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Unesco recommends Viñales Valley for the Global Geoparks Network, Prensa Latina reports
The UN agency's world council backed the Cuban bid on Monday after a panel of experts visited in October, state media reported, as carried by 14ymedio. If confirmed, it would be the Caribbean's first global geopark.
Unesco's world council on Monday recommended Viñales Valley, in Pinar del Río, for inclusion in the Global Geoparks Network, after reviewing the assessment report on the Cuban bid, state media reported, as carried by 14ymedio. The assessment was carried out by a panel of agency experts who visited the island in October.
The decision recognises the technical quality of the report Cuba submitted, the importance of the valley's geological heritage and the island's capacity to guarantee its conservation, according to a report by the state agency Prensa Latina. Unesco global geoparks are territories with sites and landscapes of international geological importance managed with an approach of protection, education and sustainable development.
If the Cuban project is admitted, it would be the first in the Caribbean to reach that status. In the valley, recognised as Cuba's first national geopark in 2021, 57 geosites have been identified: 10 of international interest, 23 of national interest, 18 regional and 6 of local importance.
The area holds caves and cave systems with more than 300 kilometres of mapped galleries, endemic plants and animals, fossil beds and traces of Cuba's early indigenous inhabitants. Some 180 kilometres from Havana, it was designated a National Monument in 1979, and a smaller area was listed by Unesco as a Natural World Heritage Site in 1999.
Sources: 14ymedio
Data updated: 2026-11-03T16:15:00.000Z