The Lost World

Places To See

Salto Ángel

Angel Falls is the world's highest waterfall and Venezuela's number-one tourist attraction. Its total height is 979m (3211ft), of which the uninterrupted drop is 807m (2646ft), about 16 times the height of Niagara Falls. The cascade spills off the heart-shaped Auyantepui, one of the largest of the tepuis (sandstone-capped mesa), into Devil's Canyon.

Angel Falls is not named after a divine creature, but after an American bush pilot, Jimmie Angel, who landed his four-seater airplane atop Auyantepui in 1937 while in search of gold.

The waterfall is situated in a distant, lush wilderness with no road access. Most visitors who visit by boat opt to stay overnight in hammocks at one of the camps near the base of the falls. The trip upriver, the surrounding area and the experience of staying at the camp are nearly as memorable as the waterfall itself.

Cueva del Guácharo

Venezuela's longest cave system, the Guácharo Cave is a spelunker's delight. The 10.2km (6.3mi) cave is inhabited by the guácharo (oilbird), which lives in total darkness and leaves the cave only at night in search of food. From August to December, there are some 10,000 of them in the cave, along with a maze of stalactites and stalagmites.

Unique to this part of the world, the curious oilbird has a radar-location system (similar to bats) and enormous whiskers that enable it to navigate and feel about in the dark.

You can camp at the entrance to the cave after closing time and watch the hundreds of birds pouring out of the cave mouth at around 18:30 and returning at about 04:00.

Archipiélago Los Roques

Los Roques is a group of nearly 300 shimmering, sandy islands and islets that lie in aquamarine waters north of Caracas. Unlike other Caribbean islands, there are no high-rise hotels, no mass tourism and no cruise ships. For those who appreciate beaches, snorkeling and diving, a trip here is worth every bolívar.

The whole archipelago, complete with surrounding waters (2211 sq km/854 sq mi), was made a national park in 1972. With the exception of the resident pelicans, the majority of the islands are uninhabited and can be visited by boats from Gran Roque. The surrounding waters are known for their sealife, particularly lobsters.

Pre-Departure Information

When to go?

The tourist season in Venezuela runs year-round, but consider the climate and Venezuelan holidays before finalizing your travel plans. Venezuela has a dry season (late November to early May) and a wet season (the rest of the year). The dry season is certainly more pleasant for traveling, particularly for hiking or other outdoor activities, though sightseeing in cities or towns won't be greatly disturbed by rain. Some sights, such as waterfalls, are actually more impressive in the wet season. Angel Falls is absolutely spectacular after heavy rains in the wet months, but may be little more than a thin ribbon of water in the dry season. Furthermore, the falls can be inaccessible by boat in dry months.

Venezuelans are mad about traveling to visit friends, family and the beach over Christmas (through till mid-January), Carnaval (several days prior to Ash Wednesday) and Semana Santa (Holy Week; the week before Easter Sunday). These periods are colorful and alive with a host of festivities, but you may need to plan ahead for accommodation and transport.

Travel Visa Overview

Nationals of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the UK and most of Western and Scandinavian Europe don't need a visa to enter Venezuela; a free tarjeta de ingreso (tourist card, officially denominated DEX-2) is all that is required. The card is normally valid for 90 days and can be extended. Airlines provide these cards to passengers; overland travelers can obtain the card from the immigration official at the border crossing (check this beforehand at the nearest consulate).

On entering Venezuela, your passport and tourist card will be stamped by Dirección de Identificación y Extranjería (DIEX or DEX) border officials. Keep the yellow copy of the tourist card while traveling in Venezuela, and return it to immigration officials when leaving the country. Visa and tourist card extensions are handled by Onidex in Caracas.

Electricity

120V

60Hz

Electrical Plugs

American-style plug with two parallel flat blades above a circular grounding pin

Japanese-style plug with two parallel flat blades

Health Information

Dengue fever

Unlike the malaria mosquito, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the dengue virus, is most active during the day, and is found mainly in urban areas, in and around human dwellings.

Signs and symptoms of dengue fever include a sudden onset of high fever, headache, joint and muscle pains, nausea and vomiting. A rash of small red spots sometimes appears three to four days after the onset of fever. Severe complications do sometimes occur.

You should seek medical attention as soon as possible if you think you may be infected. A blood test can indicate the presence of the fever. There is no specific treatment. Aspirin should be avoided, as it increases the risk of hemorrhaging. There is no vaccine against dengue fever.

Hepatitis

Several different viruses cause hepatitis; they differ in the way that they are transmitted. The symptoms in all forms of the illness include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, feelings of weakness and aches and pains, followed by loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored feces, jaundiced (yellow) skin and yellowing of the whites of the eyes.

There are 6 known types of viral hepatitis: A, B, C, D, E and G. G is not dangerous. A and E are passed on by the fecal-oral route of transmission; there is a vaccine. Seek medical advice, but there is not much you can do apart from resting, drinking lots of fluids, eating lightly and avoiding fatty foods. A and E cause an acute illness, but you will recover fully from it.

B and D are passed on via blood, saliva, semen and vaginal fluids. They can be passed on by close contact, sexual contact, and blood-to-blood contact. The symptoms of hepatitis B may be more severe than type A and the disease can lead to long-term problems such as chronic liver damage, liver cancer or a long-term carrier state. There is a vaccine.

Hepatitis C is only passed on from blood-to-blood contact. There is no vaccine.

Malaria

This serious and potentially fatal disease is spread by mosquito bites. If you are traveling in endemic areas it is extremely important to avoid mosquito bites and to take tablets to prevent this disease. Symptoms range from fever, chills and sweating, headache, diarrhea and abdominal pains to a vague feeling of ill-health. Seek medical help immediately if malaria is suspected. Without treatment malaria can rapidly become more serious and can be fatal.

If medical care is not available, malaria tablets can be used for treatment. You should seek medical advice, before you travel, on the right medication and dosage for you.

If you do contract malaria, be sure to be re-tested for malaria once you return home as you can harbor malaria parasites in your body even if you are symptom free.

Travelers are advised to prevent mosquito bites at all times. The main messages are: wear light-colored clothing; wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts; use mosquito repellents containing the compound DEET on exposed areas (prolonged overuse of DEET may be harmful, especially to children, but its use is considered preferable to being bitten by disease-transmitting mosquitoes); avoid perfumes and aftershave. Use a mosquito net impregnated with mosquito repellent (permethrin) - it may be worth taking your own.

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. There is an effective vaccine against yellow fever, so if you have been immunized, you can basically rule this disease out. Symptoms of yellow fever range from a mild fever which resolves over a few days to more serious forms with fever, headache, muscle pains, abdominal pain and vomiting. This can progress to bleeding, shock, and liver and kidney failure. The liver failure causes jaundice, or yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes - hence the name. There's no specific treatment but you should seek medical help urgently if you think you have yellow fever.

Cholera

This diarrheal disease can cause rapid dehydration and death. Cholera is caused by a bacteria, Vibrio cholerae . It's transmitted from person to person by direct contact (often via healthy carriers of the disease) or via contaminated food and water. It can be spread by seafood, including crustaceans and shellfish, which get infected via sewage.

Cholera exists where standards of environmental and personal hygiene are low. Every so often there are massive epidemics, usually due to contaminated water in conditions where there is a breakdown of the normal infrastructure.

The time between becoming infected and symptoms appearing is usually short, between one and five days. The diarrhea starts suddenly, and pours out of you. It's characteristically described as 'rice water' diarrhea because it is watery and flecked with white mucus. Vomiting and muscle cramps are usual, but fever is rare. In its most serious form, it causes a massive outpouring of fluid (up to 20L a day). This is the worst case scenario - only about one in 10 sufferers get this severe form.

It's a self-limiting illness, meaning that if you don't succumb to dehydration, it will end in about a week without any treatment.

You should seek medical help urgently; in the meantime, start re-hydration therapy with oral re-hydration salts. You may need antibiotic treatment with tetracycline, but fluid replacement is the single most important treatment strategy in cholera.

Prevention is by taking basic food and water precautions, avoiding seafood and having scrupulous personal hygiene. The currently available vaccine is not thought worthwhile as it provides only limited protection for a short time.

Weather Information

The dry season from December to April is the best time to hang out on the Venezuelan coast and soak up the rays. While temperatures can get a bit fevered, peaking around 32°C (89°F) during the day, there is decent sunshine and negligible rainfall. During the rest of the year temperatures are just a pinch hotter, especially between June and September, with rainfall peaking around October. Moving inland, temperatures are cooler but still with little seasonal change, averaging highs between 24°C (75°F) and 27°C (80°F). Though the wet season is the same inland as on the coast, rainfall is more frequent throughout the year. In the southern plateau region the temperature climbs again, however the hottest months are now February and March and it is wet for most of the year with slightly drier periods in September and October and between January and March.

History and Culture

Pre-20th Centure History

At the time of the Spanish Conquest of Venezuela, the region was inhabited by an estimated 500,000 indigenous peoples belonging to three principal ethnolinguistic groups - the Caribs, Arawak and Chibcha. Columbus was the first European to set foot on the soil of what is now Venezuela, and the country was given its name (meaning 'Little Venice') a year later by the explorer Alonso de Ojeda. The first Spanish settlement on the mainland was established at Cumaná in 1521.

The indigenous tribes put up a valiant struggle against the colonial depredations of both the Spanish and the Germans, who left a swathe of death and destruction behind them as they pushed onward in search of the chimerical El Dorado. In the end, though, their resistance was subdued when many tribal communities fell victim to European diseases such as smallpox, which wiped out two-thirds of the population in the Caracas Valley alone.

However, the lack of lootable wealth in Venezuela soon led to colonial neglect, which in turn prompted dissatisfaction and resentment among the American-born Spanish elites. The Spanish rulers were eventually thrown out by the young Simón Bolívar, known locally as 'El Libertador'. He seized Venezuela from Spain in 1821 with a decisive victory at Campo Carabobo, near Valencia, aided by British mercenaries and an army of horsemen from Los Llanos. Bolívar had already brought independence to Colombia, and went on, with his lieutenant Antonio José de Sucre, to liberate Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. His dream of a united state of Gran Colombia, which would unify Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, did not survive his death in 1830, when Venezuela declared full independence under a new constitution.

Modern History

The post-independence period was marked by a succession of military dictators, political coups and economic instability, until the discovery of huge oil reserves in the Maracaibo basin in the 1910s brought a degree of prosperity to the country. By the late 1920s, Venezuela had become the world's largest oil exporter, but little of this newfound wealth made its way to the common people. With poverty rife and educational and health facilities in a deplorable state, a series of popular uprisings took place, culminating in the country's first democratic elections in 1947.

Despite subsequent political stability, Venezuela's political climate continued to be marred by corruption scandals and coup threats. The country's economy was hit hard by the 1988 drop in world oil prices and remained shaky. Then-president Caldera's unconstitutional crackdown on economic speculation and civic freedoms in 1994 incensed civil libertarians, but it took until early 1996 for popular opinion to swing against him. The government's tough measures were designed to bring Venezuela's rampant inflation and alarming currency slump under control, but the bloated public service resisted attempts to put it on a lo-cal diet.

In December 1998, Venezuelans signalled their impatience with the government's impotence, electing an army colonel, Hugo Chávez, to the presidency with the largest vote margin in 40 years. Just six years earlier, Chávez had attempted a coup against the government and had spent two years in jail after this failed. Chávez was re-elected by a comfortable margin again in 2000.

Chávez is a charismatic and extremely energetic populist who hosts his own television show, during which he takes calls from the public. He also travels all over the country and personally visits labor unions, indigenous communites and the country's poorest ghettos. Key national institutions, including the media, banks, the church, sections of the armed forces and the petrol industry, have defied Chávez's brand of socialism.

Recent History

In April 2002, following widespread demonstrations, a coup blessed by the US and Spain landed Chávez in detention. Being a military man, he was back in power within three days after the interim government collapsed.

National politics continued to be shaky until Chávez won a 2004 referendum, followed by a 2006 re-election, consolidating his power through to 2012 at least. The opposition has remained feckless, while Chávez has reached out to other Leftist leaders in Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil. He hopes to establish a Latin American political bloc to offer an alternative to US hegemony in the region. Regardless of his seeming lock on Venezuelan political power and regional influence, Chávez remains the continent's most controversial political figure both inside and outside of Venezuela.

In May 2007, Venezuela's largest independent public broadcaster Radio Caracas Television was effectively pulled off air after the government made the controversial decision not to renew its license. President Chávez immediately replaced it with the state-run TVes, claiming that RCTV was trying to undermine his government. Thousands of supporters of RCTV - Venezuala's most-watched station - have gathered in mass demonstrations in the streets of Caracas and around the nation claiming the government is stifling freedom of expression.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Chávez will provide almost US$18 million to help Hollywood actor Danny Glover make a film about Toussaint Louverture, a hero figure of the Caribbean who led a slave uprising in the 18th century. Venezuela's Ministry of Culture will help fund production of the film in a bid to lift its international profile - Glover is one of a number of celebrity Chavez-supporters.