Day 1. Caracas

Meet a Turpial Travel assistant at the Maiquetía airport in Caracas and he/she will welcome you to Venezuela, answer all your questions, and transfer you to your Hotel where you will rest and eat up after a long travel. Overnight at the Costa Real Suites Hotel. ( - / - / - ).

Day 2. Caracas – Canaima National Park:

Our travel assistant will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to your connecting flight to Puerto Ordaz. Upon arrival take a connecting flight to Canaima National Park. If the weather is clear enough, you will take a short flight to see Angel Falls from the air (if not, you will get to do it on the way back). From the plane you will come so close to the fall that you will see how the Fall hides inside a big Tepuy wall. From the plain you will have an amazing view of the Auyan Tepuy and its canyons, a 700.000 Km surface, looking like a green carpet of mountains.

Upon arrival you will be transferred to our main camp where you will be able to enjoy the view of the Canaima Lagoon and its majestic falls - the Wadaima, Golondrina and Hacha waterfalls. Leaving at 2:00 p.m. from the lodge in a rustic vehicle to “Ucaima” Port, situated above the “Canaima Lagoon Falls (a distance of 10 minutes approximately); you will board a Curiara (a long log canoe) to go by boat on the “Carrao” river. During the voyage, you will observe the lush tropical vegetation, Sabanas, Palmas de Moriche, and the Tepuyes. After a voyage of 20 minutes, you will arrive at the “Sapo Fall” - a majestic water fall of approximately 45 meters of high and 100 meters of wide that you will cross on foot. At the end of this adventure you will continue to the “Mayupa Sabana” (a 30 minutes ride in Jeep), where you will be able to observe the “Mayupa” rapids and part of the majestic “Auyan Tepuy”. Once you cross the Sabana, you will embark again and continue until we arrive at the “Happiness Well” where will take a fresh bath. After this, you will continue the trip until to arrive at “Ahonda Camp” in front of the “Orchid Island” (Isla de la Orquídea), a shelter of red stones, where we will have dinner with a view of the “Auyan Tepuy” in front, and pass the night sleeping in hammocks with mosquito nettings and blankets. ( - / L / D ).

Day 3. Angel Falls

After breakfast, continue your adventure by taking a boat on the “Carrao” river, and after on the “Churun” river, arriving after one hour approximately to “Little Mouse Island- Isla Raton”, and from there we will see the magnificent “Angel Fall” (Salto Angel). To get to the foot of it need a one hour long walk/trek. You will we stay there for about one or two hours (and if the weather allow, we might take a swim in the “Angel Fall” lagoon). You will return to the “Little Mouse Island” (Isla del Ratoncito) for lunch and later the descend again to the “Ahonda Camp”, for dinner and a good night rest. ( B / L / D ).

Day 4. Canaima – Los Llanos

After breakfast, retune to Canaima and fly to Barinas in Los Llanos. Upon arrival, we will transfer you to Hato Cedral (approx. a 3-4 hour drive). Overnight in Hato Cedral ( B / - / D)

Days 5. Los Llanos

Spend the following day taking an excursion to observe wildlife at its best! At Hato Cedral we find over 250 species of birds, nearly 50 mammal species, including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, white-tailed deer, crab-eating foxes, capybaras, red howler and capuchin monkeys, opossums, ant-eaters, armadillos and river dolphins; and over 40 species of reptiles, including spectacled caimans, green iguanas, anacondas, turtles and red-footed tortoises. Overnight at Hato Cedral. ( B / L / D).

Day 6. Hato Cedral – Los Frailes

Take a morning expedition in the Hato. After lunch, you will be transferred to Los Frailes. On the way you will get to see the beauty of the Andean Region - bound by the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra de la Culata, the Venezuelan Andean region has unparalleled biodiversity and Venezuela’s tallest peaks. Overnight at Los Frailes. ( B / - / D ).

Day 7. Los Frailes – Mérida

On the way to Merida, travel through the Andean Paramo. The paramo is a high-altitude region with a neotropical ecosystem. It is located between the upper forest line (about 3800 m altitude) and the permanent snow line (about 5000 m). The ecosystem consists of accident, mostly glacier formed valleys and plains with a large variety of lakes, peat bogs and wet grasslands intermingled with shrublands and forest patches. This neotropical ecosystem hosts about 5000 different plant species where 60% of these species are endemic, adapted to the specific climate characteristics of the place. Vegetation you will get to see in this trip are: tussock grasses, ground rosettes, dwarf shrubs cushion plants and conspicuous giant rosettes such as Espeletia (frilejon) and Puya (in the family Bromeliaceae). The paramo covers 2600 Km2 of the state!

In addition, visit colonial Andean villages and enjoy the drinks and cuisine they have to offer. We will drive up the Pico Aguila (4,125-m), the highest point in Venezuela. Visit the Andean Condor Station and the Laguna Mucubaji Park (3,800-m) located in the Sierra Nevada. In this lake you will be able to see the yellows flowers of frailejones – a plant only seen in the Andean regions. Next, walk or take a horseback ride to Laguna Negra (optional), where you will enter into a microclimate that due to its special ecosystem receives more rain and humidity than the surrounding Paramo area. This extra humidity gives life to an interesting diversity of plant species, adding color and greenery to the wind-swept Paramo region. Laguna Negra is a beautiful site on a clear, calm day. The black water forms such a perfect mirror that it disappears and is replaced by the reflection of the trees on the mountainside. Overnight at Casa Sol. ( B / - / - ).

Day 8. Mérida

Early in the morning, grab your jacket and get ready for an adventure. Visit the world’s longest and highest cable car that takes you from the Barinitas station (1577 meters) to Mirror Peak (Pico Espejo) at an altitude of 4,765 meters above sea level! From the cable car enjoy panoramic views of the beautiful city of Mérida, enclosed between mountains and peaks covered with snow. As you ascend in the cable car you will appreciate detailed landscapes of Sierra La Culata, the Chama valley river, and at the top see a majestic view of Bolivar Peak (Pico Bolivar).

After lunch, take a walk through narrows streets of the city which maintain their colonial style. Visit one of the most beautiful Cathedrals in Venezuela. See Bolivar Square and stop by the Coromoto ice creamer parlor, with more than 750 natural home made flavors (check for Don Manolo in the Guinness World Record book). ( - / L / - ).

Day 9. Mérida – Maracaibo Lake

Leave Mérida early in the morning for Maracaibo Lake. Bird and butterfly watching. In the evening, take a night safari and watch the Catatumbo lightning. Overnight in Palafitos (basic services, sleep in hammocks). ( - / L / D)

Day 10. Maracaibo Lake - Merida

After breakfast, trips to see landscapes and wildlife. After lunch, drive back to Merida City. Overnight at Posada Casa Sol. (B / L / - )

Day 11. Merida – Choroni

Early in the morning, after breakfast, transfer by road from Merida to Choroni-Puerto Colombia. Check into Posada Turpial and if you have time, take the rest of the afternoon to explore the town. Visit the church and square. Overnight Posada Turpial or Posada Semeruco. Decision will be based on availability. ( - / - / - ).

Days 12 & 13. Choroni

The following days, you will spend some time on your own. Take some time to:

1. Enjoy your day relaxing in the beach. Visit Playa Grande, a beautiful large beach with coco palms around it.

2. Visit the Chuao Coffee Plantation by walking to the promenade “malecon” and catching a boat to Chuao. In this tour, walk through a Cacao farm, visit a colonial church and try one of the best Cacaos in the World.

3. Explore the Henrri Pittier National Park by walking through the tropical forest with the most bio-diversity in the world. The tour includes a light breakfast, roundtrip transfer and a quiet walk guided by experts and bilingual guides for approximately five hours. During the walk enjoy the great variety of the wild flora and fauna. Visit the Virgin Carmen, a spectacular sugarcane trapiche where the “papelón” (a kind of brown sugar) is handmade. Return through the forest and submerge yourself in the natural and pompous well “La Lapa”, where we can have lunch, rest and relax while appreciating this natural beauty.

Overnight at Posada Turpial/Posada Semeruco ( B / - / - ).

Day 14. Choroni – Caracas

Check-out from Posada Turpial. Transfer to the Maiquetia airport to take your flight home. ( B / - / - ).

Breakfast (B); Lunch (L); Dinner (D)
B= 9 / L= 6 / D= 6