The Lost World
Read the book, seen the movie? – Now go and see it for yourself, but don’t expect to encounter too many dinosaurs! For our Roraima Tepui trek we travel on foot from the Indian settlement of Parai-Tepui through the Gran Sabana grasslands to the base of Roraima Tepui, a seemingly impenetrable fortress surrounded by 800m vertical walls. From our camp at the base of the cliffs, we can enjoy views across the savannah and watch the sun play on the rose coloured cliffs above. A diagonal cleft penetrates the cliffs, allowing us access to the summit via a steep but non-technical trail. We have a full day to explore the bizarre rock formations, fauna and plant life, much of which is found nowhere else on Earth, before retracing our steps back to Parai-Tepui and continuing on by vehicle to Santa Elena.
No visit to Venezuela would be complete without visiting the world’s tallest waterfall, the 1000m high Angel Falls. A charter flight takes us over the Tepuis to Canaima from where we travel by motorised canoe up-river to a jungle camp beneath the falls. There is time at leisure to absorb the views and atmosphere of the falls before returning to Canaima for the night and then on to Caracas and home.
Caracas,
Venezuela
Caracas is a city with a population over three million, crammed into a valley in northern Venezuela. Over 2000-2010, Venezuela's oil revenues did not compensate for mismanagement of the city. The city's infrastructure deteriorated and Caracas residents are increasingly entrenched in slum areas. As of 2011, there was still no clear plan regarding how crime, poverty and severe traffic problems could be eradicated from the city.
The city of Caracas receives preferential treatment in Venezuela's economy, as Venezuela's oil-generated revenues are used to subsidise the city's development. Caracas' population growth is driven entirely by natural increase, as the city is too packed to accommodate further immigration. Housing in Caracas accounts for a relatively small share of the household budget but for damaging reasons. The majority of dwellings in the city are located in the slum areas, which are cheap.
Roraima Tepui
Venezuela
Mount Roraima is one the most mysterious and alluring mountains in the world. An enormous flat-topped mesa, its sheer cliffs rise from one of the most remote areas of the Amazon rain forest. It is entirely appropriate that Conan Doyle used Roraima as the inspiration for the novel Lost World, a tale of modern dinosaurs.
The mountain is a vast heart-shaped plateau, with the area of the rolling summit area about 50 sq.km or 20 sq. miles. It lies in three countries, but Venezuela controls over 80% of the summit, with Brazil and Guyana owning much smaller slivers. The highest point on the massif, a rock called the "Maverick Stone", is in Venezuela, near the southwestern side of the plateau. Several kilometers northeast from this is the Triple-Country Point, a survey monument where the three nations meet.
In these days of popular adventure tourism, the ascent has become a relatively easy trek of about three to five days. There is a ramp on the southwest side of the mountain's mostly sheer cliffs that allows a non-technical route to the summit plateau, very close to the Maverick Stone. The start point for these trips is Santa Elena, Venezuela, and several tour companies arrange them, using native guides and porters.
Highlights from the top of Roraima includes the views from The Window, Maverick (highest peak), the Jazucci, underground caves, the amazon jungle, the neighbouring countries of Guyana and Brazil, and the crystal valley.
Canaima, Angel Falls
Venezuela
Canaima National Parkis a 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) park in south-eastern Venezuela that borders Brazil and Guyana. It is located in Bolívar State, and roughly occupies the same area as the Gran Sabana region.
About 65% of the park is occupied by plateaus of rock called tepuis, which are a kind of plateau of millions of years old, with vertical walls and almost flat tops. These constitute a unique biological environment and are also of great geological interest. Their sheer cliffs and waterfalls (including Angel Falls, which is the highest waterfall in the world, at 1,002 metres (3,287 ft)) create spectacular landscapes.
The most famous tepuis in the park are Mount Roraima, the tallest and easiest to climb, and Auyantepui, the site of Angel Falls.
Highlights from Canaima National park include the 4 hour boat ride to the base of angel falls, and hiking towards the viewpoint. We stayed adjacent in a small lodging area, sleeping in hammocks and waking up to the distance sound of Angel Falls, clear in view. We first stayed in Canaima at the lagoon, surrounded by spectacular waterfalls, and was also a filming location for Jurassic Park.
