Alexander von Humboldt National Park is on the UNESCO World Heritage list

Park “Alejandro de Humboldt” is a national park in the Cuban provinces of Holguín and Guantánamo

It`s named after he German scientist Alexander von Humboldt who visited the island in 1800 and 1801

Being one of the most important biosphere reserves in the Caribbean basin, the National Park, along with Cuchillas del Toa was declared a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 2001

The rivers that flow off the peaks of the park are some of the largest in the insular Caribbean

The park is said to be the most humid place in Cuba and this causes a high biological diversity

The park has an area of 274.67 sq miles of which 264.76 sq miles land area and 8.74 sq miles marine area

Elevation ranges from sea level to 3,832 ft on El Toldo Peak

16 of Cuba's 28 endemic plant species are protected in the park including such fauna as Dracaena cubensis and Podocarpus ekman

Hummingbird flies to the flower of a mango tree

Fauna present in the park includes various species of parrots, lizards, hummingbirds, the endangered Cuban Solenodon (endemic), hutia and snails

The Alexander von Humboldt National Park has historically been an area of land little used by man, with only one archaeological site from the pre-Columbian period being known, located in the coastal zone of Aguas Verdes

The park began to be laid out in the 1960`s, with the declaration of the Jaguani and Cupeyal del Norte nature reserves

This continued into the 80`s with the proposal of the Ojito del Agua Refuge, associated with the last sighting of the Royal Woodpecker, a last remnant of this species which was already extinct in its other habitats in the United States and Mexico

Termite nest

In 1996 these protected areas were united to form a National Park that was named after Alexander von Humboldt

There are unique flora and fauna elements in this unique ecosystem, with some of the highest indexes of endemicity in the archipelago