Itinerary

Day 1: Catia La Mar - Caracas Airport

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

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

Take the first flight to Puerto Ordaz. Upon arrival take a connecting flight to Canaima National Park. In Canaima you will be transferred to our main camp. At 2:00 p.m. leave the camp and head to the “Ucaima” port situated above the “Canaima Lagoon Falls. Board a “curiara” (Indian canoe) and travel through the Canaima Lagoon. When you arrive at “Sapo Fall” - a magnificent water fall of approximately 45 meters in height and 100 meters in width - prepare yourself to cross it by foot! At the other side of the fall, 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 (a 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 & Angel Falls

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 Fall. Enjoy the splendid view of the fall and if time permits, swim in the Angel Fall 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 - Barinas - Caracas Airport - Mantecal

After breakfast fly to Barinas. Upon arrival, you will be transfered to a ranch in Los Llanos (approx. a 3-4 hour drive). Overnight at a ranch.

Day 5: Mantecal

Spend the following day taking an excursion to observe wildlife at its best! The ranch hosts over 250 species of birds, nearly 50 species of mammals (including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, white-tailed deer, crab-eating foxes, capybaras, red howler and capuchin monkeys, opossums, ant-eaters, armadillos and river dolphins), and over 40 species of reptiles (including spectacled caimans, green iguanas, anacondas, turtles and red-footed tortoises). Overnight at a ranch.

Day 6: Mantecal

Spend another day taking an excursion to observe wildlife at the ranch. Overnight at a ranch.

Day 7: Mantecal - Santo Domingo

Take a last wildlife excursion at the ranch. After lunch, you will be 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 an ex-monastery.

Day 8: 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 m). The ecosystem consists of accident, mostly glacier formed valleys and plains with a large variety of lakes, peat bogs and wet grasslands intermingled with shrublands and forest patches. This neotropical ecosystem hosts about 5000 different plant species where 60% of these species are endemic, adapted to the specific climate characteristics of the place. Vegetation you will get to see in this trip are: tussock grasses, ground rosettes, dwarf shrubs cushion plants and conspicuous giant rosettes such as Espeletia (frilejon) and Puya (in the family Bromeliaceae). The paramo covers 2600 Km2 of the state!

In addition, visit colonial Andean villages and enjoy the drinks and cuisine they have to offer. We will drive up the Pico Aguila (4,125-m), the highest point in Venezuela. Visit the Andean Condor Station and the Laguna Mucubaji Park (3,800-m) located in the Sierra Nevada. In this lake you will be able to see the yellows flowers of frailejones – a plant only seen in the Andean regions. 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 a posada. NOTE: THE LAGUNA NEGRA EXCURSION IS NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR PACKAGE. THEY CAN BE ARRANGED AT AN ADDITIONAL COST.

Day 9: Mérida

Early in the morning, grab your jacket and get ready for an adventure. Visit the world’s longest and highest cable car that takes you from the Barinitas station (1577 meters) to Mirror Peak (Pico Espejo) at an altitude of 4,765 meters above sea level! From the cable car enjoy panoramic views of the beautiful city of Mérida, enclosed between mountains and peaks covered with snow. As you ascend in the cable car you will see detailed landscapes of Sierra La Culata, the Chama valley river, and the majestic Bolivar’s Peak (Pico Bolivar).

NOTE: If the cable car is not operating when you area there, this section of the trip will be changed for a tour of the city of Mérida. Overnight at a posada.

Day 10: Maracaibo - Mérida

Leave Mérida in the morning and head to Lake Maracaibo for a bird and butterfly watching expedition. In the evening, take a night safari and watch the Catatumbo lightning – a mysterious semi-permanent lightning storm that occurs where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo. The frequent, powerful flashes of lightning over this relatively small area are considered by some to be the world's largest single generator of tropospheric ozone. It occurs over and around Lake Maracaibo, typically over a bog area that forms where the Catatumbo River flows into the Venezuelan lake. Overnight in Palafitos (sleep in hammocks).

Day 11: Maracaibo - Mérida

Continue to enjoy the landscape and wildlife of the Maracaibo region. After lunch, drive back to Merida City. Overnight at a posada.

Day 12: Mérida - El Vigía - Caracas Airport - Los Roques National Park

Early in the morning, you will be transfered to el Vigia airport. From there you will take a flight to Los Roques National Park (connection in Caracas). At the main island, there will be a travel assistant waiting for you. He/she will take you to your posada (guest house). Overnight at a posada.

Day 13: Los Roques National Park

The following day can be spent lying on a white sandy beach, reading a book or just relaxing at a key. You can also take sometime exploring "El Gran Roque" (the main island). Overnight at a posada.

NOTE: Excursions are not included in your package.

Day 14: Los Roques National Park

Another day spent on a white sandy beach, reading a book or just relaxing at a key. Overnight at a posada.

NOTE: Excursions are not included in your package.

Day 15: Los Roques National Park - Caracas Airport - Catia La Mar

Fly back to Caracas. Upon arrival our travel assistant will be waiting for you to transfer you to your hotel. Overnight at a hotel.

Day 16: Catia La Mar - Caracas Airport

Transfer to the Caracas airport. END OF SERVICES

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