El Yunque, Cuba, Table mountain near Baracoa, Cuba
El Yunque is a table mountain in Guantánamo Province with a distinctive flat summit rising roughly 575 meters. The mountain sits between the Duaba and Toa rivers and is covered by moist forest with cocoa plantations and royal palms on its slopes.
Christopher Columbus recorded this mountain during his exploration of Cuba in his voyage chronicles. This made it one of the earliest European documented accounts of a Cuban geographical feature.
The name comes from the Spanish word for anvil, yunque, because the flat-topped summit resembles one. The mountain stands 7 km west of Baracoa, between the Duaba and Toa rivers, and its lower slopes are planted with cocoa under groves of royal palm.
The climb starts at a visitor center where experienced guides are required for the trek through cocoa plantations. The full hike takes about six hours round trip and involves walking through humid forest areas.
El Yunque is the eroded remnant of a plateau, and its isolation has allowed several ferns and palms to develop there that grow nowhere else. The mountain lies between the Duaba and Toa rivers and covers 461,000 m² within a 1,125 m perimeter.
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