DESTINATION SUMMARY:
Welcome
to Venezuela, home of dramatic mesas, enormous waterfalls, tropical
beaches, and controversial political leaders. The striking country has
Caribbean islands, tropical beaches and Amazonian jungle within its
borders. Here you will enjoy a high biodiversity index, the world’s
longest waterfall, and a lost world of carnivorous plants and unique
animals only found atop gigantic, geological tabletop formations called
tepuis.
The
tepuis of the Canaima National Park are considered some of the oldest
geological formations on Earth, dating back two billion years ago and
worthy of investigation. Local indigenous legend states that Roraima,
the tallest of these mysterious formations, represents the stump of a
felled tree that was once a source of fruit and vegetables to the world.
The journey up Roraima, the tallest of these mysterious tepuis
bordering Guyana and Brazil, gives testament to the grandiose nature of
these bizarre but remarkable formations. Continue your adventure by
charter plane and dug out canoe into lush Canaima National Park; this
stunning backdrop is the ideal point to launch into the deep jungles by
boat to explore and visit the world’s highest waterfall, Angel Falls,
where you will marvel at the sight of water coming out of a tepuis that
plunges 2,600 ft. This really is a true adventure seekers journey of a
lifetime.
Roraima Trek & Angel Falls: http://www.adventure-international.com/trips/trekking/85/roraima-and-angel-falls/
Our
trip to Venezuela was incredible. Starting off in the city of Caracas,
we ventured out to local nightclubs and restaurants. Lots of salsa
dancing and cuba libres (rum & coke). The city is alive but you
really need to know where you are going and be with a good chaperone,
because as you have heard, Caracas can be dangerous i.e. kidnappings if
not careful. Our accommodation was the Intercontinental Tamanco Caracas:
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/caracas
a well-appointed hotel in the city. On this particular trip, we flew to
Los Roques Archipelago National Park. The park consists of 350 islands,
located 80km north of La Guaira, and has an area of 221,120 hectares
making it the largest marine park in the Caribbean sea. Being an almost
untouched reef, lots of visitors come to anchor their yachts in the
shallow waters. The park also protects one of the highest quality coral
reefs with respect to species biodiversity. Using one of the local
posadas in town, we spent a few days on a private catamaran exploring
the islands.
Our
next stop was a flight to Canaima National Park, the gateway to Angel
Falls. The backdrop was stunning with massive waterfalls and tepuis
(massive geological formations similar to tabletops). We had the
opportunity to walk behind Sapo Falls and feel the energy of the rushing
curtain of water. Our lodge was a more simpler place, but I would
recommend Waku Lodge: http://www.wakulodge.com/index.asp?lang=eng
All of the places are along the river with great views and are the
launch point towards Angel Falls. The trip to Angel Falls can be a day
excursion with an early morning wake up call or you can depart a bit
later and actually stay the night by the falls in a rustic covered camp
with hammocks. On this trip we opted to stay out by the falls. The boat
ride to Angel Falls takes a few hours and the landscape is incredible,
really seems like a land before time. Eventually you see the profile of a
massive waterfall spilling out of a tepui and there you have it ---
Angel Falls, the longest waterfall in the world. Its recommended to hike
to the Laime viewpoint about 2 hours of easy jungle hiking. The Laime
viewpoint has amazing views of the falls from below and has some pools
to swim in created by the falls themselves, before they spill into the
river further on down below. However you do it, getting to and seeing
Angel Falls is a true adventure!
When
the rest of our group left, we decided to continue on and trek Roraima,
the largest tepui in the world, known as 'The Lost World'. A term I
really couldn't relate with until I discovered for myself what this
place was. We decided to take an overnight bus to Santa Elena, it was
our only choice at the time given to our timeframe. We were woken up
several times along the way by the military and inspected. I do not
recommend taking the bus, its long and unnecessary as there are flights
that connect from Caracas or other areas. Upon arrival we were met by
our guide and transferred by vehicle to the starting point. The porters
and all of us geared up and we were off to the first camp. What is so
unique to this trek is the ability to have a natural shower at each
place. We took a dip in the river and bathed with biodegradable soap.
Sleeping is in tents and for our treks we provide portable toilet as
well. Normally, the following day would be hiking to Roraima base camp,
but since we were on a time crunch, we ate lunch at base camp, and then
went for the summit - it was a long day but doable. Hiking along the
tepui wall (440 m) tall cliff was beautiful, filling up our water
bottles from the water that falls from the cliff. This must be the
cleanest water on earth, being filtered by the mountain itself. What
came to be at the top was fascinating, with black lichen algae rocks
that looked like a world of volcanic formations. The species of plants
and animals are endemic to the tepui including carnivorous plants and
toads. Our next day was a full day of exploring the massive tepui that
shares borders with Guyana and Brazil. The caves with waterfalls had
translucent colors and this place seemed like a wonderland. The tepui
was like a hallucinogenic dream, something out of this world. We hiked
to the tallest point, Maverick Rock at 9,219 ft and ended the day in
pools with crystals and took a nice bath. We of course had to head down,
but not without one last mountain cappuccino as we called them
(basically frothing powdered milk with hot water and a whisk) - genius.
Eventually, we got back down near first camp with stunning panoramic
views of Roraima to reflect on the trek. This was easily one of the most
interesting treks we had been on, a top favorite! Venezuela is a
dynamic place, and we didn't even get to see the Andes and do some real
mountain climbing.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
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