Why you should go to Venezuela

Venezuela is amazing. Nowhere else will you find its combination of Caribbean beaches, impressive Andean peaks, swathes of open plains with abundant wildlife, and even larger areas of deep rainforest. Add to that a few things that are completely unique, such as the ‘Lost World’ of the Gran Sabana, Angel Falls, and the Orinoco Delta—another world again, and you have something truly exceptional.

With large reserves of oil, Venezuela doesn’t need to hype its attractions, so you won’t find ads on the TV or in the newspaper urging you to go. And while Venezuela isn’t expensive, it isn’t cheap either, so you won’t find it on the backpacker routes. Venezuela has some great places to stay, but nothing that ranks in the top 10 for style-hungry journalists, so you won’t read much about it in the glossy magazines. It is possible that the first time you really started to find out something about Venezuela may have been when you arrived at this web page.

Here are some of the highlights:

Gran Sabana

Our favourite. A remote region the size of Belgium served by just one road, where impressive table mountains rise up over grassy uplands dotted with palms, and valleys thick with rainforest. Angel Falls, the world’s tallest waterfall, drops a sheer 1km into the forest to the northwest. Home to the Pemón people, some of the most considerate, resourceful, egalitarian and community-spirited individuals you could hope to meet. Conan Doyle called it the ‘Lost World’. You might say it’s the rest of us that are lost.

Andes

A double range of sierras that rise quickly from nothing to above the tropical snow line. Families till steep fields below lofty peaks and high moorlands, growing everything from sugar cane to coffee and from potatoes to cut flowers. The lively university town of Mérida sits between the sierras, and attracts artists, crafts people, musicians, philosophers, writers, hikers, climbers and adventurers.

Llanos

Vast fertile plains fed by Andean rivers. They are in flood from May to September, then the waters retreat and the landscape becomes baked dry. Some ranches that farm cattle here are run with conservation in mind and are wonderful places to see the animals we think of as typically South American: giant anteaters, armadillos, anacondas, giant otters, howler monkeys, hoatzin and many more.

Orinoco

Almost the whole of the Orinoco, one of the great rivers of the world, is in Venezuela. Rising deep in the Amazonian rainforests of the south west, it traverses the country, gathering volume, until it empties itself in a massive delta the size of Wales, creating a unique environment that has been home to the Warao people for several thousand years.

Beaches

With more miles of Caribbean coast than all the Caribbean islands put together, Venezuela offers a wide choice of beaches, including some of the most wonderful you could hope for, sometimes with stylish small hotels and high quality posadas serving great food.

Historic cities

For a bustling youthful country, Venezuela is full of history. Towns like Ciudad Bolívar and Coro have kept the atmosphere of their colonial past. Many buildings that survive have been, or are being, sensitively restored. Echoes of independence heroes such as the great Simón Bolívar are to be found in many places. Caracas, the capital, has a very fine small historic quarter. Many small towns with a less illustrious past have a scattering of houses, a church or a hacienda that date back a few hundred years.

Contemporary culture

According to Sir Simon Rattle, Venezuela’s youth orchestras, which involve a quarter of a million kids, are doing the most important work in classical music in the world. They reflect the nation’s appetite for excellence and its democratic ideals. Venezuelans adore music, from a raw salsa beat or the refinements of classical music, to esoteric pieces for piano or guitar. Visual arts are extremely strong, from the leading kinetic and geometric artists of the 1950s and 60s (to be found not just in museums but painted on motorway underpasses and the walls of whole villages), to great new work in smart galleries in Caracas, and artists’ studios and collectives around the country.

Venezuela is easy to fly to from the UK (via a choice of European hubs), it has a great climate, with a long dry season and a not very wet ‘wet’ season (some parts are dry all year), and it is outside the hurricane belt.

Tourism is a minor activity for Venezuela, but there is enough infrastructure in the right places to make for a rather comfortable time while you discover what the rest of the world has been missing.

Geodyssey

Geodyssey is the UK's leading travel company for Venezuela, having specialised in Venezuela since 1993. Our experience in designing trips to Venezuela, our up-to-date and in-depth understanding of the country, and our local network to support our customers during their holiday, are all second to none. More>