All rights reserved
All our agencies are duly registered in the National Registry of Travel Agencies of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Cuba.