The Castle of the Clouds and its General Characteristics
At only 100 kilometers from Havana, in the beautiful area of Soroa there is an enormous tropical forest. This melodious name also baptizes the river that line these upholstered lands of epifitas, bromelias and orchids. Soroa is in Pinar del Rio Province, in the western region of the island of Cuba. It is a little explored area that it astonishes for the voluptuousness of its vegetation. This small watchtower of Cuban forest is a haven of endemic vegetation few kilometers from the civilization. The Castle of the Clouds guards Soroa from the high of the The Fort Hill. It is not a fairy story , but a castle of medieval style that in 1940 the wealthy farmer Antonio Arturo Sánchez Bustamante made it build in The Fort Hill without taking into account the costs. Its interior was decorated with articles bought in European auctions that belonged to true castles of the Middle Ages. From its front terrace a magnificent view of the Rosario’s Sierra can be seen and of the beautiful southern plain of Pinar del Rio.
Other Outstanding Data on the Castle of the Clouds
When its proprietors abandoned the province after the victory of the Revolution, the Castle of the Clouds became patrimony of the Cuban State. Together with the Soroa Orchid House it became the main attractiveness of the new tourist area. In the wide living rooms of the Castle a deluxe restaurant opened up in which Creole and international plates were served. The natural deterioration for the step of the time and the strong hurricanes that razed Pinar del Rio damaged the Castle of the Clouds repeatedly, until it is decided its closing to restore it completely. At the present time it remains as a monument and faithful example of what can make the man’s genius in the heights.
