The city of Santa Clara (200,000) is located 171 miles from Havana and 195 miles from Varadero along the Central Highway. It is a pleasant university city in the middle of the island and is the capital of Villa Clara Province. There is not much to see in the way of architecture but there are a few good museums. Some refer to Santa Clara as the City of Che because it was where the legendary Ernesto Che Guevarra fought one of the last battles of the revolution before Castro's entered Havana.
About 30 miles from the city of Santa Clara is Lake Habanilla, Cuba’s best fishing lake and is also noted for its large mouth bass. A number of mountain and beach areas are worth exploring in this province.
