Also called "the island of a thousand names" because of the many names it has had since Christopher Columbus discovered it and called it La Evangelista. The Indians called it Camargo, Guanaja and Siguanea. Governor Diego Velazquez called it Santiago.

Others have called it Treasure Island (because it was where Robert Louis Stevenson set his famous novel); Cotorras (Parrot) Island, because of the abundance of parrots there; and the Isle of Pines. In the 1970s, because of the many schools in the countryside that were built there, its name was officially changed to Isle of Youth.

It is the second largest island in the Cuban archipelago (2,357 square km. - 910 square miles). Its many attractions include the Punta Frances National Marine Park, Bibijagua Beach, the Los Indios-San Felipe Natural Preserve, the pictographs in Punta del Este caves, the Colony International Scuba-Diving Center, El Abra Farm and the "Model" Prison.