Fidel Castro's ashes have arrived in the eastern city of Santiago, concluding a four-day journey across Cuba.

Thousands of people gathered shouting “Fidel! I am Fidel!” as the jeep pulling a cedar urn containing his ashes rolled into the island's second-largest city.

The 90-year-old former president, who died on 25 November, declared the victory of the Cuban Revolution from a Santiago balcony in 1959.

Children in school uniform, veterans in military fatigues and entire families waved Cuban flags as a series of Castro speeches played on a giant screen, in scenes of public adulation seen elsewhere along the 900-kilometer (560-mile) trip from Havana.

Huge crowds have been shouting his name and lining the roads to salute the funeral procession across Cuba, particularly in rural eastern regions.

The caravan passed in front of the Moncada barracks – scene of his first armed uprising in 1953 – and headed to Revolution Square for an evening rally.

Castro has been hailed in almost religious terms since his death, with the communist party newspaper Granma calling him the “eternal comandante.”

People watch the funeral procession carrying the ashes of Fidel Castro past Moncada Fort in Santiago (Associated Press)

His ashes will be interred Sunday morning, ending a nine-day mourning period, and he will be remembered in a nationally-televised service led by his brother, President Raul Castro, on Saturday.

Raul Castro, who took over when his brother fell ill in 2006, will deliver a much-awaited speech during the massive tribute with foreign dignitaries, ranging from presidents to Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who called Castro his “second father.”

Castro's death has fuelled discussions about his divisive legacy and the direction the country may take without the omnipresent leader, who ruled for almost half a century.

Tearful supporters have cheered him for the free education and health care he developed on the island, while detractors call him a brutal dictator who imprisoned dissidents and ran the economy to the ground.

After Fidel is laid to rest, all eyes will turn to Raul Castro's next move. He has implemented modest economic reforms, vowed to step down in 2018 and restored diplomatic ties with the United States.

“He has been the father of all Cubans and all the people in need in the world,” said Margarita Aguilera, the 54-year-old director of a state tobacco company who painted the words “farewell, comandante” on a white stone in front of a house.

Fidel Castro funeral procession Show all 20 1 /20 Fidel Castro funeral procession Fidel Castro funeral procession The funeral procession carrying the ashes of Fidel Castro departs after a ceremony in Santa Clara, Cuba AP Fidel Castro funeral procession People line a road to watch as the caravan carrying Cuba's late President Fidel Castro's ashes passes by in Camaguey, Cuba Reuters Fidel Castro funeral procession People line a road to watch as the caravan carrying Cuba's late President Fidel Castro's ashes enters Camaguey, Cuba Reuters Fidel Castro funeral procession People line a road to watch as the caravan carrying Cuba's late President Fidel Castro's ashes goes past Reuters Fidel Castro funeral procession Daniel Hernandez, 4, salutes while awaiting the caravan carrying the late Cuban President Fidel Castro's ashes in Camaguey, Cuba Reuters Fidel Castro funeral procession A military jeep is taking the ashes of Fidel Castro on a four-day journey across Cuba, with islanders lining the roads to bid farewell to the late communist icon Getty Fidel Castro funeral procession A military jeep is taking the ashes of Fidel Castro on a four-day journey across Cuba, with islanders lining the roads to bid farewell to the late communist icon Getty Fidel Castro funeral procession A boy and a girl in their special position waiting for the arrival of the convoy carrying the remains of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in Cienfuegos, 240 km southeast from Havana Getty Fidel Castro funeral procession A military jeep is taking the ashes of Fidel Castro on a four-day journey across Cuba, with islanders lining the roads to bid farewell to the late communist icon Getty Fidel Castro funeral procession People wait along the Carretera Central to see the convoy carrying the urn with the ashes of late Cuban leader Fidel Castro AFP/Getty Images Fidel Castro funeral procession People watch the funeral procession carrying Fidel Castro's ashes through Santa Spiritus province in Cuba AP Fidel Castro funeral procession Cubans wait for the passage of the convoy carrying the remains of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro Getty Fidel Castro funeral procession A woman holds an image of Cuba's late President Fidel Castro while awaiting the caravan carrying Castro's ashes Reuters Fidel Castro funeral procession Yenia Coutinio poses for a picture while waiting for the funeral procession carrying Fidel Castro's ashes AP Fidel Castro funeral procession A military jeep is taking the ashes of Fidel Castro on a four-day journey across Cuba, with islanders lining the roads to bid farewell to the late communist icon Getty Fidel Castro funeral procession A man waits for the caravan carrying the ashes of Cuba's leader Fidel Castro at a sugar cane plantation in Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, Cuba AP Fidel Castro funeral procession A student holds an image of Cuba's late President Fidel Castro while awaiting the caravan carrying Castro's ashes in Camaguey, Cuba Reuters Fidel Castro funeral procession A child reacts to the camera as he stands next to a truck used to carry people to a spot where they could watch the convoy carrying Fidel Castro's ashes in Gaspar, Cuba AP Fidel Castro funeral procession Wearing signs that read in Spanish 'I am Fidel', men sit on their horses as they wait to see the convoy carrying the ashes of Cuba's leader Fidel Castro on its way to the east of the country in Florida, Cuba AP Fidel Castro funeral procession People paint stones laid out as a tribute to Cuba's late President Fidel Castro in Las Tunas, Cuba Reuters

The government had already led a huge rally with two dozen foreign presidents in Havana on Tuesday, but Santiago holds a special place in Castro's life.

“This is the cradle. Everything started here,” said Victor Rivera Coca, 52, a cook who came from the town of Las Tunas, three hours away by car, with his wife and three-year-old son.

On July 26, 1953, the Castro brothers launched a failed attack on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago.

The motorcade carrying the ashes of the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro leaves Cespedes park in Santiago (Associated Press)

Although the rebels were jailed, the attack put Castro on the map and he would eventually go into exile in Mexico.

“History will absolve me,” the trained lawyer famously said at his trial.