Henri Pittier NP, Venezuela

PN Henri Pittier: between the Caribbean Sea and the Cordillera da Costa


massive tree
Nature guide and clients next to one of the huge trees of PN Henri Pittier.
towards Uricao
Boatman at the bow of a boat that has just left Puerto Colombia, heading for Uricao.
coconut tree seeks the sea
A long coconut tree almost sinking into the Caribbean Sea.
The great Playa Grande
The lush mountain of the Cordillera de la Costa, a coconut forest and the golden sands of Playa Grande de Puerto Colombia.
Playa Grande Bay
Bathers share the long sandy beach of Playa Grande de Puerto Colombia.
Valley to the Sea
View of one of the valleys because it extends the PN Henri Pittier.
pink caribbean
Sunset rose the Caribbean Sea off Puerto Colombia.
Bamboo Tunnel
Large bamboo tunnel over the Choroni river, at PN Henri Pittier.
shadow trio
Three friends walk along a street in the colonial village of Choroni.
Crest of the wave
Surfer surfs a newly formed wave off Puerto Colombia.
rocky caribbean
Rocky coastline of Valle Seco beach, east of Puerto Colombia.
A hammock, lots of rest
Rest guaranteed by two providential coconut trees on Uricao beach.
Waterfall sisters
Two waterfalls flow through the lush tropical rainforest of PN Henri Pittier.
Valle nothing Dry
Bathers share the gentle Caribbean Sea that bathes the beach at Valle Seco.
In 1917, botanist Henri Pittier became fond of the jungle of Venezuela's sea mountains. Visitors to the national park that this Swiss created there are, today, more than they ever wanted

A bus journey takes us from the busy Caracas to the main road interface to the final destination.

Maracay has little to discover. Even with some time before the next call, shortly after we leave, we return to the terminal in search of some refreshing break.

We find him in the small juice house of Senhor Manuel who, nostalgic for the Madeiran origins, displays in his business several posters of the Pearl of the Atlantic.

We drink fearless mixtures of tropical fruits. Conversation leads to conversation, we delve into the origin of the owner:

“since I come from Porto Moniz, on the tip of the north coast of Madeira, I don't know if you know? If we look at things well, the scenarios over there, it's not even that different from where you're going now. It's the same kind of steep mountain covered with vegetation and the sea just below. I mean… around Puerto Colombia, the beaches are real beaches. Large sands, coconut trees, crystal clear sea. It's a little bit different. They'll love it. Soon they are in the water.”

From One Side to the Other of the Cordillera da Costa

We say goodbye. We got on the next bus that would take us to the historic towns inside the Henri Pittier Park.

Since a previous visit to Guatemala that we didn't see, in the Americas, a bus as colorful and folkloric as this one, painted on the outside in various shades of blue and yellow and decorated on the inside with decorative items, knickknacks and a colorful assortment of windshield hangers.

A weekend is approaching. The vehicle is filled with vacationing families from Caracas de Maracay, up to the Margarita Island.

As soon as the crowd is exhausted, the driver sets off up the mountain, with a ferocious drive that, despite entering a sanctuary of nature, sees deafening horns at every turn of the narrow route.

PN Henri Pittier, Venezuela

View of one of the valleys of the Cordillera da Costa because the PN Henri Pittier extends.

It was certainly not what Swiss scientist Henri Pittier imagined, in 1916, for the jungle he fell in love with. Already in his years of life – mainly from the 30s of the XNUMXth century onwards – he felt uncomfortable with the growing human disrespect for place.

The Struggle for the Ecosystem of the Cordillera da Costa by Henri Pittier

Henri Pittier decided to stay and fight for the cause. He made an old dwelling on a coffee farm his home.

After great resistance to the offenders and diplomatic persistence, he obtained from the president at the time, General Eleazar López Contreras, the official creation of the first national park in Venezuela, then called Rancho Grande.

Today, the Henri Pittier National Park occupies a vast area of ​​the state of Aragua and the Venezuelan coast, along the steep mountains of the Cordillera de la Costa.

This mountain range was raised by intense tectonic movements.

They stand out from the seabed at 1800 meters of altitude from Pico Paraíso and at 1900 from Guacamaya. At these heights, despite the almost equatorial latitude, the temperature drops to 6º and some of the most diluvial rains in the country fall.

Waterfalls, PN Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Two waterfalls flow through the lush tropical rainforest of PN Henri Pittier.

As in most of the Cordillera, the resident precipitation and mist keep the native flora lush and diverse, dominated by majestic trees, with leafy crowns that rob the ground of sunlight.

The fauna is not far behind.

The park has, in El Portachuelo, the main pass for about 520 species of migratory birds and many more insects (including dozens of types of moths) on the flight path that takes them from North to South America.

It is something that attracts, every year, to the local biological stations, thousands of ornithologists eager for study the birds rarer or simply more beautiful, like the anthill or the black japu.

Choroni, Puerto Colombia: Between the Cordillera and the Caribbean Sea

Choroní and Puerto Colombia appear sheltered in the marine foothills of the mountain range. These are the most important towns in the park. We leave the bus at the last one and look for accommodation there.

Trio, Choroni Street, Venezuela

Three friends walk along a street in the colonial village of Choroni.

Of colonial origin, half lost in time, they separate the two people a mere 25 minutes on foot, always going up or 15 going down. Distance continues to play a crucial role in their different identities.

Choroni preserves intact the colorful Castilian colonial houses, built in 1616, soon after its foundation by the Spanish occupants.

The settlers hastened to subdue the local Indians with the same name and made the village expand below. Later, they endowed it with slaves brought from Africa.

Virgílio Espinal, in Pittier's Mode of Disciple

We dare not consider Virgilio Espinal a disciple of Pittier, far from it.

And yet, the guide presents himself as a serious fan of the region's nature and confesses that he felt at ease in the middle of that steep jungle. We contract your services without hesitation. We followed him for hours on end.

Kilometer after kilometer, always with machete in hand, this Aragueño forty makes its way through dense vegetation with incredible fluidity.

Virgílio had already lived and worked at the Brazil. He insists on us practicing his Hispanic-Abrasucado Portuguese: “Boys, these roots can reach ten meters and only on the surface.

Giant Tree, PN Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Nature guide and clients next to one of the huge trees of PN Henri Pittier.

Can you understand why the trees here easily grow to 50, 60 meters in height, even when growing on a sloping surface? It's wet isn't it? Go, don't complain.

In the end I'll take you to eat the best empanadas here in the area.

However, we return to the lowlands and towards the party that spread like a virus among the natives, the Caracas and some expatriates from Puerto Colombia.

The Coastline rumbero of Puerto Colombia

Latin music to rumble and beer they are everything any Venezuelan craves after a day of cards or chatting in cozy Playa Grande.

Playa Grande, Puerto Colombia, PN Henri Pittier, Venezuela

The lush mountain of the Cordillera de la Costa, a coconut forest and the golden sands of Playa Grande de Puerto Colombia.

The outsiders, these, adjust to the wave and explore its unknown Caribbean-reggae facet. After a few days, many already behave like any indigenous people and dance along the malecon to the rhythm of drums and maracas.

Before we join the celebration. We still have time to climb the hill of Mirador del Cristo de Choroni.

From there, we admire the Caribbean Sea, intersected by the most advanced headlands of the mountain range, where pirates once sheltered.

We admire the rosy and purplish sky above, traversed by fast frigates and lined flocks of pelicans.

Surfer, Caribbean Sea, Venezuela

Surfer surfs a newly formed wave off Puerto Colombia.

On the way down, a saleswoman tropicalian of drinks suggests a deserved reward for the effort of the climb, in the tender ways typical of Venezuelan women: “yes my love? I serve you a refreshment? "

The next morning, the first hours belong to the parents and children who, laden with glaciers, head for the white sands of the park until then, delivered to the coconut forest.

The laziest stay at this Playa Grande.

Other clans of holiday explorers find their starting point at the jetty located next to the malecon, from where they leave permanently peñeros towards Chuao, Valle Seco and Uricao, small villages and beaches accessible only by sea. We join the latter.

Hammock in Palmeiras, Praia de Uricao-Mar des caraibas, Venezuela

Rest guaranteed by two providential coconut trees on Uricao beach.

Chuao, Valle Seco, Uricao: Dream Coves at the Base of the Cordillera

Dock, fish market and pier share the inlet, which proves to be too tight and provides chaotic embarkation.

There, while fishermen unload and trade the newly caught fish, the opportunistic pelicans try to apprehend them.

In a distinct business area, vessel owners shout their destinations, haggle over prices and rush groups of passengers foisting on each other to optimize outflows and profits.

Boat, Puerto Colombia, Caribbean Sea, Venezuela

Boatman at the bow of a boat that has just left Puerto Colombia, heading for Uricao.

Despite being coastal, the routes taken by the peñeros they are beaten by great waves and fertile in emotions.

To compensate, Valle Seco and Uricao treat us to exotic and relaxing bathing retreats, lost among cactuses and sparsely populated.

Pebbles from Valle Seco Beach, Caribbean Sea, Venezuela

Rocky coastline of Valle Seco beach, east of Puerto Colombia.

In Chuao, we go back in time. We walk among the historic cocoa plantations brought there by Hispanic settlers.

On the way back, we socialize with the descendants of their slaves as they sift the last of the crops in the courtyard of the church that the village uses as a threshing floor.

Santa Marta and PN Tayrona, Colombia

The Paradise from which Simon Bolivar departed

At the gates of PN Tayrona, Santa Marta is the oldest continuously inhabited Hispanic city in Colombia. In it, Simón Bolívar began to become the only figure on the continent almost as revered as Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

Gran Sabana, Venezuela

A Real Jurassic Park

Only the lonely EN-10 road ventures into Venezuela's wild southern tip. From there, we unveil otherworldly scenarios, such as the savanna full of dinosaurs in the Spielberg saga.

Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

Behind the Venezuela Andes. Fiesta Time.

In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.
Cahuita, Costa Rica

Dreadlocked Costa Rica

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Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

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Merida to Los Nevados: in the Andean Ends of Venezuela

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PN Canaima, Venezuela

Kerepakupai, Salto Angel: The River that Falls from Heaven

In 1937, Jimmy Angel landed a light aircraft on a plateau lost in the Venezuelan jungle. The American adventurer did not find gold but he conquered the baptism of the longest waterfall on the face of the Earth
Margarita Island ao Mochima NP, Venezuela

Margarita Island to Mochima National Park: a very Caribbean Caribe

The exploration of the Venezuelan coast justifies a wild nautical party. But, these stops also reveal life in cactus forests and waters as green as the tropical jungle of Mochima.
Corn Islands - Islas del Maíz , Nicaragua

pure caribbean

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Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

The Pueblos del Sur Locainas, Their Dances and Co.

From the beginning of the XNUMXth century, with Hispanic settlers and, more recently, with Portuguese emigrants, customs and traditions well known in the Iberian Peninsula and, in particular, in northern Portugal, were consolidated in the Pueblos del Sur.
Mérida, Venezuela

The Vertiginous Renovation of the World's Highest Cable Car

Underway from 2010, the rebuilding of the Mérida cable car was carried out in the Sierra Nevada by intrepid workers who suffered firsthand the magnitude of the work.
Jabula Beach, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Safari
Saint Lucia, South Africa

An Africa as Wild as Zulu

On the eminence of the coast of Mozambique, the province of KwaZulu-Natal is home to an unexpected South Africa. Deserted beaches full of dunes, vast estuarine swamps and hills covered with fog fill this wild land also bathed by the Indian Ocean. It is shared by the subjects of the always proud Zulu nation and one of the most prolific and diverse fauna on the African continent.
Faithful light candles, Milarepa Grotto temple, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
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A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
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A Defending World: Castles and Fortresses that Resist

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lagoons and fumaroles, volcanoes, PN tongariro, new zealand
Adventure
Tongariro, New Zealand

The Volcanoes of All Discords

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Australia Day, Perth, Australian Flag
Ceremonies and Festivities
Perth, Australia

Australia Day: In Honor of the Foundation, Mourning for Invasion

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Weddings in Jaffa, Israel,
Cities
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Where Tel Aviv Settles Always in Party

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Each people, their recipes and delicacies. In certain cases, the same ones that delight entire nations repel many others. For those who travel the world, the most important ingredient is a very open mind.
Vairocana Buddha, Todai ji Temple, Nara, Japan
Culture
Nara, Japan

The Colossal Cradle of the Japanese Buddhism

Nara has long since ceased to be the capital and its Todai-ji temple has been demoted. But the Great Hall remains the largest ancient wooden building in the world. And it houses the greatest bronze Vairocana Buddha.
combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines
Sport
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

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Traveling
Moçamedes to PN Iona, Namibe, Angola

Grand entrance to the Angola of the Dunes

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Tulum, Mayan Ruins of the Riviera Maya, Mexico
Ethnic
Tulum, Mexico

The Most Caribbean of the Mayan Ruins

Built by the sea as an exceptional outpost decisive for the prosperity of the Mayan nation, Tulum was one of its last cities to succumb to Hispanic occupation. At the end of the XNUMXth century, its inhabitants abandoned it to time and to an impeccable coastline of the Yucatan peninsula.
sunlight photography, sun, lights
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

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Maori Haka, Waitangi Treaty Grounds, New Zealand
History
bay of islands, New Zealand

New Zealand's Civilization Core

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Ilha do Mel, Paraná, Brazil, beach
Islands
Ilha do Mel, Paraná, Brazil

The Sweetened Paraná of ​​Ilha do Mel

Located at the entrance to the vast Bay of Paranaguá, Ilha do Mel is praised for its nature reserve and for the best beaches in the Brazilian state of Paraná. In one of them, a fortress built by D. José I resists time and tides.
Northern Lights, Laponia, Rovaniemi, Finland, Fire Fox
Winter White
Lapland, Finland

In Search of the Fire Fox

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Lake Manyara, National Park, Ernest Hemingway, Giraffes
Literature
Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania

Hemingway's Favorite Africa

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Barrancas del Cobre, Chihuahua, Rarámuri woman
Nature
Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon), Chihuahua, Mexico

The Deep Mexico of the Barrancas del Cobre

Without warning, the Chihuahua highlands give way to endless ravines. Sixty million geological years have furrowed them and made them inhospitable. The Rarámuri indigenous people continue to call them home.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Terraces of Sistelo, Serra do Soajo, Arcos de Valdevez, Minho, Portugal
Natural Parks
Sistelo, Peneda-Gerês, Portugal

From the “Little Portuguese Tibet” to the Corn Fortresses

We leave the cliffs of Srª da Peneda, heading for Arcos de ValdeVez and the villages that an erroneous imaginary dubbed Little Portuguese Tibet. From these terraced villages, we pass by others famous for guarding, as golden and sacred treasures, the ears they harvest. Whimsical, the route reveals the resplendent nature and green fertility of these lands in Peneda-Gerês.
Composition on Nine Arches Bridge, Ella, Sri Lanka
UNESCO World Heritage
Yala NPElla-Kandy, Sri Lanka

Journey Through Sri Lanka's Tea Core

We leave the seafront of PN Yala towards Ella. On the way to Nanu Oya, we wind on rails through the jungle, among plantations in the famous Ceylon. Three hours later, again by car, we enter Kandy, the Buddhist capital that the Portuguese never managed to dominate.
Ooty, Tamil Nadu, Bollywood Scenery, Heartthrob's Eye
Characters
Ooty, India

In Bollywood's Nearly Ideal Setting

The conflict with Pakistan and the threat of terrorism made filming in Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh a drama. In Ooty, we see how this former British colonial station took the lead.
La Digue, Seychelles, Anse d'Argent
Beaches
La Digue, Seychelles

Monumental Tropical Granite

Beaches hidden by lush jungle, made of coral sand washed by a turquoise-emerald sea are anything but rare in the Indian Ocean. La Digue recreated itself. Around its coastline, massive boulders sprout that erosion has carved as an eccentric and solid tribute of time to the Nature.
Armenia Cradle Christianity, Mount Aratat
Religion
Armenia

The Cradle of the Official Christianity

Just 268 years after Jesus' death, a nation will have become the first to accept the Christian faith by royal decree. This nation still preserves its own Apostolic Church and some of the oldest Christian temples in the world. Traveling through the Caucasus, we visit them in the footsteps of Gregory the Illuminator, the patriarch who inspires Armenia's spiritual life.
Train Kuranda train, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
On Rails
Cairns-Kuranda, Australia

Train to the Middle of the Jungle

Built out of Cairns to save miners isolated in the rainforest from starvation by flooding, the Kuranda Railway eventually became the livelihood of hundreds of alternative Aussies.
Saphire Cabin, Purikura, Tokyo, Japan
Society
Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Style Passaport-Type Photography

In the late 80s, two Japanese multinationals already saw conventional photo booths as museum pieces. They turned them into revolutionary machines and Japan surrendered to the Purikura phenomenon.
Ditching, Alaska Fashion Life, Talkeetna
Daily life
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

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Cape cross seal colony, cape cross seals, Namibia
Wildlife
Cape Cross, Namíbia

The Most Turbulent of the African Colonies

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Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.