Zapata Peninsula

Playa Giron and Playa Larga Beaches (the Bay of Pigs Area)
These beaches, on the southern coast of Matanzas Province,are in the Zapata Peninsula National Park, which includes the Zapata Swamp world preserve of the biosphere, the largest wetlands in the Caribbean. Giron and Larga beaches offer scuba diving in areas with many Staghorn (Acropra cervicornis), Brain (Doloria spp.), Leaf (Agaricia agaricities), Star (Montastrea annularis) and Flower (Eusmilia fastigiata) Coral formations and Common Sea Fans (Gorgonia spp.), surrounded by schools of bright fish.

The sharp offshore drop is covered with sponges, gorgonians and coral, and scuba divers will also find several flooded caves to explore. Those steep-walled depressions in the bare rock are always flooded because they have underground passeges that link them to sea.

What to Do
Activities at Larga and Giron Beaches include sunbathing, swimming, snorkling, beginning scuba-diving classes, scuba diving at 14 sites of great beauty and in flooded caves, and other water sports; ecotourism on the Zapata Peninsula (1930 square miles, or 5000 square km, of virgin territory with 900 species of native plants, 12 species of mamals and 160 species as the Cuban crocodile (there's a crocodile breeding center in the area with over 10.000 of them), the Cuban alligator gar (Atractosteus tristoechus, a prehistoric fish) and the Manatee (Trichechus mamatus, the only herbivorous aquatic mammal on earth, which the Spanish conquistadores thought were mermaids); fishing at Treasure Lake, 900 hectares in size, the largest freshwater lake in the country; going on excursions to places of great archaeological value and a restored Indian village; bird-watching and boating on the Hatiguanico River; and visiting the Las Salinas Wildlife Refuge.

Accommodation and Facilities There are more than 300 rooms in the area, in the 2-star Playa Giron and Playa Larga Hotels and in the 3-star Villa Guama. They have cabarets, games rooms, doctors on call 24 hours a day, money exchange offices, safes, taxis, motorcycle rentals, entertainment, swimming pools, massages, bars, cafetarias and restaurants. Giron Beach also has the Playa Giron International Scuba-Diving Center, and there are several restaurants specializing in fish and shellfish. Hotel Playa Larga Hotel Playa Giron Nearby Places of Interest The Bay of Pigs Museum at Giron Beach contains exhibits related to the Cuban people's defeat of the mercenaries who invaded Cuba along this part of the coast in April 1961