The Guácharo Cave National Park (Parque Nacional Cueva del Guácharo), located 12 km from the town of Caripe, has as its centerpiece a large limestone cave, which is home to thousands of oilbirds (guácharos in Spanish; scientific name Steatornis caripensis). This frugivorous, nocturnal species was made known to science by Alexander von Humboldt and named by him after the town of Caripe.

The cave itself was designated as Venezuela's first National Monument in 1949. The National Park was later created to conserve the cave and the forest eco-system the birds depend on. The cave is a limestone cavern over 10 km long, with a number of large chambers and spectacular rock formations. The temperature inside the cave generally remains near 19 °C and the humidity at 100%.

Although the Oilbird forages by sight, it is one of only a few birds, and the only nocturnal one, known to navigate by echolocation in sufficiently poor light conditions, using a series of sharp audible clicks for this purpose. It also produces a variety of harsh screams while in its caves. Entering a cave with a light especially provokes these raucous calls; they also may be heard as the birds prepare to emerge from a cave at dusk.