UK Edition
Venezuela travel guide
Chris Moss, our expert, offers a guide to Venezuela, including what to do and where to stay.
The death of Hugo Chávez has not significantly altered the political atmosphere in Venezuela. But the chavista polices of anti-Americanism and land and property expropriation should not put intrepid travellers off visiting this beautiful country.
Caracas is a busy, noisy, polluted and sometimes dangerous city, and perhaps the least seductive of all the South American capitals; a couple of days here to take a cable-car ride to see the Dante-esque urban inferno below and beautiful mountains beyond, visit a couple of museums and survey the political propaganda is plenty for most people.
There's rich biodiversity in the Canaima National Park.
AP
The best-known attraction in Venezuela is probably the table-top tepuis of the Gran Sabana region in the east of the country, made famous as the “Lost World” in the fiction of Arthur Conan Doyle (who never visited South America). The flora and fauna of these mountains, which range in height from 3,300ft to 9,800ft, are distinct from those of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. The centrepiece of this area, close to the border with Guyana, is Angel Falls, which is reached by small prop plane and motorised canoe. There are simple hammock camps nearby so visitors can stay a night or two and see the falls at different times of the day – and perhaps get at least one good snapshot when the cloud/drizzle/mists retreat.
Los Roques is an archipelago of 42 reef-formed islands ideal for snorkelling and scuba-diving.
AP
The Llanos – a vast area of savannah that is seasonally flooded – are Venezuela’s literal and symbolic heartland. Here, cowboys and humpbacked cebu cattle coexist with teeming birdlife and caiman, capybara, giant anteater, puma and anaconda. The llanero cowboys are known for their hospitality. Ranches such as El Cedral (stretching for more than 130,000 acres) are expert at combining long riding excursions with wildlife watching and, come evening, good food and home comforts.
At the western end of the country, in the Andes, Mérida is the most popular base for walking and climbing trips in the cloud forests. The town stands on an alluvial terrace at 5,380ft above sea level, and serious hikes from it can involve lung-busting altitudes. Mountain biking, whitewater rafting and paragliding are also available.
Ranches such as El Cedral are expert at combining long riding excursions with wildlife watching and home comforts.
elcedral.com
Venezuela has a 1,200-mile coastline on the Caribbean sea. Some visitors like to plan a few days on one of the many white-sand beaches after the sometimes arduous adventures travel around Venezuela involves. For dedicated beach bums, Los Roques – 90 nautical miles north of Caracas – is an archipelago of 42 reef-formed islands ideal for snorkelling and scuba-diving. Isla Margarita and Trinidad and Tobago are only a short flight away too.
Best for: active holidays, beaches, riding, wildlife.