The Lost World

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive Caracas

Arrive in Caracas at any time. There are no planned activities so check into our hotel and enjoy the city however you will have a welcome briefing this evening.Contemporary Venezuela has been strongly influenced by oil money, which has turned the country into one of the wealthiest nations in South America. As a result, Venezuela has a good road network, spectacular new architecture and a developed tourism infrastructure. Yet deep in the countryside, people still live traditional lives. A number of Indian groups remain unconquered by encroaching civilization, including the mysterious Yanomami along the Venezuelan-Brazil border, whose Stone-Age culture seems lost in time.

Day 2 Ciudad Bolivar

Founded in 1764, Ciudad Bolivar is a hot colonial city steeped in revolutionary history and set on the bank of the Orinoco River about 420 km (260 miles) from the Atlantic. It was here that Simon Bolivar, known as El Libertador for his role in the liberation of most of South America from Spanish rule, set up his base 1817 for military operations against the Spaniards. Sitting on a on a rocky elevation at the narrowest point of the Orinoco River, hundreds of miles away from any important centres of population, the town spent much of its history as a sleepy river port. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, the town became a spot where much of the country—and the continent’s—history was forged. Once Bolivar’s base was established here, the British Legionnaires joined his forces before all set off for a long and strenuous march across Los Llanos and up the Andes to bring independence for Colombia. In 1819 a Congress convened in Ciudad Bolivar and gave birth to Gran Colombia, a unified republic comprising Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. Today, Ciudad Bolivar is a city of 300,000 inhabitants, and the capital of Venezuela’s largest state, Bolivar. It has retained the flavour of an old river town, and some architecture dating from its 50-year colonial era still remains. It’s a popular stop on travelers’ routes, partly for the city itself and partly as a jumping-off point for Angel Falls.

Day 3, 4 Canaima National Park / Angel Falls Excursion (2B, 2L, 2D)

Take a light aircraft to the heart of Canaima National Park for an overview of the world’s highest waterfall. Angel Falls boasts a total height is 979 m (3211 feet), as well as the world’s greatest uninterrupted drop at 807m (2647 feet), 16 times the height of Niagara Falls. Our 2 days in the area allows us time for maximum enjoyment on the beautiful river beaches and plentiful walking paths.Canaima Park is famous for its incredible scenery, tabletop mountains (tepuis) and breathtaking waterfalls. These tepuis are all that remains of the original sandstone that covered the region millions of years ago. As the sandstone eroded only these "rock islands" were left. The tepuis are surrounded with native grass, bushes and flowers in the vast, wild, grassy highland, and each mountain has developed its own characteristic plant life. Consequently, the area has highest percentage of endemic flora to be found anywhere in the world. Angel Falls spills from the heart-shaped mountain Auyantepui, one of the largest of the tepuis, with a flat top of about 700 sq km. The waterfall is in the central part of the tepui and drops into Cañón del Diablo (Devil’s Canyon). The fall is not named, as might expected, after a divine creature, but after an American bush pilot, Jimmie Angel, who landed on the boggy top of the tepui in 1937 in his four–seated airplane in search of gold. The plane stuck in the marshy surface and Angel couldn’t take off again. He, his wife and two companions trekked through the rough, virgin terrain to the edge of the plateau, then descended more than a kilometre of almost vertical cliff, returning to civilization after an 11-day odyssey.

Day 5 Santa Elena

We head south to Santa Elena, an easygoing border town with an agreeable climate. Founded in 1924, Santa Elena began to grow when diamonds were discovered here in the 1930s, however Santa Elena remained a small village until the highway opened in 1990. The town has a Brazilian air, thanks to the significant number of cross-border residents. Today is a free day to relax and take in the local flavour.

Day 6, 7 Gran Sabana Excursion

Today we begin our exploration of La Gran Sabana, where striking “tepuis” dominate the skyline. La Gran Sabana is a vast, rolling grassy highland in Venezuela’s far southeastern corner. The Sabana covers 35 000 square km, and is the traditional homeland area for the Pemón people, who live in scattered villages and hamlets and make up the majority of the sparse population. “Tepui” is the Pemon word for mountain. More than 100 tepuis dot the vast region from the Colombian border in the west up into Guyana and Brazil in the east, but their largest concentration is here in the Gran Sabana.La Gran Sabana is also well known for its beautiful and varied streams and waterfalls. Not long ago, the Gran Sabana was virtually inaccessible by land. It wasn’t until 1973 that the road between El Dorado and Santa Elena (320 km) was completed, and the last stretch of road was finally sealed in 1990. Today it’s one of the best highways in the country, and very likely the most spectacular.

Day 8-9 Orinoco Delta Excursion (2B, 2L, 2D)

Covering about 25,000 sq km, the Orinoco delta is the second largest delta on the continent after the Amazon. The river split into 40-odd major channels, which carry the waters down into the Atlantic. Their mouths are distributed along 360 km of coast. The southernmost channel, Rio Grande, is the main one and is used by ocean-going vessels sailing upriver to Ciudad Guayana. The climate of the delta is hot and humid, with an average annual temperature around 26C (79F). The delta is the home to the Warao, whose name literally means “canoe people”. The second largest indigenous group in Venezuela (after the Guajiro), the Warao live along the delta’s channels in houses built on stilts at the riverbanks, and live mostly off fishing. Meet these fascinating people and get a glimpse of their way of life as we travel by riverboat into the depths of the Orinoco Delta.The night of day 10 is spent in Tucupita, our base for the Delta excursion. Tucupita is the urban centre of the Orinoco delta, a hot river town of 60,000. It evolved in the 1920s as one of a chain of Capuchin missions founded in the delta to convert the Indians to Christianity.

Day 10 Caripe

A brief rest stop in Caripe allows us the option to see the famous Guácharo cave, known for its unique wildlife. Go horseback riding or enjoy the delicious coffee and strawberries of the region. The choice is yours.

Day 11-13 Santa Fe / Mochima National Park

Relax for the next 3 days in Santa Fe or take a boat excursion to Mochima National Park, a collection of small, idyllic Caribbean islands just off the north coast of Venezuela. The islands and their pristine beaches and surrounding waters offer excellent opportunities for snorkelling, swimming, or boat cruises to further explore the region.

Day 14 Caracas

Venezuela’s capital Caracas grew at a relatively slow pace for most of its history. Then came the oil boom, and everything began changing at the speed of light. During the last 50 years, the city’s population grew from about 350,000 to nearly five million. Oil money has been pumped into modernization, successfully transforming Caracas to a modern city, with dramatic contrasts between wealth and poverty.Caracas is set in a spectacular valley amid rolling hills. Its relative altitude of 900m (2952 feet) gives the city an agreeable, relatively dry and sunny climate with a mean temperature of about 22C (72F). Return to Caracas for some last minute shopping, a visit the city’s museums or churches, or a stroll through historic Plaza Bolivar.

Trip Details

Accommodation	Simple hotels/guest houses (12 nts), hammocks (1 nt), bus (1 nt).
Departure	Departs twice per month
DepEnd	Fri-Fri
Group Size	Max 15, Avg 10
Included Highlights	2-day Angel Falls excursion, 2-day Gran Sabana excursion, 2-day Orinoco Delta excursion
Local Payment	USD300
Meals Included	All meals while on the Canaima and Orinoco Delta excursions.
StartFinish	ex Caracas
Testimonial	"Fabulous trip - great scenic highlights including the Angel Falls, the Orinoco Delta and the Caribbean and some terrific people along the way." - Peter Allison travelled on The Lost World
Transport	Public transport, light aircraft, jeep, riverboat.
Brochure Intro	Spend 15 days travelling across rolling grassy highlands, remote inland towns and stunning Caribbean beaches. See the world’s highest waterfall and visit traditional villages in the Orinoco Delta, second only to the Amazon. Lose yourself in the depths of diverse Venezuela.

When can I go?

Start Date	Finish Date	Places Available
2008-10-31	2008-11-14	4
2008-11-28	2008-12-12	7+
2008-12-12	2008-12-26	7+
2008-12-19	2009-01-02	7+
2008-12-26	2009-01-09	4
2009-01-16	2009-01-30	7+
2009-02-06	2009-02-20	7+
2009-03-20	2009-04-03	7+
2009-04-10	2009-04-24	7+
2009-05-01	2009-05-15	7+
2009-05-22	2009-06-05	7+
2009-06-12	2009-06-26	7+
2009-07-03	2009-07-17	7+
2009-07-24	2009-08-07	7+
2009-08-14	2009-08-28	7+
2009-09-04	2009-09-18	7+
2009-09-25	2009-10-09	7+
2009-10-16	2009-10-30	7+
2009-11-06	2009-11-20	7+
2009-11-27	2009-12-11	7+
2009-12-18	2010-01-01	7+

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