Hicacos Peninsula

Hicacos is a peninsula on Cuba's northern shore, in the province of Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is located on the peninsula. The name comes from a species of cactus.

Geography

It is located between the Bay of Cárdenas and the Nicholas Channel of the Atlantic Ocean, and its extremity (Punta Hicacos) constitutes the northernmost point of the island of Cuba. It has a length of 18 kilometres (11 mi) and its width varies between 0.5 km (0.31 mi) and 2.5 km (1.6 mi).

The cays developed off shore, such as Cayo Piedras and Cayo Cruz del Padre are the westernmost part of the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago.

The Kawama navigation channel was opened between the Bay of Cardenas and the northern shore, to allow faster transit of ships from the port of Cárdenas to the northern shore, making a bridge the only access to the peninsula. The highway that crosses it and runs the length of Hicacos is the northern extremity of the Via Blanca highway, and it provides access to the resorts and marina located on the northern end.