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With an archipelago of over 4,000 islets, Cuba embraces multiple ecosystems, including mangroves, small coastal deserts, and rainforests. This diversity of habitats has given rise to thousands of species that live nowhere else on Earth and have a strong chance of survival: one fifth of the nation lies within protected areas.

Around 350 bird species – 21 of which are endemic to the country, including the world’s smallest bird, the bee hummingbird – inhabit Cuba, making it a true paradise for nature lovers. It is also home to the largest flamingo colony in the Western Hemisphere: around 70,000 nesting Caribbean flamingos inhabit Humedal Rio Maximo-Caguey, one of Cuba’s six areas designated as wetlands of international importance.

Cuba is making significant efforts to protect the endangered pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber), which is recovering under the care of the National Center for Protected Areas (CNAP) and the country’s Flora and Fauna Agency. Visitors can discover a treasure trove of biodiversity at sites such as Caguanes National Park and the Ciénaga de Zapata.

The sight of a beautiful flock of Caribbean flamingos flapping their wings as they suddenly take flight, like flames rising into the sky, from the small marsh at the mouth of the Máximo River in Camagüey, the first of Cuba’s eastern provinces, or many other places across the island, leaves you amazed and enchanted.

The entire island is a treasure of biodiversity and varied landscapes, such as the Máximo River, Aguanes National Park, the Ciénaga de Zapata, the northern and southern keys of Cuba among other areas; it is home not only to pink flamingos but also to a wide variety of fauna and flora.

Flamingos live near shallow waters, where – if you remain still and silent – you can watch them carry out their daily activities, fishing peacefully, using their long legs to occasionally dip their black beaks into the water and pull out some small fish or mollusk.

Fun fact: flamingos prefer to eat shrimp, whose carotenoid content gives flamingos their intensely admired pink color.

An interesting fact about this unique bird is that it usually sleeps or rests standing up, balanced on one leg with the other hidden under its wings, where its head also nests.

In Cuba there are currently pink flamingo colonies in Cayo Coco and in the coastal marshes south of Santa Lucía Beach in Camagüey, and these locations are definitely worth visiting.

Contact us to organize your tour.