Itinerary

Day 1: Catia La Mar - Maiquetia

Meet a Turpial Travel assistant at the Maiquetía airport in Caracas. Our assistant will welcome you to Venezuela, answer all your questions, and transfer you to your hotel. Overnight at a hotel.

Day 2: Caracas Airport - Canaima National Park & Angel Falls - Catia La Mar - Puerto Ordaz/Ciudad Guayana

From the Caracas airport, take a flight to Puerto Ordaz and then a connecting flight to Canaima National Park. Upon arrival you will be transferred to our main camp. At 2:00 p.m. leave the camp and head to the Ucaima port located above the Canaima Lagoon Falls. Board a curiara (Indian canoe) and travel through the Canaima Lagoon. When you arrive at “Sapo Falls” - a magnificent waterfall of approximately 45 meters in height and 100 meters in width - prepare yourself to cross it by foot! At the other side of the falls, a jeep will be waiting for you to take you through the “Mayupa Sabana”. Observe the “Mayupa Rapids” and part of the magnificent Auyan Tepuy. After crossing the Sabana by jeep, board the curiara once more and travel through the Carrao river to the “Happy Well”. During the voyage, observe the lush tropical vegetation, Palmas de Moriche (tropical palms) and Tepuyes. At the Happy Well, the group will stop to take a refreshing bath before continuing the journey to the Ahonda Camp in front of the Orchid Island (a shelter of red stones) where we will have dinner with a view of the Auyan Tepuy. Spend the night sleeping in hammocks with mosquito nettings and blankets.

Day 3: Canaima National Park

After breakfast, board the curiara and travel up river to “Isla Raton”. At Isla Raton, trek an hour to the base of the magnificent Angel Falls. Enjoy the splendid view of the fall and if time permits, swim in the Angel Falls lagoon. Return to the Orchid Island for lunch and after that head back to the main camp (arriving there at 6:00 p.m. approximately). Overnight at a camp.

Day 4: Canaima National Park & Angel Falls - Puerto Ordaz/Ciudad Guayana - Orinoco Delta

After breakfast, fly to Puerto Ordaz. From Puerto Ordaz, you will be transferred to our camp in the Orinoco Delta region. During the trip you will have the opportunity to appreciate the fauna and flora of the Delta and some Indian communities. When you arrive at the camp, you will be welcomed with a cocktail as you check-in to your rooms. In the afternoon, after lunch, board a canoe that will take you through the narrow and beautiful Delta River canals. Observe the flora and fauna and maybe some canoes competitions. Do a bit of piranhas fishing. On the way back to the camp, enjoy a spectacular sunset. If you are not too tired, later that evening, take some time to enjoy the Warao craft exhibit. Overnight at the camp.

Day 5: Orinoco Delta

Navigate the Delta canals at dawn. At this time of the day, the animals are very active and it is easier to see them. Return to the camp for a quick breakfast. After breakfast, return to the rainforest to start a jungle walk accompanied by Indian expert guides. Your guides will show you how the local Indians get their food, beverages, medicines, make their handicrafts and build their homes from the plants and animals of the area. In the afternoon (if it is not the nesting season), visit the “Island of The Birds” where you can observe a large number of bird species seeking refuge for the night. Overnight at the camp.

Day 6: Orinoco Delta - Maturín - Caracas Airport - Choroní & Puerto Colombia

Today you will visit the Warao Indian communities. You will get a chance to interact with them and learn more about their culture and way of life. From there, you will be transferred to the Maturín airport to take a flight to Caracas. Upon arrival, our travel assistant will be waiting for you to transfer you to the colonial town of Choroní in the Henri Pittier National Park (approximately a 4 hour drive). Overnight at a posada.

Day 7: Choroní

Today is a day on your own to explore the surroundings. Take the opportunity to:

1. Enjoy your day relaxing in the beach. Visit Playa Grande, a beautiful large beach with coco palms.

2. Visit the Chuao Coffee Plantation by walking to the promenade “malecon” and catching a boat to Chuao. On this tour, walk through a Cacao farm, visit a colonial church and try some of the best coffee in the world.

3. Explore the Henrri Pittier National Park by walking through the tropical forest with the most bio-diversity in the world. The tour includes a light breakfast, roundtrip transfer and a quiet walk guided by experts and bilingual guides for approximately five hours. During the walk, enjoy the great variety of the wild flora and fauna. Visit the Virgin Carmen, a spectacular sugarcane trapiche where the “papelón” (a kind of brown sugar) is handmade. Return through the forest and submerge yourself in the natural and pompous well “La Lapa”, where we can have lunch, rest and relax while appreciating this natural beauty. Overnight at Posada.

NOTE: The excursions/activities suggested are not included in your package but can be added for an additional cost.

Day 8: Choroní & Puerto Colombia - Mantecal - Barinas

Early in the morning, after breakfast, our guide will drive to a Hato (ranch) in los Llanos while you enjoy the countryside (an approximately 10 hour drive). Overnight at a ranch.

Day 9: Mantecal

Spend the following day taking an excursion to observe wildlife at its best! At Hato Cedral we find over 250 species of birds, nearly 50 mammal species, including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, white-tailed deer, foxes, capybaras, red howler and capuchin monkeys, opossums, anteaters, and armadillos; and over 40 species of reptiles, including spectacled caimans, green iguanas, anacondas, turtles and red-footed tortoises. Overnight at a ranch.

Day 10: Mantecal

Spend another day taking wildlife excursions at the Hato. Overnight at the ranch.

Day 11: Mantecal - Santo Domingo

After a morning excursion (at around noon), you will be picked up and transferred to Santo Domingo. On the way you will get to see the beauty of the Andean Region - bound by the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra de la Culata, the Venezuelan Andean region has unparalleled biodiversity and Venezuela’s tallest peaks. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 12: Santo Domingo - Mérida

On the way to Merida, travel through the Andean Paramo. The paramo is a high-altitude region with a neotropical ecosystem. It is located between the upper forest line (about 3800 m altitude) and the permanent snow line (about 5000 meters). The ecosystem consists of mostly glacier-formed valleys and plains with a large variety of lakes, peat bogs and wet grasslands intermingled with shrubs and forest patches. This neotropical ecosystem hosts about 5000 different plant species where 60% of these species are native to the area, adapted to the specific climate characteristics of the place. You will get to see tussock grasses, ground rosettes, dwarf shrubs, cushion plants and conspicuous giant rosettes such as the Espeletia (frilejon) and Puya (in the family Bromeliaceae). The paramo covers 2600 square kilometers!

Visit the colonial Andean villages and enjoy the drinks and cuisine they have to offer. We will drive up the Pico Aguila (4,125 meters), the highest point in Venezuela. Visit the Andean Condor Station and the Laguna Mucubaji Park (3,800 meters) located in the Sierra Nevada. At this lake you will be able to see the yellow flowers of the frailejones – a plant only seen in the Andean region. Next, walk or take a horseback ride to Laguna Negra (optional), where you will enter into a microclimate that due to its special ecosystem receives more rain and humidity than the surrounding Paramo area. This extra humidity gives life to an interesting diversity of plant species, adding color and greenery to the wind-swept Paramo region. Laguna Negra is a beautiful site on a clear, calm day. The black water forms such a perfect mirror that it disappears and is replaced by the reflection of the trees on the mountainside.Overnight at Hotel.

Day 13: El Vigía - Mérida - Caracas Airport - Catia La Mar

Take the morning to enjoy Merida. In the afternoon you will be transferred to El Vijia airport. Fly to Caracas. Upon arrival, our travel assistant will be waiting for you to transfer you to your hotel. Overnight at a hotel.

Day 14: Catia La Mar - Caracas Airport

Our travel assistant will pick you up from you hotel and transfer you to the airport to assist you with your flight home. END OF SERVICES.

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