Playa
Larga can be found in the famous Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs),
at the Zapata Peninsula, 32 km. from the National Highway. This bay became
famous after on April 1961, an army of Cuban exiles invaded the island
in order to overthrow Fidel Castro’s newly established revolutionary
government.
The visitor may take sea baths at Playa Larga, a beach of excellent sand and warm waters located at the bay’s end, as well as enjoy nature at Montemar Great Natural Park.
The International Birdwatching Center operates in Playa Larga as a starting point for different sites of day or nighttime birdwatching in the heart of Montemar woods.
21 km. southwest of Playa Larga lies Laguna de las Salinas, now included in the Wildlife Refuge. This is a place where, from November to April, the visitor can see many species of migratory waterfowl.
A
more accessible site is the Cueva de los Peces, a flooded tectonic fault
about 70 m. deep on the island side of the road, almost exactly midway
between Playa Larga and Playa Girón. These half-rounded lagoons,
called cenotes have arisen from the partial caving-in of cave’s
roofs.
Among the most interesting sites of the park is the speleological system stretching over 70 km., where the partial caving-in of cave’s roofs has created superficial half-rounded lagoons called cenotes.
About 200 m. west along the beach from Villa Playa Larga is the International Octopus Club Diving Center, offering full scuba facilities. In these turquoise-blue waters dwell a wide variety of fish, sea fans and huge colonies of crabs, lobsters and barracudas.
Like
at Playa Girón, wall-diving can be practised here. Underwater areas
are immensely attractive because of the steepness of the ocean wall, which
is extremely close to the shore and covered by astonishing coral beds,
including black ones, as well as sea fans and sponges. It’s also
possible to go deep into the underwater caves belonging to the speleological
lake system of Montemar, which reach in some points depths of 70 m. Blind
fish can also be seen in these caves.