Destinations > Canaima

Canaima

updated at 14/04/2011

Canaima National Park makes up a good part of this region, home to the Pemón Indigenous people. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site it is the sixth largest national park in the world and features Angel Falls the tallest waterfall in the world .Kamarata Valley – the Valley of the Lost World - within the park, is a unique destination combining different ecosystems, savanna, rainforest, jungles, canyons and spectacular waterfalls.

The trip towards the fall itself has many attractions. The boat rides and walks through the jungle offer a unique view of Venezuelan flora, fauna, and terrain. If the water flow is mild enough, you can swim in the small pool that forms below the falls.

The Canaima National Park offers some challenging trekking, including trips to the 700 square-km plateau of Auyan-tepui, which can be arranged in Ciudad Bolivar. The trek to the top from the tiny village of Uruyen takes three days on rough tracks, and the final climb up a cleft in the massive rock wall is a tough scramble, but the rewards are immense - the landscape is surreal, with clumps of insect-eating pitcher plants clinging to the bare rock, and unlike Mount Roraima, you'll barely meet another soul.