Horseback Riding in the Vinales Valley, Cuba

Viñales is known for its tobacco farming, lush valleys, red soil and limestone rock formations. You’ll also find colourful casas and lively restaurants lining the streets of downtown, but the highlight, for sure, is the landscape.

So with an exploration of the Viñales Valley in mind, I decided there would be no better way than by horseback.

The only thing was, I’d never actually been horseback riding before and therefore wasn’t convinced my first attempt should last 4-hours. Would I even last two minutes? And where was the nearest hospital if I fell off and paralysed myself?

But if you know me, you know I wouldn’t let such a thing as first-time nerves stop me from doing something I actually really wanted to do. So after I gave myself  a little prep talk it wasn’t long before I swung my leg over the saddle and prayed to the high heavens that my horse would go easy on me.

The journey through the national park

 After getting settled in my saddle and becoming used to the rhythm of the horse I was able to enjoy my surroundings.

As we entered the park, a series of tall, rounded hills that rise abruptly from the flat plain of the valley began to emerge before us.  Less than a few minutes later we were entirely encircled by rolling mogotes and rode passed dramatic rocky outcrops and rows of tobacco farms.

The beauty of the land and the slow pace of life makes it easy to romanticise things, but work here is hard. A lack of fancy agricultural equipment means that most farmers harvest the land by man, ox, and horsepower, voiding the valley of the rumble of commercial machinery and providing visitors with an idea of what old-school farming methods are like.

We then stopped at a cigar drying house where a man explained to us how cigars are made and showed us how they are rolled. I couldn’t tell you what I learnt but I did have a fun attempt smoking one that ended by my coughing everywhere in the most uncool way possible. A friend I made on the trip, however, managed the look down to a tee.

Our journey through the Viñales Valley wasn’t all plain sailing. The night before it had been raining heavily and not enough time had passed for the sun to dry out certain areas that had been particularly affected. Some of the paths were flooded and I worried about how the horses would get through, but they showed no trepidation. Clearly, they were used to the area and had trodden these paths hundreds of times in various conditions. 

One of my favourite moments came as my horse waded through quite a deep puddle and all of a sudden a huge pig sprung out from beneath it completely covered in mud. We had accidentally interrupted it whilst it was having a merry, old mud bath! And all I could do was laugh at the sight of its stark naked bottom darting off into the distance like something out of a kid’s cartoon.

Not so hard after all… 

As it turns out, I didn’t find horseback riding half as difficult and precarious as I imagined it would be. In fact, at times, the slight rocking movement and the repetitive sound of the hoofs clopping across the soil made the experience surprisingly therapeutic.

I’d definitely do it all over again.

Have you done horseback riding before?