Tourist train in Trinidad resumes operations in the Valley of the Ingenios.

Despite being promoted as a flagship product by the Transtur branch, the tourist train in Trinidad resumed operations at a cost of 840 Cuban pesos, excluding lunch, which increases the expense for visitors who choose this option to explore the famous city.

The train, an articulated vehicle known as a trackless train or road train, travels through the Valley of the Ingenios, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, the government-aligned newspaper Escambray specified this Monday.

Despite the cost, the route, named "Knowing My Valley," remains popular, according to the official spokesperson portal, which highlighted the resumption of operations of the tourist train in the Valley of the Ingenios in Trinidad as an achievement.

Part of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes park and makes stops at historical places like the Mirador del Valle, the Hacienda Buena Vista, Manaca Iznaga, and ends at the Guachinango estate, where an optional lunch is offered.

This tourist package, organized with the travel agency Cubanacán, has attracted both national and foreign visitors since its resumption in April 2023.

The commercial specialist of Transtur, Maireny Medinilla Ortega, commented that the service has been designed to offer a complete cultural and scenic experience.

However, the high price has been a point of controversy, especially during the summer season, when the domestic market represents the majority of the clientele.

Additionally, there is the option to extend the itinerary to the Ancón Peninsula, although it was not explained if this modification of the trip would increase its cost.

In 2022, after two years of inactivity, the tourist train in the Valley of the Sugar Mills restored its 20-kilometer route, used by locals and foreigners visiting this heritage site.

Before the COVID-19 epidemic in Cuba, the tourist train operated with four carriages; however, upon its reopening in 2022, it started its journeys with only two.

Although the regime boasts about this investment and the tourist attractions of the region, in the past, the Cuban government has acknowledged that the city of Trinidad, in Sancti Spíritus, is a tourist destination that does not offer what is necessary to the visitors who arrive there.

"Tourists only stay an average of 2.2 days, when we have attractions to keep them for up to five," noted tourism officials, according to a report from the government-controlled newspaper Escambray.

However, recently the Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero inaugurated a new hotel in Cuba, the Meliá Trinidad Península, a five-star category.

The hotel's inauguration comes at a time of deep economic crisis.