Located in the central part of the Andean Range in the eastern region of the country corresponding to the Rangel, Libertador, Campo Elías, Santos Marquina, Aricagua and Cardenal Quintero municipalities of the State of Mérida and the Pedraza, Bolívar and Sucre municipalities of the State of Barinas. Access to the park is available along the following two routes: the TransAndean Highway from Barinas or Valera and the Pan American Highway from El Vigía.

Orographically, the park consists of two mountain chains: the Sierra Nevada de Mérida, where the highest points in the country can be found, including the Bolívar Peak (5.007 m), the Bonpland Peak(4.883 m), La Concha Peak (4.920 m), El Toro Peak (4.755 m) and El León Peak (4.740 m). The second mountain range is known as the Sierra de Santo Domingo, where the Mucuñuque Peak (4. 672) is located.

Other features of the landscape include the glacier formations still in existence and the numerous lagoons of glacier origin.

Vegetation and Flora
The area has various types of forests and Andean páramos as well as a elevated endemism level. The forests boast an abundance of orchids, bryophytes and pteridophytes. Sone endemisms include: the pino aparrado, the manteco negro, the frailejonote, the coloradito and the cafecito species. Abundant arborescent pteridophytes, epiphytes and orchids, cordoncillo, yagrumo, sai-sai and the pino laso. At lower altitudes we find species such as the laurel, the majagua, cedro de montaña and the anime. On the páramo, the frailejones are the most representative species along with the chispeador and the coloradito.

Fauna
Bioclimatic diversity and a variety of vegetation have given rise to an extensive variety of habitats that provide refuge and food for a large number of faunistic species. Some are these are at danger of extinction such as the oso frontino, the only South American representative of the ursid family, the venado caramerudo del páramo, the paují copete de piedra, the gallito de la sierra, the puma, el conejo de páramo and the jaguar.

Hydrography
It is comprised of three principal hydrographic basins and sub-basins along its two sources. Two drain into the Maracaibo Lake basin through the Chama and Nuestra Señora rivers and eleven drain into the Orinoco River large river basin through the Apure. Numerous lagoons with glacier origins can be found throughout the park, of which the most notable include: the Mucubají, La Negra, Los Patos, La Canoa, Los Anteojos, El Rincón, El Royal, La Verde and El Suero.

Geomorfologia
The Andeses show, in their details, structural and morphological difference; to north they consist in more chains among them parallel and you branch (cordilleras), that contain valleys deep and island vast plateaus, while to south they are gathered in an only principal chain. They are constituted by rocks whose age is made to go up again to the eras paleozoica (quarziti, scisti, sandstones), mesozoica (limestones and conglomerated) and cenozoica (continental deposits not fossiliferi). The volcanic and seismic phenomenons, frequent, they justify the definition of belt of fire pacifica' attributed andino to the system.