Legendary Angel Falls

The highest waterfall in the world plunges from the summit of Auyantepui (8,068’) and is truly one of the most sublime settings on earth. We camp below the falls.

Photo by Annie Hawkins

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The Lost World: Roraima to Angel Falls

Trekking in Venezuela’s Spectacular Equatorial Mountains
with Annie Hawkins

Deep in the jungles of southern Venezuela, dramatic sandstone mesas called tepuis tower into the sky, rising like isolated islands above the lush, misty landscape. With Trip Leader extraordinaire Annie Hawkins, we set out for an adventurous trek to the top of the highest of these tepuis, Roraima (9,219'), whose famed summit plateau is an eerie 13-square-mile realm of twisted rock sculptures, multi-colored crystals, vast caves and canyons, and unique flora including endemic orchids and even carnivorous bromeliads. Roraima’s summit is truly an island forgotten in time and thought to have been the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World. We then descend for a journey by dugout canoe along the Rio Churún to the base of legendary Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, plunging a sheer 2,600 feet from the summit of Auyantepui (8,068'). The lost world of Mount Roraima should be on the to-do list of any adventurous traveler—join us for the journey of a lifetime!

Highlights

  • Mt. Roraima, a “lost world” of vast caves and canyons, rock sculptures, dwarf forests, and endemic botanical wonders
  • River expedition to remote Angel Falls, the highest waterfall on earth
  • Pemón Indian villages, rainforests of Canaima National Park

Details

  • 16-day trip begins and ends in Caracas, Venezuela
  • 6 nights tent camping, 3 nights native huts with hammocks or beds, 4 nights lodges, 2 nights hotels
  • All meals included
  • 7-day hike on steep trails, 4-7 hours a day, altitudes between 5,000 of 9,200 feet, river travel by dugout

Tour Costs

$6095 (9-10 members)
$6595 (4-8 members)

Single supplement: $525
Interna; Airfare: $1150-1895 (subject to change)

Departures & Leaders

Oct 15-30, 2010  Annie Hawkins

Suggested Reading

Reading list, click here.

Itinerary at a Glance

Days 1-2
Caracas / Puerto Ordaz / Santa Elena de Uairén

From Caracas, fly to Puerto Ordaz the continue by small aircraft over the vast expanses of Canaima National Park in southeastern Venezuela. The plane flies relatively low, making our aerial journey an exhilarating one with spectacular views of the dramatic tepuis (sheer-walled mesas), snaking rivers, and innumerable waterfalls that we are about to explore. Overnight at an ecolodge in Santa Elena de Uairén, a small town near the Brazil border.

Days 3-9
Roraima Trek

From Paraitepuí, a Pemón village at 4,500 feet, trek across the rolling, open Gran Sabana grasslands with the majestic silhouette of the tepui of Mt. Roraima (9,219') rising before us. We then make a steep ascent on a rock trail to our base camp close to the vertical 1,500-foot wall of Mt. Roraima. The trail to the summit is steep, leading through cloud forest beneath tumbling waterfalls. Once on the summit plateau, we have two full days to explore this extraordinary environment of exquisite rock gardens, swirling mists, strange sandstone sculptures, caverns, rock formations that look like miniature castles surrounded by small lakes, and intriguing endemic botanical wonders. A steep descent brings us to the Rio Tek on Day 8. On Day 9, we hike to the village of Paraitepuí and transfer back to Santa Elena.

Days 10-12
River Expedition to Angel Falls

Boarding curiaras (motorized dugouts), we navigate the Akanan River, then join the mighty Carrao River, contouring around majestic Auyantepui amid dense rainforest sparkling with blue morpho butterflies. We follow the Churún River upstream to reach the ethereal setting of Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world. Overnight in camps.

Days 13-16
Canaima / Caracas

We head downriver to the port of Ucaima, enjoy an excursion to beautiful Canaima Lagoon, overnight in Caracas, and depart on Day 16.

This is the Itinerary-at-a-Glance. For the complete trip description, Download Full Trip Brochure