Cuba and UNESCO: Eight decades of heritage that invites you to visit

By: Ingrids Rodríguez Guerra

Cuba and UNESCO have maintained a relationship spanning nearly eight decades. Since joining the organization on August 29, 1947, the country has built a track record that positions it as the Caribbean island nation with the highest number of inscriptions and designations: nine World Heritage sites, six Biosphere Reserves, three Creative Cities, eight elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and a valuable documentary heritage.

Based in Havana, the UNESCO Regional Office serves the Latin Caribbean (Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Venezuela, while also acting as the Regional Office for Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean.

In this article, we journey across Cuba, reflecting on a form of heritage tourism that awaits discovery.

World Heritage Sites in Cuba

Old Havana

Cuba has nine sites inscribed on the World Heritage List: seven cultural and two natural.

1.⁠ ⁠Old Havana and its Fortification System (1982). The capital’s historic center is one of the best-preserved collections of colonial architecture in the Americas. Its squares, churches, palaces and fortifications (La Cabaña, El Morro, Castillo de la Real Fuerza) tell the story of five centuries of history.

2.⁠ ⁠Trinidad and the Valle de los Ingenios (1988). A museum-city preserving an exceptional urban ensemble from the 18th and 19th centuries, bearing witness to the sugar boom in the province of Sancti Spíritus. Just a few kilometers away, the Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Mills) holds the remains of over 70 former sugar mills and the Manaca Iznaga Tower.

3.⁠ ⁠Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca (1997). A 17th-century fortress overlooking the bay of Santiago de Cuba. It is the best-preserved example of Spanish military architecture in the Americas.

4.⁠ ⁠Viñales Valley (1999). Located in Pinar del Río, Viñales is a living cultural landscape where farmers maintain traditional agricultural techniques for tobacco cultivation. Its mogotes (limestone outcrops) are among the most photographed landscapes in Cuba.

5.⁠ ⁠Desembarco del Granma National Park (1999). Cliffs, marine terraces and karst formations of exceptional geological value located on the southeastern coast.

6.⁠ ⁠Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in Southeastern Cuba (2000). Remains of 19th-century coffee plantations in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo.

7.⁠ ⁠Alejandro de Humboldt National Park (2001). One of the most biodiverse tropical island sites in the world, located between the provinces of Holguín and Guantánamo.

8. Historic Centre of Cienfuegos (2005). Known as “the Pearl of the South,” the city of Cienfuegos was founded in 1819 by French settlers. It is the first example of an architectural and urban ensemble that embodied 19th-century ideas of modernity, hygiene and urban planning in Latin America.

9. Historic Centre of Camagüey (2008). A city of irregular streets, plazas and churches. Its iconic tinajones—large clay vessels used to store rainwater—are among its most distinctive features.

Biosphere Reserves

Cuba is part of the global network of Biosphere Reserves with six sites:

1.⁠ ⁠Sierra del Rosario (1984). The country’s first biosphere reserve, located in Artemisa province.

2.⁠ ⁠Guanahacabibes Peninsula, in Pinar del Río (1987). A sea turtle sanctuary. It protects one of the most diverse and well-preserved coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean.

3.⁠ ⁠Cuchillas del Toa (1987). Tropical forests and endemic species in the provinces of Holguín and Guantánamo.

4.⁠ ⁠Baconao (1987). Situated between the sea and the mountains of Santiago de Cuba. A notable feature is La Gran Piedra, a natural lookout point 1,225 meters above sea level.

5.⁠ ⁠Ciénaga de Zapata (Zapata Swamp), in Matanzas province (2000). The largest wetland in the insular Caribbean.

6.⁠ ⁠Buenavista (2000). A refuge for birds and marine ecosystems that spans three provinces: Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Ávila.

Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Cuban list includes eight cultural expressions that are part of daily life across the country’s various regions.

1.⁠ ⁠La Tumba Francesa (2008). A musical and dance tradition of Haitian origin found in the provinces of Guantánamo and Santiago de Cuba.

2.⁠ ⁠Cuban Rumba (2016). A musical genre and dance style that serves as an expression of Afro-Cuban culture in neighborhoods and communities.

3.⁠ ⁠El Punto (2017). Rural music featuring improvised décimas (ten-line verses). Performed at informal gatherings, festivals and rural events throughout the country.

4.⁠ ⁠The Parrandas of the central region (2018). Popular festivities with over 200 years of tradition, featuring floats, lights, music and competition between neighborhoods.

5.⁠ ⁠Knowledge of the masters of light rum (2022). Knowledge, techniques and practices linked to the production of Cuban rum, passed down through generations of master rum makers.

6.⁠ ⁠Bolero: identity, emotion and poetry turned into song (2023). A joint inscription with Mexico recognizing a fundamental genre of Latin American song.

7.⁠ ⁠Traditional knowledge and practices for the making and consumption of casabe (2024). A multinational inscription with the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela regarding cassava bread—a living heritage on Caribbean tables.

8.⁠ ⁠The practice of Cuban Son (2025). A music and dance tradition combining vocals, instruments, rhythm and movement.

Creative Cities

Three Cuban cities are part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network:

Havana (Music, 2019). Rumba, jazz and trova are some of the genres that make up the capital’s contemporary music scene.

Trinidad (Crafts and Folk Art, 2019). Recognized for artisanal practices in textiles, ceramics and woodwork.

Santiago de Cuba (Music, 2021). Cradle of son, conga, trova and cultural events with Caribbean roots.

Other recognitions

Cuba also possesses documentary collections inscribed in the Memory of the World International Register, preserving essential records of the political, cultural and audiovisual history of the country and Latin America—such as the José Martí Pérez Collection, the original negatives of the Noticiero ICAIC Latinoamericano (ICAIC Latin American Newsreel), and the Life and Work of Ernesto Che Guevara collection. In 2023, the Cuban Film Poster Collection and the Havana City Council Minutes were added.

Active UNESCO programs in Cuba

Beyond mere declarations, UNESCO maintains various programs in Cuba that transform communities.

Transcultura brings together Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through culture and creativity.

In Trinidad, the Cultural Project Accelerator for Sustainable Tourism selected ten initiatives to receive specialized training and mentoring. These initiatives include projects in handicrafts, gastronomy, music and community-based tourism.

UNESCO also carries out activities in education, the sciences, communication and disaster risk management, with a focus on sustainable development.

Finally, an invitation

Cuba is widely known for its sun and beaches, yet every corner holds traces of significance to humanity. UNESCO recognizes them, and travelers confirm their value upon discovering them.

This is not merely an inventory, but an invitation to explore Cuba through its heritage: a legacy of memory and collective creation that serves as a bridge to the world.

Sources: UNESCO, UNESCO Office in Havana, Cuban Ministry of Culture, Cuban Ministry of Tourism