Viñales, located in the province of Pinar del Río, opts for the status of UNESCO Global Geopark, and if approved it will be the first of its type in Cuba.

Distinguished by their rich geological biodiversity and the promotion of natural heritage, together with the work of communities, the UNESCO World Geoparks are intended to promote sustainable development of the regions in which they are located.

Dr. José Luis Corvea, deputy director of the National Center for Protected Areas, told ACN that Viñales has a wide representation of karst relief, as well as nationally notable features.

It also includes an outcropping of rocks with evidence of impact of a meteorite, responsible for a climatic variation and the disappearance of many animal species in the Cretaceous period.

Corvea remarked that a subgroup of geological heritage is being created in the National Monuments Commission legally certificate all the sites chosen in the country, since the final idea is to have a network of geoparks.

The Viñales National Park would have a new product for the growth of nature tourism, based on the observation and interpretation of Geology.

At global level, there are more than 130 geoparks, and China is the nation with the greatest number of such initiatives, while Latin America is being progressively inserted.