Upon arrival on Gran Roque, pay entrance
tax (about $17 US) and proceed to your Caribbean-style,
comfortable guesthouse. Orientation on Gran Roque is straightforward
- guesthouses are located on the main plaza, a minute's
walk from the airstrip. Rooms have private bathrooms and
ceiling fans. All meals are included in your stay, and
optional excursions can be easily arranged through the
guesthouse.
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 divemaster (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 sting
rays, 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, grey
and yellowtail snapper, hogfish, tarpon, Queen angels,
thousands of silvery blue bogia, trumpet fish, whitespotted
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 sea mount. 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 Aqua, 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.
On your final day here you’ll
return to the airstrip in time for your return flight.
Contact
us to include a guesthouse
in Los Roques in a customized itinerary of travel to Venezuela.
