Two views of the Mogotes from a place near Viñales

The Mogotes (karst peaks made up of stone from fossilized coral), impress a special beauty on the Viñales valley's landscape. Within them, a very interesting ecosystem has developed.

It is easy to identify three clearly distinguished parts of the Mogotes: peaks with a formation of diminutive forest, full of trees 5-10m high, productive palms and deciduous trees, together with succulents, epiphytic plants, and climbing plants; slopes with open vegetation (trees, bushes, succulents, and herbaceous species), and hills covered in semideciduous or evergreen forest.

Many example illustrate the risk to the vegetation present in the valley: monospecific genera such as Ancistranthus, others with restricted distribution, such as Ceratopyxis, Siemensia or Microcycas, and many interesting endemic species: Ancistranthus harpochiloides, Anthurium venosum, Bombacopsis cubensis, Gaussia princeps, Omphalea hypoleuca, Spathelia brittonii, among others, may be found in the Mogotes.

Two examples of cliffs