Experiences and local guides in Canaima

Nature

Canaima National Park, 30,000 km² of savanna and jungle in the Gran Sabana, holds the tepuis, sandstone plateaus two billion years old rising like islands above the plain. From Auyantepui drops Angel Falls, 979 m, the highest waterfall on Earth; the Canaima lagoon receives seven falls fringed by moriche palms; and on the Brazilian border stands Roraima, the tepui that inspired "The Lost World".

Activities

• 2 to 3-day trip to Angel Falls by dugout canoe up the Carrao and Churún rivers, sleeping in hammocks facing the falls
• Canaima lagoon: walking behind Salto El Sapo, Hacha and Ucaima falls, pink-sand beaches
• Mount Roraima trek (6 days) from Paraitepuy with Pemón porters: summit, natural jacuzzis, crystal valley
• Flight over Angel Falls in a light aircraft, Kavac and its canyon, Quebrada de Jaspe in the Gran Sabana
• Pemón communities: crafts, cassava bread, tepui legends

When to go

June to December for Angel Falls: the river is high and canoes reach the base; with more water the falls are more spectacular but cloudier. January to May is dry, with clear skies and Roraima more accessible, but the falls may not be navigable.

How to get there

By plane only: light aircraft from Ciudad Bolívar (1 hour) or Puerto Ordaz, and flights from Caracas via Puerto Ordaz. Camps include the transfer from the airstrip. Angel Falls is visited on a 2-day, 1-night dugout trip (June to December, with the river high); Roraima is climbed from Santa Elena de Uairén, 700 km by road, in 6 days with a compulsory guide.