Pico Turquino is the highest peak in Cuba and is the highest point in the Pico Turquino National Park. During the late 1950s, Fidel Castro and members of his 26th of July Movement used the area as a base during the Cuban Revolution.

The name is believe to be a corruption of turqoise peak, named so for the blue hues taken by the heights in certain views. It was first mentioned on a map drawn by Gerardo Kramer in the late 1700s.