Laguna del Tesoro Guama Matanzas Cuba
Laguna del Tesoro at Guama is a lake which is 5km east of Boca de Guama, entering via the Canal de la Laguna. The lake and resort are accessible only by boat. On the far (east) side of the 92-sq-km body of water is the tourist resort named Villa Guama, built to resemble a Taino village scattered across about a dozen small islands. Boca de Guama is the main tourist center of the Peninsula de Zapata and a bit of a tourist trap to say the least. Visitors will find a restaurant, snack bar, ceramics shop, souvenirs shops and other amenities here.
The main attraction at Boca de Guama is the Criadero de Cocodrilos, a crocodile farm, which is worth visiting. Visitors can hire a motorboat boat to take them across to the village, which is called Guama, or can hire a rowboat and go rowing on the lake which is a blast.
A sculpture park next to the mock village has 32 life-size figures of Taíno indian villagers in a variety of idealized poses. The lake is called ‘Treasure Lake’ due to a legend about some treasure the Tainos supposedly threw into the water just prior to the Spanish conquest. The lake is stocked with largemouth bass, so fishers frequently convene on its shores.