Establishment of Alexander von Humboldt National Park

Alexander von Humboldt National Park lies in the mountainous east of Cuba, across the provinces of Guantánamo and Holguín, and is named after the German naturalist who explored the island in the early nineteenth century. It protects some of the most biologically diverse tropical forests in the Caribbean, with a very high proportion of endemic plants and animals, among them the Cuban solenodon and several species of tiny frogs. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2001, in part because of the importance of its rugged terrain and its mix of ecosystems from coast to cloud forest. The park's remote location has helped to protect it, though mining in the surrounding region remains a concern.

Open on the timeline