Text and photos: Roberto F. Campos Havana, Aug 15 (PL) Cuba's western Cienaga de Zapata wetlands offer the ideal setting for the 12th International Nature Tourism Event (TURNAT 2019), a meeting much-awaited by experts on the issue.

The event will be held from September 23 to 28 and will be shared with two other venues, Sancti Spiritus and Cienfuegos, in the center of the island. However, the Cienaga de Zapata is extremely significant.

One of the most interesting places in Cuba, the wetlands in the southwestern region of the island offer an exceptional overview of various types of swamp ecosystem.





It is an area of low, swampy and semi-marshy plains, located on peat and limestone deposits, with hydromorphic soils and natural savannah vegetation.

Text and photos: Roberto F. Campos Havana, Aug 15 (PL) Cuba's western Cienaga de Zapata wetlands offer the ideal setting for the 12th International Nature Tourism Event (TURNAT 2019), a meeting much-awaited by experts on the issue.

This is the perfect setting to take photographs, with landscapes such as that of the Laguna del Tesoro and the Hatiguanico River Basin, the main waterway in the area, as well as Playa Larga and Playa Giron.

The Cienaga de Zapata covers over 300,000 hectares. About 56 percent of the wetland is covered with forests, and it is estimated that independent some 900 diverse floral species live within them or in independent communities.

FotosPL: Vladimir Molina

Many of these flower species are autochthonous. This biodiversity is complemented with the presence of 109 forms of fauna, with 12 species of mammals, 160 birds, 31 reptiles and a great variety of amphibians and invertebrates.

For all these treasures, the Cienaga de Zapata, located in the south of the western province of Matanzas, was declared a Biosphere Reserve. A true paradise for a demanding traveler, now the host of TURNAT 2019.