Venezuela

is located at the northern coast of  South America, where the continent meets the Caribbean Sea. Its landscapes, animal, and plant diversity make this country a singular place. Venezuela offers white sand beaches and transparent waters, deserts, plains of extraordinary beauty, particularly interesting for naturalists, mountains proudly represented by the Andean range and ancient mesetas called Tepuis, emerging from the forest.

You will find in Venezuela:

• The highest waterfall in the world: Angel Falls.
• The largest lake in Latin America: Maracaibo Lake.
• The third biggest river in South America: Orinoco River.
• The longest and highest funicular railway of the world: in Mérida.
• The most ancient rocks of the Earth: Guayana.
• 43 national parks and 21 natural monuments.

An inviting blue carpet

The Caribbean Sea bathes the Venezuelan northern coast, offering to the visitor its blue welcome carpet, spotted with 311 islands and islets. The highlights of this insular area are Margarita Island, with an exuberant blend of beaches and Los Roques, the only coralloid atoll in the southern Caribbean, famous for the high quality of its fishing and diving sports.

The wildlife in this region is represented by an array of sea bird species, such as the red-billed tropicbird, brown pelican, american flamingo, magnificent frigatebirds and gulls. Sea turtles, such as the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle, and the leather back turtle spawn on many of these sandy beaches. Species suitable for fishing such as the marlin, the sailfish and the tarpon are abundant. Sometimes, schools of dolphins and even some small Bryde whales can be seen at open sea.

Plains that bridle the horizon

Geologically the youngest portion of Venezuela's territory, for almost a third of its total surface, located in the central zone, crossing from east to west. It is an alluvial savanna, with high borders and a deep bottom, formed by the accumulation of material drawn from the surrounding mountain chains, particularly the Andes.

This is the land for those who love natural scenery. A land crossed by gallery forests and spattered with irregular copses and palm groves. Huge flocks of ducks, egrets, storks and ibis gather here, where the food is abundant. The capybaras-a rodent of approximately 60 kilos in weight-go over the plains in groups grazing along with the cattle. Other animal species are very common in this zone: the anaconda snake, the Earth's longest ophidian, the spectacled caiman, and the Orinoco caiman. 

Snow in the tropics

The Andes Mountains are a sort of spinal column stretching along the South American continent, which penetrates about 400 kilometers into Venezuelan territory. The diverse ecosystems, which can be observed when we climb its heights, change according to the altitude and vary from the foothill jungles, the turf forest, the helmetcrest spattered with speletia of velvet leaves and the rocky heights where vegetation is reduced to a minimum, to the glaciers crowning the highest peaks of the country.

The Andean people share the heights of these lands with dazzling birds such as the bearded helmetcrest hummingbird, or the Merida sunangel or the imposing black-chested buzzard eagle, king of the summits' winds. The attentive observer can see white-tailed deer and cotton-tail rabbits. The trout, introduced into the Andean cold currents and lagoons, amuse the fans of sport fishing. The Venezuelan Andes are part of the mountain chain closest to the sea, and their views are unforgettable.

  Cloudy Barrier

The Coastal Range, at the north of the country, emerged thousands of years ago, pushing the sea away to leave a dry region: the central plains. Nowadays, it reaches towards heaven, imprisoning the clouds within the forest and condensing the humidity drawn by the sea breeze. On the coast of the Caribbean Sea the visitor can find lodging facilities in a mosaic of villages established during the era of the grear cocoa plantations, and enjoy an interesting mixture of races and traditions. "Portachuelo", a migratory path for insects and birds, is located in the core of the mountain, at Henri Pittier National Park. More than 40% of internationally known Venezuelan bird species pass through this path. The cloudy forest of this park offers excellent sample of bromeliad, orchids and other epiphytes. They hang from big trees such as "the child", whose massive cuneiform roots sustain a colossal trunk which can grow up to 50 meters. This park is particularly known by bird watchers from around the world. Its abundant species are found not only in the "Portachuelo" path, but also all along the gauges and way crossing their environments down to sea level. When walking inside this sanctuary, you can hear the greeting of the giant marsupial frog.

Finally, a roaring echo reveals the presence of the red howler monkey defending its territory.

Guayana, "Other of the Waters"

The Orinoco river has isolated a portion of land from the rest of the country, as preserving it for something special.  At the east and south of this river is located the huge region of Guayana, a vast area covering the Bolívar and Amazonas states, as well as Delta Amacuro state, where the Orinoco embraces the Atlantic Ocean. This region offers interesting environmental diversity. The rainy forest in Amazonas serves as a majestic frame to the union of two big river basins: Orinoco and Amazonas. One of the highlights of this wild plain is the Autana tepui, which means "Tree of life" according to the Indian legend. Also worthy to be mentioned are Guayana's highlands, located in Bolívar state and majestically crowned by tepuis such as Roraima and Kukenán. The real spirit of this ancient land may live in the Angel Falls image. This waterfall, falling from the Auyantepui, is three times higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

In spite of the diversity of animals such as the spider, capuchin and red howler monkeys, tapirs, armadillos and even the elusive jaguar, the "punch" of this region is its august landscape abundant in superlatives, where the human figure is minimized.

Venezuela's weather

There is a dry season (summer) and a rainy season (winter). The dry season goes from November to April, intensifying its harshness during this last month. The rainy season runs from May to October. July and August are the rainiest months.

Venezuela welcomes you

Photography courtesy of PROMARGARITA, Fondo de Promoción Turistica