canaina

FLYING INTO CANAIMA NATIONAL PARK � World heritage.
Tepuis - Venezuela�s World Natural Wonder.

In the Venezuelan landscape, as mountains run into hills and hills into plains, as deserts melt into waters and rivers into deltas, the Canaima National Park�s Sand-Rock Table Plateaus rise defiantly against the skies. Separated from other natural forms, Canaima reminds its visitor about the God�s creation and the ages of the earth� One of the natural wonders of the World.

The flight took no more than two hours. At a low altitude the sight of the Venezuelan plains with its haciendas and rows of trees offered a pleasing view. After midday, the air�s warmth caused turbulence, obligating us to fly higher at around 10.000 feet. The details blurred, but there it was the plenitude of the Venezuelan land with plains extending flat in any direction till the horizon; yet, it does not matter how high are you flying because, eventually, you will discern the Orinoco River, third widest in the world. When I looked at it, the sand banks betrayed that the Orinoco was low at this time of year and so would be the Guri lagoon and the Canaima�s jumps and rivers. December generally promises a better time to catch the full strength of waters. Soon afterwards, there was the city of Puerto Ordaz with its sordid industrial landscape. I could see a damp, diggings, and plenty of the factories standing at the edge of the Canaima National Park, reminding me of the fight of civilization against nature, of the storm before the calm. The Great Plain starts with undulating lowlands, then the Gran Sabana flat plateau at approximately 1000 meters above sea level, and, at last, the Tepuis� summits reaching heights above the 2500 meters.

The excitement of approaching the Tepuis is only equaled by the excitement of flying between them. Already hundreds of kilometers away the summits arise over the clouds as enormous shadows. The solid sand-stone plateaus draw an uneven line over the horizon. I was dreaming a documentary in front of my eyes; one without embellishments, special lenses or tricks. As we approached the Table Mountains the more Tepuis kept appearing to the southeast. It was the right time for the plane to start dropping some altitude. Seconds later, we all had our noses against the windows, and we began appreciating the summit�s pioneer vegetation atop the reddish Precambrian rocks, cliffs, cracks and walls. 600 million years of erosion and evolution produced extra smooth rocks, deep black-water ponds, freezing humid breezes and genetically diverse insects as if you were in another planet. Next, the plane dropped below the summits and we navigated the Devil�s Canyon with walls that appeared even taller than their 1.500 meters: the perfect preamble to the Angel Falls, the highest water falls in the world. And we had sight of it. Being the dry season, the Angel Falls stream drops more than a kilometer before it transforms itself into drizzle dew of all of colors of the rainbow. The sight evades description, take the height of twenty Niagara�s for instance. Or as it name captures its beauty remind us angel like forms and according to the locals, getting wet by the dew is really just touching the Angel�s wing. After enjoying the splendor of nature from the air it was time to land in the Canaima Lagoon Village and set the adventure on foot.

ANGEL FALL or KEREPAKUPAI MERU. Where the name comes from.
The legend says that the name Angel Falls derives from the miraculous saintly figure that once appeared to a Pemon Indian in the mist of cascade water. But the truth far from heavenly is as mundane as the search for gold and diamonds in this rich land. Back in 1921 the Canadian First World War pilot Jimmy Angel was hired by geologist and explorer of name J. R. McCracken, to search for gold where none had gone before. It was so that Jimmy Angel reached without map the area known today as Canaima and managed to land his plane on top of one of the Tepuis. McCracken proceeded out of the plane to pan a river and find it full of gold nuggets. The story goes that they loaded so much on the plane that when it nosed off the cliff it plunged a thousand of feet before Angel could level it. As they returned to Caracas Jimmy was paid the generous sum of 3000$. Angel became obsessed with the Rivers of Gold, but without the proper map it was hard to find his mountain. It wasn�t till 1933 that Angel while at his favorite Caracas bar claimed to have seen the highest waterfall in the world. He said that his altimeter read around 6.000 ft. A mile high waterfall. On a later flight, in 1937 Angel attempted landing on the Auyan-Tepui, but his small Flamingo plane, the �Rio Caron�� didn�t make it, and together with his wife and a Venezuelan explorer took him eleven days to find a way down the mountain, eventually reaching the Kamarata mission. Jimmy died in 1956, his ashes were scattered over the falls, and in 1970, the Venezuelan Air Force rescued the rusting �Rio Caron�� from the top of the Auyan.
The true name given by the Pemons: Kerepakupai means the deepest place, and Meru means falls.

CANAIMA and The Lagoon Village

It was established as a National Park in 1962. It has 3mm hectares. Canaima is bordered by the Rio Carrao, Rio Caron� and the Pakaraima and Roraima Range. The most famous tepuis are the Auyan (of the size of Menorca) and the Chimant�. The nearest city is Ciudad Bolivar. The park averages an annual temperature of 24.5oC, but on top of the summits it can be as cold as 0oC during the nights. The second semester of the year is considered the rainy season. Its native occupants are the �Pemon� Indians. The settlement counts with more than a thousand people and everything there must be provided by plane.
You must pay an entrance fee to the park of no more than 10.000Bs, and the guides can go as high as for 50$ a day, or as low as 20$. And food price is very reasonable. Your guide will get you to travel in the �curiaras� (hollow tree boats) around the lake, they fit anywhere from 10 to 30 people. The boat can be stationed in any of the rocks or sand banks inside the lake to sunbathe and you can even choose to get very close to any of the waterfalls nearby, named Salto el Acha, Salto El Sapo y Salto El Sapito. You can leave the boat and walk on top of the waterfalls or even behind the curtain of water; this is one of the camp�s best attractions. You can also hike around the many sabana trails, visit Indian villages or set off to a longer adventure up river to the angel falls. Despite the danger typical of a virgin savage reservoir, the National Park Institute (Imparques) has done a tremendous job ensuring the safety of the public like nowhere else. The main excursions are endowed with well prepared tracks and signs, the steep walks are provided with stairs and in all cases there is a handle bar to lean on. The leaders are well educated and dominate Basic English. There is a restriction on the areas you can visit, besides it is strongly recommended that your guide be aware of your location at all times. You will find plenty of guides as soon as you land in the airport, and they can show you the way around and get you accommodation in either of the hotels or the few newer posadas.