Travel Tips

Send Photo to a Friend

Orchid

<font color=#000080>A massive variety of habitats has arisen within the delta, both terrestrial and aquatic. Mixed tropical rainforest, dominated by towering palm trees, prevails over much of the terra firma, fostering a variety of flora including fruiting trees, orchids, bromeliads and arboreal ferns; the latter of which flourish in the moist air of the canopy. Grassland swamps and marshes brim with aquatic plants, and estuarine waterways towards the ocean are thick with mangroves. Throughout the delta, the caños are themselves hugely diverse in form. Wide channels break off into narrow rivulets, isolated pools and lagoons. Some, heavy with sediments are brown in color, others are black with tannic acids. Many are carpeted with vast floating meadows of water hyzcynths (bora) and grasses, slowly drifting along with the current.

Send Photo to a Friend

<i><font color=#000080>I'm homesick for my green sea of life.

Send Photo to a Friend

Geco

Send Photo to a Friend

<font color=#000080>Needless to say, the wildlife of the delta is also extremely rich and varied. Jaguar, puma, ocelot, red howler and capuchin monkeys, capybara, agouti, giant otter, manatee and dolphins are just a handful of the countless species of mammal that can be observed in their natural habitats. Among the extensive bird population are hoatzin, macaws, parrots, toucans, caciques, kingfishers, cormorants, egrets, falcons, hawks, harpy-eagles, weaverbirds and hummingbirds. There is also an untold number of amphibians, reptiles and fish species, including <B>Mapanari</B> (picture), anaconda, boas, vipers, fer-de-lance, coral snakes, iguana, cayman, turtles, piranha, stingrays and catfish.

Send Photo to a Friend

<FONT COLOR="#000080">Mount Roraima lies on Venezuela's border with Guyana and Brazil. The massive tepui, which plateaus at 2,700m and peaks at 2,810, is among the biggest on the continent. Mount Roraima, which in Pémon means 'the great, ever fruitful, mother of streams' is dramatic and strange in appearance. Black rocks, shrouded in fog and coated with lichens and mosses dominate the terrain, forming colored rock-pools lined with small beaches and adorned with beautiful flowers. The fascinating landscape and the relative ease of the climb make Mount Roraima an extremely popular tourist destination.<BR> Tours to Roraima take a minimum of 5 days, and involve lengthy hikes and camping at the summit. Limited accommodation is available in surrounding settlements. Roraima can be reached from San Francisco de Yuruaní (69km north of Santa Elena) and Paraítepui. There are also buses from Ciudad Guayana and Santa Elena. All-inclusive package tours can be arranged in Santa Elena, Caracas, Ciudad Bolívar and Canaima. The dry season is from December to April, though the tepui plateaus can be cloudy and damp all year round.