Desembarco del Granma National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Desembarco del Granma) is a national park located in south-western Cuba. It covers parts of the Niquero and Pilón municipalities, which are now part of Granma Province. The park’s name, "Landing of the Granma," refers to the yacht used by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Raúl Castro, and 79 supporters who sailed from Mexico to Cuba in 1956. This journey helped start the Cuban Revolution. The park is known for its unique rock formations and coastal cliffs.
The park covers a total area of 32,576 hectares, with 26,180 hectares on land and 6,396 hectares in the ocean. In 1999, UNESCO recognized the park as a World Heritage Site because of its raised coastal terraces and untouched sea cliffs.
Description
Desembarco del Granma National Park is located on the western side of the Sierra Maestra mountain range, in an area where Earth's plates move. The park protects a series of limestone terraces that extend from 180 meters below sea level to 360 meters above. These terraces were probably created by Earth's movement pushing up land and changes in sea level caused by past climate changes and ice ages during the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene periods. These terraces are among the largest and most well-preserved in the world. The park also protects other karst features, such as waterfalls, cliffs, sinkholes, and caves.
The park is in a warm, semi-arid climate, receiving between 300 and 1200 mm of rain each year and having an average temperature of 26°C. This makes it one of the warmest and driest areas in Cuba.
Biodiversity
The national park has a lot of different plants and animals, many of which are found only in Cuba. More than 512 different types of plants have been found in the park, and 60% of these plants are found only in Cuba. Twelve of these plants are only found in this park. The park also protects the homes of 6 species of painted snails (Polymita spp.), including several different groups of snails that evolved separately. Thirteen types of mammals, 110 types of birds, 44 types of reptiles, and 17 types of amphibians have been found in the park. Over 90% of the amphibians and reptiles in the park are found only in Cuba, including the endangered Cuban night lizard. Birds that live in the park include the Cuban amazon parrot and blue-headed quail-dove. Mammals found in the park include the West Indian manatee and the Cuban flower bat, which lives in hot caves and is adapted to this environment.