Bay of Baracoa in the mist with "El Yunque" in the background

Until the opening of the Cave Museum, the public had access to only a few of the many pre-colombian relics found around history-rich Baracoa - thosee housed in the Municipal Museum of Baracoa (Matachín). Now, with the help of the Friendship Association, more than 1,000 artifacts collected over the past 20 years by the Baracoa Archaeological Society (a non-governmental organization) are on exhibit.

	Anthropomorphic figures
	Ceremonial axe

In January 2003 the dream of the Baracoa Archaeological Society - to shed light on the unknown treasures of Baracoa and to preserve and share these treasures with the public - became a reality.

The Archaeological Society, under the direction of Lic. Roberto Orduñez Fernández, a distinguished Cuban archaeologist and native of Baracoa, consists of about 15 professional archaeologists, geologists, speleologists and enthusiasts.

Curricula (in Spanish)

The Cave Museum is located in a group of post-Pliocene, Phreatic caves located in El Paraiso, a neighborhood on the southern hill of Baracoa, east of the El Castillo Hotel (beyond the Ranchón).

The hillside faces north and overlooks the city, the bay, and in the distance, the Majayara Penninsula. The site was approved by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente, CITMA), represented in Baracoa by Lic. Ricardo Suárez Bustamante, for the creation of The Archaeological Museum of Baracoa"La Cueva del Paraiso" . See flyer (in PDF format).

Over 1,000 artifacts hitherto unseen by the public are on display. These include petroglyph tools, statues, ceramics, jewelry, engravings and a pre-Colombian burial site. "Children need to know their past to enjoy their future" - Dr. Ray Petty, Ponce University, Puerto Rico

Lic. Roberto Orduñez Director of the archeological museum project in Baracoa.

Access to the museum is from an upper level, down a spiral staircase into an L-shaped cave of about 120 m². Egress is from the lower level.

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The first phase(completed January 2003):

• A masonry access path from the west
• Drainage within the cave
• Path and steps along the path and within the cave, as required
• Instalation of lights and display cases
• Three doors/gates to close access to the cave
• The spiral staircase
• A simple office consisting of a desk, a file cabinet and a chair (in a nook of the cave)
• Identification and cataloging of artifacts
• Creation and translation of educational material relating to the history of indigenous people and the pieces to be placed in the museum
• Creation of interpretive center
• A perimeter fence made of wood around the property
• Landscaping of the grounds

2nd Phase (completed 2007): The cave museum now encompasses four levels of caves and includes a burial site and a look-out peak that affords a magnificant view of Baracoa and the two bays.