One of the most popular trips of my childhood was always to visit the Mogotes complex, which forms part of the Viñales Valley ([a National Park and World Heritage Site](https://whc-unesco-org.translate.goog/en/list/840/?_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=es&_x_tr_hl=es&_x_tr_pto=rq#:~:text=El%20Valle%20de%20Vi%C3%B1ales%20est%C3%A1%20protegido%20por%20las%20disposiciones%20de,al%20Patrimonio%20Cultural%20)). A landscape that impresses with the unreal shape of its giant stone mounds, the lush, typical vegetation that covers them, and the network of prehistoric caves that served as refuge for Aboriginal people, runaway slaves, Mambises who fought against the Spanish colony, and subsequent revolutionary uprisings. And although it is a site full of symbols of resistance, many Europeans—year after year—devote part of their vacations to travel to this natural and exotic refuge where time seems to stand still.
This valley is part of the Sierra de los Órganos, located in the northwest of Pinar del Río province in Cuba. A place that combines fertile red soils cultivated for tobacco cultivation, cattle ranching areas, and the occasional breeding ground for fine roosters... without a doubt, the synchronization of all of these has inspired countless artists due to the powerful contrast of their landscape colors.
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to go on another excursion to show the place to some visiting relatives, and I thought it was a fantastic idea to take them to [La Cueva del Indio](https://share.google/9E0qPQ8mRl390Fe3O)one of the most beautiful hikes for any foreign visitor, both inside and outside the country.
To reach this valley, you must first reach [the town of Viñales](https://share.google/images/fxj9ejU4fgZJ1zfIN)—just 25 kilometers from the capital city—a site that preserves Creole construction structures with neoclassical elements. However, from any point in its streets, you can see the giant mogotes that look like sentinels of the town.
When you finally begin to approach the mogotes, one of the most impressive things is that you can see through their steep walls: [the layers of schistos and calcareous sediments](https://share.google/KLHHBay51bvTyPzhJ), pushing against each other; and it's very interesting because you begin to understand the origin of these rocky mounds that emerge on the surfaces of a semi flat relief.
Tectonic movement during ancient times led to the emergence of these structures, as evidenced by the arrangement of the steep layers. Another of the most beautiful details is that they are profusely filled with galleries, like a cheese stuffed with holes, very possibly due to the active, dissolving action of water, which also led to the existence of different dimensions of life within them.
When we finally reached the entrance to our cave, we had to climb approximately eighty steps. Not that steep, but enough to make you realize that the entrance was to some meters above ground level. Inside, we still had to go down a few steps when you entered the narrow gallery.
So, once inside: the temperature changes, the humidity cools your skin, and the wet ground forces you to watch every step you take. Up ahead there is a main hall and hundreds of small alternating galleries, signs prohibiting entry, and [immense stalactites and stalagmites](https://share.google/IGXVqdCEfjARta5pJ) that hide past stories, meanwhile, the water that drips and runs down the rocks continues to dissolve the calcium salts that run down and solidify on the high, steep walls, forming whimsical shapes on them.
The artificial lights also have a beautiful effect on the walls, some shining in different colors and others casting shadows that can intimidate even the most intrepid adventurer. And the bats? They fly over our heads, threatening to crash into them... at least that's the impression they give me, although I know they won't... it's just me fighting my fears.
But, in an instant, I discovered something: there, amidst an uneven rock, [a small forest of black stick ferns](https://share.google/IQHUAW1JleU6IYVvl) (Adiantum chilense) grows in the darkness, defying the biological laws of life. Although, if I think about it, I believe that at some point during the day, a crack or fissure within the mound lets a timid ray of light pass through, landing directly on the rock that shelters the semi-forest; otherwise, the necessary photosynthesis couldn't occur.
Further on, we reached the source of the river, and I know from previous trips that the water levels are currently very low due to the drought. The waterfall from the main spring that feeds it no longer exists, and only small springs maintain the riverbed and the life of the small shrimp and carp that live beneath the water grotto, although the boat guide told us that piranhas and crocodiles....don't exist there. 😂
A journey of stories has been constructed to excite the traveler (the guides). Fables and fantasy figures will encourage you to enjoy the short walk to the dammed outlet of the river. Sometimes, when the water is at its strongest, it seems as if the boat will tip over downstream due to the strong current, and at other times, the guide laughs at your fears.
I always find the 150-meter walk inside the cave exciting—they say that's only a third of the length of the cave, and that only a kilometer of it is open to the public—but the 250-meter boat ride also keeps you on your toes and your mouth open.
The karst geology of the place is extraordinarily beautiful, rocky blooms constantly emerge from the earth, and are in perfect harmony with the vegetation, so that all the plants grow with a very healthy haughtiness on the rocks, among them [the Sierra Palms](https://share.google/HTEAjZXgTg0mCnXdk) (Gaussia princeps) endemic plants of great beauty; [the Ceibón de mogote](https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachira_cubensis) (Bombacopsis cubensis), also endemic to Cuba; [and the Copeicillo](https://share.google/t7kv3lX5AB69hlKYq) (Clusia minor) the poisonous fruit tree.
At the exit of the cave there was a stall that was selling guarapo, a traditional Cuban drink made by grinding sugar cane (Saccharum oficcinarum). I loved the idea because first, it is a very refreshing drink and almost all Cubans love it, and second, because the mill worked manually, that is, in a very traditional and healthy way without electricity...and the truth is that it was really good even though its maximum peak of sweetness (from the cane) is reached during the winter, and right now we are in summer.
The walk always seems too short for me; that feeling of "wanting more" never leaves me. Perhaps it's time to ask them to extend the route inside the cave. I remember very well that there are some very steep stairs at the end of the river path that may lead to a higher level above the hummock, and that would be a magnificent second exploratory part. Although I understand that for security reasons it is not open to the public.
In the outdoor areas, there are also a large number of souvenir stalls, mainly due to international tourism. The range of products on offer is purely artisanal and expresses a very fresh Cuban flavor with vibrant, picturesque colors, just like the Cuban character. It's a shame that tourism is declining, as it affects the population in general.
The walk through this cave is refreshing and motivating, reviving our minds. A semi-dark and damp entrance and an exit where the light hits your eyes, while the air currents soften your return from the depths of the grotto.
In any case, every time I do this tour it seems like my first time, because I always find new details that make me feel like Christopher Columbus when he discovered this land, and exclaimed: "This is the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen", and for me, the mogotes still have many intimate and beautiful mysteries to discover, especially from the interior of their long and dark caverns.
Espanish Version.
***Entre Mogotes y Cuevas hay un hermoso mundo subyacente.***
Uno de los paseos más recurrentes de mi infancia siempre fue visitar el complejo de Mogotes que forman parte del Valle de Viñales ([Parque Nacional y Patrimonio de la Humanidad]((https://whc-unesco-org.translate.goog/en/list/840/?_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=es&_x_tr_hl=es&_x_tr_pto=rq#:~:text=El%20Valle%20de%20Vi%C3%B1ales%20est%C3%A1%20protegido%20por%20las%20disposiciones%20de,al%20Patrimonio%20Cultural%20)); un paisaje que impacta por la forma irreal de sus gigantes montículos de piedra, la exuberante y típica vegetación que los cubre, y el entramado de cavernas prehistóricas que sirvieron de refugio para aborígenes, esclavos fugitivos, mambises que lucharon contra la colonia española, y posteriores alzamientos revolucionarios. Y aunque es un sitio lleno de simbolismos de resistencia, muchísimos europeos -año por año- destinan parte de sus vacaciones para viajar a este refugio natural y exótico donde el tiempo parece detenido.
Este valle forma parte de la Sierra de los Órganos, ubicado al Noroeste de la provincia de Pinar del Río en Cuba.Un lugar que combina tierras fértiles rojas labradas para el cultivo del tabaco, áreas de ganadería, y algunas que otras vallas de cría de gallos finos...sin dudas la sincronización de todos ellos ha inspirado a muchísimos artistas de la plástica por la fuerza del contraste de sus colores paisajísticos.
Hace unos días tuve la posibilidad de volver a realizar una excursión para mostrarle el lugar a unos familiares que estaban de visita, y me pareció fantástica la idea de llevarlos a [La Cueva del Indio](https://share.google/9E0qPQ8mRl390Fe3O), uno de los paseos más bonitos para cualquier visitante foráneo dentro y fuera del país.
Para llegar a este valle es necesario primero alcanzar [el poblado de Viñales](https://share.google/images/fxj9ejU4fgZJ1zfIN) - a tan solo 25 kilómetros de la ciudad capital-, un sitio que conserva estructuras constructivas criollas con elementos neoclásicos.Pero, desde donde cualquier punto de sus entrecalles puedes observar los mogotes gigantes que parecen centinelas del pueblerío.
Cuando finalmente comienzas a acercarte a los mogotes, una de las cosas que más impresionan, es que puedes ver a través de sus paredes escarpadas [las grandes disposiciones de capas de sedimentos de esquistos y cálcicos](https://share.google/KLHHBay51bvTyPzhJ), unos encima de los otros pujando entre sí; y resulta muy interesante porque comienzas a entender el origen de estos montículos rocosos aflorados sobre las superficies de un relieve semillano.
El movimiento tectónico durante épocas antiguas propiciaron que nacieran estas estructuras, la disposición de las capas empinadas lo demuestran.Pero otro de los detalles más bonitos es que están profusamente llenas de galerías como si fueran un queso atiborrado de huecos, muy posiblemente por la acción activa y disolvente del agua, que propició además, que aún existan dimensiones de vida diferentes dentro de ellas.
Cuando al fin llegamos a la entrada de nuestra caverna, tuvimos que subir aproximadamente ochenta escalones.No tan empinados, pero suficientes para darte cuenta que la entrada estaba a unos cuantos metros sobre el nivel del suelo.Igual debíamos bajar unos escalones cuando te adentrabas en la angosta galería.
Entonces, una vez dentro la temperatura cambia, la humedad refresca tu piel, y el suelo mojado te obliga a vigilar cada paso que das.
En lo adelante hay una vía principal y cientos de pequeños galerías alternas, señalizaciones que prohíben el paso, [e inmensas estalactitas y estalagmitas](https://share.google/IGXVqdCEfjARta5pJ) que esconden historias pasadas, mientras, el agua que gotea y se resume por las rocas continúa disolviendo las sales de calcio que se escurren y solidifican por las altas y empinadas paredes formando caprichosas formas sobre estas.
También las luces artificiales tienen un efecto precioso sobre las paredes, unas brillan en diferentes colores y otras guardan sombras que pueden intimidar al más intrépido aventurero.¿Y los murciélagos? los murciélagos vuelan sobre nuestras cabezas amenazando con estrellarse contra ellas... al menos es la impresión que me dan, aunque sé que no lo harán...solo se trata de mí luchando contra mis miedos.
Pero, en un instante descubrí algo, allí en medio de una piedra irregular, [un pequeño bosque de Helechos palito negro](https://share.google/IQHUAW1JleU6IYVvl)( Adiantum Chilense ) crece en lo oscuro, retando las leyes biológicas de la vida.Aunque, sí lo pienso bien, creo que en algún momento del día una grieta o alguna fisura dentro del mogote deja pasar un tímido rayo de luz que se posa directamente sobre la roca que abriga el semi bosque, de otra manera, no podría ocurrir la necesaria fotosíntesis verde.
Más adelante, llegamos hasta el nacimiento del Río, y sé por viajes anteriores que ahora mismo está en niveles muy bajos el agua por la sequía.La cascada del manantial principal que lo alimenta no existe, y solo pequeños manantiales mantienen el cauce y la vida de pequeños camarones y carpas que viven bajo la gruta del agua, aunque nos dijo el guía de la lancha que pirañas y cocodrilos...no hay. 😂
Se han construido un viaje de historias para animar al viajero (los guías). Fábulas y figuras de fantasías que te animarán a disfrutar del corto paseo hasta la salida represada del río.A veces, cuando el volúmen del agua es más potente, da la impresión que el bote se volcará río abajo por la fuerte corrida, y en otros casos, el guía se ríe de tus miedos.
Siempre me resultan emocionantes los 150 metros de longitud que caminas dentro de la caverna -dicen que solo representa la tercera parte de ell