| The Zapata Peninsula is
100 miles south east of Havana and is one
of the best fishing destinations in Cuba with
light tackle spinning and fly-fishing on the
Rio
Negro for baby tarpon, jack, and snook,
and saltwater flats fishing for bonefish and
permit at Las
Salinas. In addition to the fishing it
is a naturalists paradise and is one of the
most unspoilt parts of Cuba, a beautiful,
wild and remote place.
The Ciénaga de Zapata, the biggest
swampland in the Caribbean at 492,000-hectare,
is a peninsular that extends from southern
Cuba to the sea and is home to 12 species
of mammal, 31 reptiles, 180 species of birds,
dozens of amphibians and more than 1,000
plant species from 180 families.
Of the 22 species of birds endemic to Cuba,
three can be found only in the Zapata Swamp:
the almost- impossible-to-see Zapata rail
and the more common Zapata sparrow and Zapata
wren. The most important population of the
bee hummingbird, the smallest bird in the
world, lives in the area. Endangered manatees
cruise the marshes along the shore. The
Cuban crocodile, found nowhere else in the
world, lurks among the swamp’s waterways.
During the winter, the Ciénaga welcomes
many more species with thousands upon thousands
of migratory birds escaping the cold northern
zones to find a safe haven in the area.
The Ciénaga is one of Cuba’s
most under-populated regions and has been
declared a Biosphere Reserve, and a protected
area in which a sustainable development
program is underway.
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