| Caracas
The capital of Venezuela is a huge, vibrant and energetic
city built on tremendous wealth and desperate poverty.
Gravity is equally defied by the city's thrusting towers
of steel and glass and the teetering shantytowns that
cover the city's surrounding hills. A combination of
earthquake and the rush towards modernisation that followed
in the wake of the oil rush has obliterated much of
the city's colonial architecture, but there are still
some pockets that reveal the past. Musuems, art galleries
and parks fill out the list of attractions.
Amazon Jungle
The Amazonas region in the south of the country is thick
with tropical rain forest, crisscrossed by rivers, and
home to a number of isolated Indian tribes. Tours up
the Orinoco, Sipapo or Autana rivers and deep into the
Venezuelan Amazon can be arranged from the hot but pleasant
town of Puerto Ayacucho.
Caribbean Coast (Venezuela)
The northeast coast is the place to go for outdoor activities
such as snorkelling, scuba diving, fishing, sailing
or just lying around and enjoying the sun. The county's
beaches are at their idyllic best here - long expanses
of white sand lapped by turquoise waters and fringed
with coconut palms. Isla de Margarita, 40km (25mi) from
the mainland, is a favourite for beach-lovers and a
popular holiday destination for Venezuelans. It is easily
accessible by ferry from Cumaná and Puerto La
Cruz on the mainland.
Coro
On the Caribbean coast at the base of the Península
de Paraguaná, Coro is a pleasant, peaceful, cultured
town with some of the best colonial architecture in
Venezuela. Founded in 1527, it was one of the earliest
colonial settlements on the continent, but most of the
interesting architecture dates from the 18th century,
when Coro flourished as a contraband centre trading
with the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire. The
historic town centre was declared a national monument
in the 1950s and a number of buildings have been restored.
The cobblestoned Calle Zamora is the most beautiful
colonial street, with spectacular old mansions. Other
attractions include the Catedral and the Museo de Arte
Coro.
Río Orinoco
The third-longest river in South America, the Orinoco
covers about 2150km (1333mi), from its source near the
Brazilian border in the south of the country to its
wide, flooded delta on the northeast coast. The myriad
forested islands that make up the delta are home to
the Warao people, who live on the riverbanks in houses
on stilts, travel mostly by canoe and earn their livelihood
from fishing. At the reaches of the Lower Orinoco lies
the site of Ciudad Bolívar (formerly Angostura),
a hot city that boasts a glorious history and still
retains much of its colonial charm. It was here that
Simón Bolívar set up his base for the
final stage of the War of Independence, and the town
became the provisional capital of the country prior
to liberation from the Spanish. Most visitors to Ciudad
Bolívar will be en route to Canaima, the spectacular
town located on the Río Carrao just below the
stretch of river with a chain of seven magnificent waterfalls.
Nearby, on a tributary, is Salto Ángel (Angel
Falls), the world's highest waterfall, with an uninterrupted
drop of 807m/2647ft (16 times the height of Niagara
Falls). Continuing southeast brings you to the fascinating
landscape of the Gran Sabana, with its tepuis (flat-topped
mountains) and simas ('sink-holes' of jungle up to 350m/1148ft
wide, surrounded by sheer cliffs).
The Andes
The verdant mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida
are the northernmost tip of the Andes range, and lie
in the northwestern reaches of Venezuela. Dotted with
small villages whose inhabitants still follow a traditional
lifestyle, the mountain also sports trails that reward
the more adventurous and energetic traveler with stunning
views of the snowcapped peaks. The pleasant, friendly
town of Mérida, nestled in the mountains just
12km (7mi) from the country's highest peak, Pico Bolívar,
is one of Venezuela's most popular tourist destinations.
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Colonia Tovar
This unusual mountain town sits at an altitude of 1800m
(5900ft) amid the rolling forests of the Cordillera de
la Costa, about 60km (37mi) west of Caracas. The town
was founded in 1843 by a group of 376 German settlers
from the Schwarzwald (Black Forest). Effectively isolated
from the outer world by the lack of roads and internal
rules prohibiting marriage outside the colony, the village
followed the mother culture, language and architecture
for a century. It wasn't until the 1940s that Spanish
was introduced as the official language and the ban on
marrying outside the community was abandoned. The real
turning point came in 1963, when a sealed road reached
Colonia Tovar from Caracas, taking the population from
a mere 1300 inhabitants to today's 6500.
These days it's a classic example of a tourist town, a
little bit of old Germany lost in a Venezuelan cloudforest
that draws in masses of caraqueños on weekends
but is virtually derelict on weekdays. It's a particularly
enjoyable day trip from the capital - take time out to
splurge on a German lunch or dinner, and stock up on rye
bread and knackwurst. If you decide to make a night of
it and stay on for breakfast, take warm clothes as the
temperature plummets up in the cordillera after sunset.
To get there, take a carrito from Caracas and change at
El Junquito (two hours).
Roraima
Straddling the borders of Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil
is a 280 sq km (109 sq mi) plateau called Roraima that
has become increasingly popular with travelers interested
in trekking or botany. The roundtrip hike takes five days,
and by custom you will be required to hire a local guide
for the last two. Though the trek involves discomforting
amounts of rain, the climb is fascinating and the moonscape
scenery at the top of the mesa is a science-fiction dream
of blackened rock, pink beaches and bewildering plant
life.
Salto Aponguao
One of the most impressive and photogenic waterfalls in
La Gran Sabana is Salto Aponguao. However, it's rather
difficult to reach unless you're prepared to expend a
little time and energy. One way to see it is to leave
the highway, then travel about 40km (25mi) on an unpaved
road before coming to the Indian hamlet of Iboribó.
The next step is to pay one of the locals to take you
by curiara (dugout canoe) across the Río Aponguao,
from where it's a half-hour trek to the falls. Another
possibility is to arrange for a boat to take you directly
there, then return on foot. Either way, the 105m (344ft)
Salto is spectacular. A well-marked path leads to the
foot of the falls, where you can bathe and swim in one
of the natural pools. And nearby is an idyllic camping
spot with excellent views of both the falls and the surrounding
countryside
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