Some of the best tourist places in Venezuela

By: Emanuel Sánchez

Venezuela is a very mentioned country because of the difficult situation that it is

going through, but it has a lot of beautiful places to visit, even unique places in the world.
This country is formed by 24 states, its capital is Caracas, a city a bit like Medellín in some
aspects, for example, both are a valley with a large subway in the middle. The country has
extremely high biodiversity and is ranked seventh in world’s list of nations with the most
number of species. There are different habitats and weathers, from the so cold Andes
mountains in the west to the Amazon basin with a rain-forest weather, passing through the
extensive llanos plains and the Caribbean coast. Below are five of its most important tourist
places ordered from west to east:

Ciénagas del Catatumbo National Park:

This place is in Zulia State at North of Maracaibo Lake. It includes an extensive

marshy swamp with numerous canals, mangroves and lagoons. This place is so famous
because of the curious and frequent phenomenon known as the Catatumbo Lightning which
consists of a series of lightning flashes that fall almost continuously add silently without
causing thunder, covering the sky with purple tones. This area holds the Guinness Record
for being the region with the highest concentration of lightning on Eart.

Pico Bolívar:

It is the highest mountain in Venezuela, at 4978 meters. It is located in Mérica State,

its top is always covered with snow and three small glaciers. The only way to go is walking or
by cable car. This cable car was the highest and longest cable car in the world when it was
built. Mérida is the city nearest to this place. There are many hotels, restaurants and inns
where you can be, and there are some tourist places like the Merida Cathedral and Simón
Bolívar Square.

Médanos de Coro National Park:

It is located in the state of Falcón, near the city of Coro. This is the reason for its
name. This place is interesting because every time you go, you find a different landscape.
This is because the dunes are not static, due to the wind they move every day. One of the
best things to do there is the sand board, it is similar to snowboards but designed to slide
over the sands.

Colonia Tovar:

This is a little town founded by German immigrants, so the town is like a typical
German village with its wooden architectures and its traditions and festivities. Here you can
find craft beers, typical sweets, jams, strawberries with cream and typical german food made
with vegetables and fruits cropped in this town. There are many tours around the area, there
is a museum, a typical church, many craft workshops and hotels that are perfect to take a
rest because this place is so quiet and also it is so cold, the temperature is always close to
14° C. There is a lot of activities to do like paragliding, take a tour in 4x4, walk through its
trails and visit more than 5000 petroglyphs made by ancient tribes.
Canaima National Park:

Canaima has infinite variety of natural resources, it is a great extension with a lot of
amazing landscapes. This paradise is the second bigger park in the country. It has a tropical
weather. There are some areas that can be reached only with helicopter or through its rives.
Canaima is divided in two areas:

● East: where is the Gran Sabana with many rives, waterfalls and impressive
mountains with flat picks, know as Tepuyes. In this area is the Quebrada de Jaspe a
so beautiful place.
● West: where are the highest waterfalls of the world, such as the Salto del Ángel, a
waterfall of almost 1000 meters.

There are many activities to do: rafting, kayak, climbing and also there are many
camping places. There are incredible rivers that pass through this paradise which has a lot
of fauna and flora.

The archipelago of Los Roques:

It is considered the largest marine park in Latin America. In addition, it has the largest coral
reef in the Caribbean. The weather is hot and dry, for this reason, there are not many land
animals. This place is famous for its beautiful white sand beaches, the activities that you can
do are, for example, recreational sailing in different types of boats such as kayak, sailboat,
rowing boat and catamaran, windsurfing. Also, you can do diving or scuba diving without
tanks, fishing, and walking excursions. This is a so expensive place.