Ten kilometers northwest of Baracoa, the Toa is the third-longest river on the north coast of Cuba and the country's most voluminous. It's also an important bird and plant habitat. Cacao trees and ubiquitous coconut palms grow in the Valle de Toa.
A vast hydroelectric project on the RÃo Toa was abandoned after a persuasive campaign led by the Fundación de la Naturaleza y El Hombre convinced authorities it would do irreparable ecological damage; engineering and economic reasons also played a part.
