Venezuela | Independent holidays | Active & adventure | Day walks in the Andes
Day walks in the Andes
Recharge your batteries on this series of guided day walks from charming, family-run country guesthouses. You decide the pace and distance.
You can adapt this itinerary to fit the time you have available, etc. Call us to talk through your ideas.
Mérida, San José and the Tostos valley
Day 1 A morning flight from Caracas to Mérida, high in the Andes, where you are met and looked after throughout your stay by an experienced English-speaking local guide. First, you take a leisurely drive through varied countryside before taking a winding road up to 7,500 ft (with panoramic views) to arrive at the remote village of San José to stay 3 nights at a delightful chalet-style guest house.
Day 2 Starting from San José, there is a fairly easy trail around the hills into the peaceful Tostos valley. Eucalyptus trees border fresh mountain rivers as the trail passes meadows with lilies, and fields where farmers plough with oxen. In the scattered hamlets corn is still ground by hand.
Day 3 A choice of walks on other trails from San José, or high on the nearby páramo.
Cloud forest around La Mesa de Los Indios
Day 4 A leisurely start before driving down into the Chama valley. Continue driving to a charming posada in a traditional courtyarded house in the village of La Mesa de los Indios for 2 nights. Here on a Saturday night you might stroll to the Plaza Bolívar to hear a recital by the local wind orchestra school.
Day 5 Set off with a picnic lunch to walk in lovely trails in the local cloud forest to enjoy the luxuriant vegetation and perhaps bathe at a waterfall.
Los Frailes and the high páramos
Day 6 Drive up to the high páramos region, visiting small Andean villages, for a high altitude walk amid the frailejónes plants to the glacial lakes of Laguna Negra and Laguna Mucubají at 14,000ft. Stay 2 nights at Los Frailes—a converted monastery with roaring log fires and a good restaurant.
Day 7 A free day on the high moors. There are good walks around the inn and there is horse riding and trout fishing available locally. Or you may prefer quiet relaxation by the fireside with a good book.
Day 8 In the morning you follow a scenic back road to a biological station where condors are being reintroduced to the wild. There is time to stretch your legs through the frost shattered scree of this high valley for a sense of the condor’s domain. Return to Mérida for an afternoon flight (sometimes subject to weather conditions) to Caracas.
The places you will visit:
› Mérida
› Andes
See also:
Combines well with:
› Beaches
Guide price: £990
The guide price is per person based on 2 people travelling together and sharing twin/double accommodation.
It includes all your travel in Venezuela, the services of your own English speaking experienced trekking guides (private to you), and all your accommodation (7 nights in tourist lodges in shared twin or double rooms).
Most meals are included, apart from 1 lunch and 2 dinners. You might allow £28 spending money for these.
Your international flight to Venezuela is not included.
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