Map of Valle De Los Ingenios, Trinidad, Cuba
Beyond Havana - Valle De Los Ingenios or Valley of the Sugar Mills - Trinidad, Cuba
During my last and 4th trip to Cuba, I decided to venture outside of Havana to see what the rest of Cuba had to offer. I didn’t get to all the major places but I did make it to Trinidad. If you are considering Trinidad while in Cuba, consider doing a tour of the Valley of the Sugar Mills.
Background of Valley De Los Ingenios
Valle De Los Ingenios or Valley of the Sugar Mills is about 12 kilometers or 7.5 miles outside of Trinidad. It is a series of three interconnected valleys: San Luis, Santa Rosa, and Meyer.
The Spanish colonizers introduced sugar cane to the island back in 1512 and sugar became a large part of the island’s economy. European settlers brought with them also diseases that wiped out nearly the entire native Cuban population, so they had to import slaves from Africa to work the fields and mills.
In 1820, Spain abolished slavery. They then found cheap labor from China but that also didn’t work out. The Chinese were treated almost as badly as slaves. You can see what remains of the Chinese in Havana at Chinatown, the only Chinatown without Chinese people, but the War of Independence in the 19th century pretty much put an end to the island’s dominance in the sugar industry.
This Lookout Tower at Manaca Iznaga Plantation was the largest building in Cuba at the time. Its main purpose was to watch out for run away slaves.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site
Valle De Los Ingenios received its World Heritage Site designation in 1988 from UNESCO but most of the sugar mills are in ruins. I visited two areas that remained somewhat intact. The most notable is Manaca Iznaga Plantation. The plantation owner’s home, the lookout tower and slave quarters remain well intact. I climbed the 147-foot tower and the view from above is breathtaking. The tower had a large bell on top and was rung to let slaves know when the workday began and ended and also to sound an alarm when a slave was escaping. At the time, the tower was the tallest structure in Cuba. You can still see the bell but it sits at the bottom of the tower.
This is a view of the plantation owners house from a top of the lookout tower at Manaca Iznaga.
History of Slaves - San Isidro Distillery
My guide then took me to a second site, the Ruinas De Ingenio San Isidro De Los Destiladeros. Here is where I got a little emotional. Much of the place is in ruins, especially the sugar distillery and slave quarters. Only the plantation owner’s home and observation tower remained intact but not functional. My guide walked me through what remains of the slave quarters. San Isidro had 150 slaves. The slave quarters were separated by many small rooms. Each room housed 3-4 slaves. They were separated mainly to keep them from conspiring against the plantation owners and to plan an escape. My guide shared that the average life expectancy of slaves was 35. They worked 6 days then cleaned half of the 7th day. They were allowed to attend church and gathered around a tree where they could be found enjoying Afro music for the remainder of the day. Also, check out Afro Cuban tours in Havana for more insight into this topic.
The remains of the sugar distillery
According to my guide, the average life expectancy of slaves was 35. They worked 6 days then cleaned half of the 7th day. They were allowed to attend church and gathered around a tree where they could be found enjoying Afro music for the remainder of the day. Also, check out Afro Cuban tours in Havana for more insight into the Afro Cuban culture.
This old tree was the gathering place of slaves on Sundays.
Slave Quarters
We walked through what remains of the slave quarters. San Isidro had 150 slaves. The slave quarters were separated by many small rooms. Each room housed 3-4 slaves. They were separated mainly to keep them from conspiring against the plantation owners and to plan an escape.
This is what’s left of the slave quarter in San Isidro.
Lookout Tower at San Isidro
Lookout Tower at San Isidro
Like Manaca Iznaga, the plantation at San Isidro also had a lookout tower that served the same purpose. This one was probably half the height of the other one. I did not climb this one but it appears to be in a decent condition. The entire site is in the process of being preserved and repaired.
Travel to Cuba with Passion Travel Services
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Blog by: Phim Gilberry, Travel Director, Passion Travel Services
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