Canaima
National Park, Angel Falls and the Los Roques Archipelago
8 days /7 nights
From $2,378 per person double
occupancy in 2010
Includes domestic airfare*
in Venezuela, accommodations, tours, transportation, and
meals as specified. *Airfare subject to change
Day 1: Caracas
Welcome to Venezuela! Airport reception and transfer to
your hotel.
Overnight accommodations at the Costa Real
Suites, with typical breakfast included. The hotel is
conveniently located in Caracas' Central Coast, in the
Tanaguarena/Caraballeda area, just 20 min drive from the
airport. There are only 15 colorful suites, with a comfortable
bedroom with big windows, private bathroom (shower with
hot water), a spacious living room with couches and a
double hammock, a/c, fan, cable TV, hairdryer, safe, and
minibar/fridge. There is a swimming pool and a restaurant/bar.
Day 2: Caracas
– Puerto Ordaz - Canaima National Park
Hotel pickup and transfer to the airport. Depart on a
flight to Canaima,
flying over the massive tepuis into the remote south of
Venezuela.
Caracas - Puerto Ordaz flight times
to be advised
Proceed to your connecting flight to Canaima.
Puerto Ordaz - Canaima flight times
to be advised
Upon arrival in Canaima, pay National Park
fee (about US$14.00), before proceeding to Ucaima
Camp, a small lodge located on the banks of the Carrao
River, above Hacha Falls with views of three tepuis and
the Auyan Tepui in the distance. Your transfer to the
lodge involves a five-minute jeep ride, followed by a
five-minute dugout canoe ride to the lodge. Ucaima Camp
offers tranquility and personalized service. Accommodations
are in comfortable cabanas with private bathrooms. The
grassy area in front of the lodge is a perfect place to
sit back and enjoy the unique backdrop of Canaima National
Park, and Canaima lagoon's cool, dark but clear water
offers refreshing respite from the Gran Sabana's mid-day
heat.
In the afternoon, set off on an excursion
to Sapo Falls. Setting off in a motorized dugout canoe
up the Carrao River to the Sabana (plain) de Mayupa, you
will enjoy a short hike to Sapo and Sapito Falls. Depending
on water levels, the rocky trail actually follows behind
the powerful falls.
Return to the lodge for dinner. (B,L,D)
Day 3: Angel Falls
After coffee and a light snack, board a motorized dugout
canoe (curiara) and set off up the Carrao River, which
is lined by luxuriant vegetation.After another short jeep
trip around Mayupa rapids, continue up river, stopping
to view the spectacular scenery of the "Lost World."
Giant tepuis loom over the savannah and jungle below and
countless waterfalls gracefully descend the face of Auyan-tepui.
The journey continues passing by Arautaima
rapids, Pozo de la Felicidad and Orchid Island. Upon arrival
at Orchid Island, breakfast will be served. Afterward,
continue upriver, leaving the Carrao River behind, and
proceeding up the Churun River. After about one hour,
you will reach Ratoncito Island, from where you can observe
Angel Falls.
From Ratoncito Island, a one hour hike
leads to El Mirador, a lookout point offering superb views
and photographic opportunities (weather permitting) to
capture the massive rocky face of Auyan-tepui and "Salto
Angel" in the warm morning sun. The rest of your
day will be spent exploring this "Lost World"
on your own. Your overnight accommodations are in a rustic
shelter close to Ratoncito Island. (B,L,D)
*Alternately, you may include a Full-day
Excursion to Angel Falls and return to Ucaima Camp the
same day.
Day 4: Ucaima Camp
After a full morning enjoying Angel Falls, return downriver
to Ucaima Camp in time for dinner. (B,L,D)
Day 5: Canaima
- Caracas - Los Roques
At the appropriate time, you will transfer to the Canaima
airstrip for your flight to Caracas.
Canaima - Puerto Ordaz - Caracas flight
times to be advised
You will be met upon arrival and assisted
to your connecting flight to Los Roques.
Caracas - Los Roques flight times to
be advised
Upon arrival on Gran Roque, pay entrance
tax (some $16) and proceed to your Caribbean-style, comfortable
guesthouse (a variety of Los Roques guesthouses and posadas
can be offered). Orientation on Gran Roque is straightforward
- your accommodations are located just off the main plaza,
a minute's walk from the airstrip. Rooms have private
bathrooms, air conditioning, ceiling fans and room safes.
All meals are included in your stay, and optional excursions
can be easily arranged through the guesthouse. –
2 nights. (B,D)
The Archipelago
of Los Roques consists of over 365 islands 60 miles
off the north coast of Venezuela. The area is home to
coral reefs that are as of yet undiscovered by most divers
and fisherman. Enjoy your time snorkeling, sailing and
exploring nearby islands.
If you are interested in scuba diving,
Lost World Adventures can arrange diving and instruction
at the local dive shop for a variety of skill levels.
From the "Discovery Scuba" course, where you
can dive safely with a dive master (no certification obtained)
to the highly advanced "Rescue Diver" course
(for professional diving), and even the "Jr. Open
Water Diver" course in which divers aged 12 to 15
may obtain an internationally recognized certificate,
you can find what you need. Diving at different keys will
give you the opportunity to see marine life such as stingrays,
grouper, angelfish, barracuda, moray eels, and coral,
among others.
For those who would prefer to snorkel,
Los Roques is still an underwater wonderland. Healthy
reef systems are packed with life and contain thick forests
of soft coral, long stretches of virgin hard coral, black
coral bushes, brain corals, mounds of star coral and great
clusters of gray and brown gorgonia. These warm, unspoiled,
azure and aquamarine waters contain as many fish as were
found in Belize, Cozumel or the north wall of Cayman,
30 years ago. Although of the same reef system as Aruba,
Bonaire and Curacao, this is no underwater petting zoo.
Designated a National Park, all sites in the archipelago
are limited to 10 divers, so you get the intimate feeling
of diving in untamed, untouched waters. Most often, you
will be the only divers in any given area. Visibility
varies, but can reach 100 feet.
No matter where you dive, you will swim
among and marvel at immense swirling schools of fish:
armies of glassy sweepers, southern sennet, spotted drum,
jacks, Spanish mackerel, barracuda, grouper, red, gray
and yellowtail snapper, hogfish, tarpon, Queen angels,
thousands of silvery blue bogia, trumpet fish, white spotted
filefish, smooth trunk fish, colorful tropicals, parrotfish,
porcupine puffers, stingrays, moray eels and more.
Among the many spectacular dive sites are
the Rock of the Jewfish, which provides an excellent introduction
to the following days of diving. Although there are no
longer any Jewfish, there is still plenty to see during
a 30-minute circumnavigation of this seamount. Nurse sharks
are occasionally spotted at Los Noronkys. At the coral-laden
wall at Cayo Sal, you can take a break inside a cavern
at 100 feet and watch as tens of thousands of fish swim
by castles of hard coral and tall, swaying bushes of soft
corals. The wall at Punta Salina starts at 30 feet and
drops straight to 180 feet. You can also include a visit
to the Turtle Sanctuary, located in Dos Mosquices Key,
a 2 to 2 ½-hour boat trip from Gran Roque. Here
you will find an incredible reefs-cape of pristine hard
and soft corals.
Fisherman will find Los Roques to be a
heaven for flats fishing. Bonefish are abundant year 'round,
and tarpon and permit also easily caught in these waters.
In this National Marine Park, all fishing is strictly
catch and release, and a very limited number of fishermen
are permitted to fish daily.
For those who enjoy windsurfing, there
is a first class windsurf club located on adjacent Francisky
key. They rent a variety of equipment for excursions ranging
from one hour to a full day of windsurfing. Private instruction
for beginners is also available. From the resort you may
spend the day exploring the surrounding islands via windsurfer.From
the guesthouse you may also arrange a full-day boat tour
to visit Dos Mosquices Biological Station, located on
one of the farther keys from Gran Roque and home of Los
Roques Scientific Foundation's biological station. The
standard trip includes a visit to three keys. Departing
early in the morning, you'll visit Carenero, Cayo de Agua,
and Dos Mosquices keys. Most of the day is spent on Agua,
where lunch will be served. At Dos Mosquices visit to
the biological station escorted by a guide, who will provide
you with a tour of the marine turtle hatchery.
For those who want to stay on dry land,
the area offers an abundance of optional excursions. Gran
Roque's lighthouse, the oldest on the Venezuelan coast,
is recommended for a late afternoon visit as a great spot
to enjoy the sunset. Or if you are just looking to get
away from it all, the guesthouse will provide complimentary
transfers to nearby keys, along with a box lunch, sun
chairs and parasols. The only thing you'll miss is the
crowd.
Day 6: Los Roques
Day at leisure. (B,L,D)
Day 7: Los Roques
– Caracas
Transfer to the airstrip for your flight to Caracas.
Los Roques - Caracas flight times to
be advised
Airport reception and transfer to your
hotel. Overnight at the Costa Real Suites. (B)
Day 8: Int’l
Departure
Transfer to the airport for your flight home. (B)
Contact
us for a customized itinerary
of travel to Venezuela.
