PN Canaima, Venezuela

Kerepakupai, Salto Angel: The River that Falls from Heaven


Curiaras on the Sunset
Curiaras used by the natives to lead visitors to Salto Angel, anchored on the banks of the Carrao River.
The Shaman of the Lagoon
An indigenous shaman in Lagoa Canaima
lacustrine conviviality
Teenagers live in the fresh water of the Canaima Lagoon.
Lagoon bathing
Children have fun on the shore of the Canaima Lagoon.
El Sapo Dive
Indigenous people dive into the Canaima lagoon, in the extension of Salto El Sapo.
natural shower
Guide returns from a waterlogged passage under the water of Salto El Sapo.
Great Curiara
Curiara anchored in the Canaima Lagoon, with reddish water due to the concentration of a natural chemical compound.
Splaaaashhhh
Motorized Curiara lifts water from the Carrao River.
a meseta or tepui
Tepuy detached from the jungle around the Carrao river.
stone to stone
Indigenous child in the pond formed at the base of Salto Angel.
To the air of Porlamar
Airplane takes off from Porlamar aerodrome, origin of frequent flights to Canaima.
Curiara trip
Curiaras go up the Carrao river side by side, on their way to Salto Angel.
Curiara & Lagoa Canaima
Curiara anchored over the colored water of Lagoa Canaima.
Uricao jump
Curiara with passengers passes in front of the Uricao waterfall, one of which feeds the Canaima lagoon
Little Pemones
Indigenous children next to a small curiara, on a bank of the Carrao River.
Pancho in curiara, Ahonda canyon
Guide Pancho aboard a canoe along the Ahonda Canyon.
ahonda canyon dock
Guia Pancho attaches a curiara to the bank.
Angel Falls or Angel Falls
The water veil of the longest waterfall in the world, the Salto Angel.
Bonanza before the jump
Still water of the Carrao river, immediately before falling into the Canaima lagoon.
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

Little Cessna seems to have had better days.

We only get really apprehensive when we realize the size and likely weight of the only man at the controls. Saturated with his aerial routine, the pilot receives us with indifference. give us a briefing minimal. It immediately takes off into the sky over the Canaima rainforest.

Porlamar Aerodrome, Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Airplane takes off from Porlamar aerodrome, origin of frequent flights to Canaima.

The atmosphere is cloudy, windy, full of air pockets. Make the plane jump all the time. Neither the turbulence nor the history of air accidents in that area affect rest from the commander who sinks into a huge Venezuelan newspaper and touches up the spot with his knees.

O flight is panoramic but short. As quickly as we ascend, we return to the ground. We are seduced by the privileged views of that strange South American domain. We landed in the vicinity of the Canaima lagoon. There, we are given two hours on our own.

Bath, Salto Angel, River that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Children have fun on the shore of the Canaima Lagoon.

Through the Jungle of Canaima National Park Above

Despite the lush environment that surrounds it, to the most urban eye, the Laguna de Canaima could be mistaken for the vast reservoir of any remote WWTP.

Its waters rest there, due to the whims of the river that rushes into it with violence in leaps with eccentric names: the Hacha, the Golondrina and the Ucaima.

Curiara jump Uricao, Salto Angel Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Curiara with passengers passes in front of the Uricao waterfall, one of which feeds the Canaima lagoon

For miles on end, the Carrao River meanders between the several tepuis (tables). It tears up the jungle and drags earth and humus that give the stream an ocher look. When this water is pushed to the limits of the broad meander that follows, the compound of fulvic and humic acids thickens and reacts.

The result is a suspicious foam and a gradient of tones that goes from black in the deepest parts to a yellowish-red along the edges. The scenario proves, in fact, chemical. As chemical as natural.

Curiara in Canaima lagoon, Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Curiara anchored over the colored water of Lagoa Canaima.

Were it not for the treacherous underwater currents caused by the waterfalls, the lake could be considered safe, almost thermal.

The two hours go by. We return to base camp. We join a multinational group awaiting instructions from the guides to set sail above Carrao.

Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Still water of the Carrao river, immediately before falling into the Canaima lagoon.

The walk to the margin of Curiaras

Only that day, the air traffic to access the Canaima National Park had become complicated. Some travelers were late. Guides keep time accurately.

They know that they are at risk of being caught in the river after sunset, and that this would force the group to spend the night in the jungle on the banks. It is under the pressure of this misadventure that they conduct operations.

The base camp is at the western end of the Canaima Lagoon. At curiaras that await us are moored in Ucaima port, upstream of the Carrao River falls too violent to overcome.

Curiaras, Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Curiara anchored in the Canaima Lagoon, with reddish water due to the concentration of a natural chemical compound.

We complete the walk around the lake almost at a run, at the pace of the native leaders who are increasingly concerned.

At a certain point, we noticed that the frenzy that gripped the entourage contrasted with the illusory peace of the river, there, just a few dozen meters from the abyss.

Once the missing visitors arrived, we boarded three curiaras (sturdy canoes of indigenous construction) powered by powerful engines. Upstream navigation starts off smooth. The waters quickly stir.

The Crazy Ascent of the Rio Carrao Rapids

When the Moroco rapids are imminent, the guides fall into an impasse that worries passengers. Until an order from Carlos – the person in charge of the journey – takes us back to action.

Determined and fearless, the helmsmen pull on the engines. They make the boats plow and climb the rapids. The trip is like a river roller coaster. We both climb the furious waves of the Carrao and descend into the river and see them partially encroaching on the ships.

Trip from Curiara, Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Curiaras go up the Carrao river side by side, on their way to Salto Angel.

The adventure's soundtrack is also intermittent. When the engines release their power, we hear the bass roar of the pistons. And whenever the overwhelming flow conditions them, the high-pitched roar of the water is imposed. From time to time, there are still screams of panic from the passengers.

After a final acceleration, we beat the Moroco and Mayupa rapids and entered a pacified stretch of Carrao. The rest of the trip to Canyon de Ahonda is already done in the dark.

After the Adrenaline, the Night Rest in Ahonda Canyon

As soon as we disembark at the intermediate camp, two Basque traveling companions fill us in on the events: “Boys, these guys are crazy! As it was getting dark, instead of getting out of the boats and going back in later, they put us in those furious rapids!

Canyon Ahonda, Salto Angel, River that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Guide Pancho aboard a canoe along the Ahonda Canyon.

We read in a guide that several tragedies have already happened there. And that, during the rainy season, this is completely prohibited by the government.”

We continue to discuss the adventure over dinner that the hosts cook in a hurry. Carlos then lulls us with his geopolitical theories and conspiracies of the United States to dominate the Colombia and Venezuela. Sooner than we expect, the guides and outsiders give in to fatigue. They fall asleep, side by side, in the hammocks reserved for them.

Before joining them, we still looked over Canaima's epic past.

The Pemon Indigenous Group and the Yankee Jimmy Angel's Prospectora Adventure

This region was long known for its indigenous people. pemon and – some historians defend, during the XNUMXth century, also Fernando de Berrío, a Castilian explorer and governor who then arrived in these parts.

Shaman, Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

An indigenous shaman in Lagoa Canaima

Two centuries later, the legend of a supposedly lost river of gold and the articles and maps of Venezuelan navy captain Felix Cardona Puig sparked the interest of an intrepid American aviator.

Jimmy Angel and his wife Marie Angel moved to those parts of South America. They teamed up with Gustavo “Cabuya” Heny, and a gardener named Miguel Angel Delgado, who specializes in handling ropes and machetes.

Tepui, Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Tepuy detached from the jungle around the Carrao river.

Together, they formed an exploration team that carried out several approaches to the Auyantepui, the great plateau (it has an area of ​​about 700 km²).

He knew that the Kerepakupai Vená rushed from it, a waterfall that, at 979 m, would prove to be the highest on the face of the Earth.

For a fortnight, Jimmy Angel watched his colleagues' efforts on the ground. He flew over the area in his beloved Flamingo plane and dropped supplies and equipment attached to small parachutes.

The aviator had circled the top of the great plateau before. On these occasions, he did not find the legendary river of gold but found a flat area that seemed suitable for a landing. On October 9, 1937, the group of adventurers carried out the most insane of their plans.

At first, contact with the ground felt smooth to Jimmy Angel and Henry. The wheels ended up sinking in the mud. They brought about an abrupt braking that caused the fuel line to break and jammed the entire front of the plane.

A persistent cloudiness prevented the rescue of the two men. With the help of their comrades at base camp, Jimmy Angel and Henry managed to survive an arduous overland return to Kamarata, an indigenous village in the Gran Sabana.

Angel Falls, Salto Angel or Kerepakupai: the Controversy Imposed by Hugo Chavez

In 1964, the plane was declared a national monument by the government of Venezuela. Six years later, it would be removed by that country's air force and placed in the Maracay Aviation Museum.

Since then, the wild vastness of Canaima has continued to seduce the world. Its prodigious waterfall attracts hordes of onlookers. It was just a short time away for us to glimpse it too.

We departed Ahonda Canyon shortly after the break of the new day. We did two more hours of curiara. No longer in Carrao but upstream from its tributary, the Churún that flows along another large canyon, the Devil's Canyon.

Splash de curiara, Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Motorized Curiara lifts water from the Carrao River.

We disembark at the Ratoncito field and take the jungle trail that leads to a privileged observation point for the jump.

When we get there, visibility is almost total. Give us a deserved reward.

Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

The water veil of the longest waterfall in the world, the Salto Angel.

We sat on a raised boulder. We are semi-hypnotized watching the Kerepakupai river launch itself into the abyss and dancing according to the wind that, close to the ground, suspends the increasingly dispersed water.

We had fun commenting that not even Jimmy Angel had had that view. When we detect two light aircraft flying over the top of the cliff, the epic of the American who died in 1956 after crashing in Panama comes to mind.

We praise your crazy pioneering spirit. It's something not all Venezuelans have chosen to do.

In 2009, inflamed as ever by totalitarian Bolivarianism and its anti-Americanism, the late former president Hugo Chávez took advantage of a TV show to ban the aviator's nickname. He claimed that thousands of Pémon Indians had seen the waterfalls before Jimmy Angel.

From stone to stone, Salto Angel, Rio that falls from the sky, Angel Falls, PN Canaima, Venezuela

Indigenous child in the pond formed at the base of Salto Angel.

He then decreed that the natural wonder would be called just Cheru-Meru, something he had to correct when his daughter handed him a note saying that that was the name of a nearby waterfall and that the right word was Kerepakupai.

After persistent moments of practice, Chávez proclaimed to Venezuela that he had mastered the pronunciation of the correct indigenous term.

He took the opportunity to accuse the United States of having violated his nation's airspace with a piloted plane: “It's the Yankees. I ordered them to be slaughtered. We cannot allow this.”

Jimmy Angel was already safe.

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.
Cascades and Waterfalls

Waterfalls of the World: Stunning Vertical Rivers

From the almost 1000 meters high of Angel's dancing jump to the fulminating power of Iguaçu or Victoria after torrential rains, cascades of all kinds fall over the Earth.
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.
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

Persist on top of Mte. Roraima extraterrestrial scenarios that have withstood millions of years of erosion. Conan Doyle created, in "The Lost World", a fiction inspired by the place but never set foot on it.
Manaus, Brazil

Meeting the Meeting of the Waters

The phenomenon is not unique, but in Manaus it has a special beauty and solemnity. At a certain point, the Negro and Solimões rivers converge on the same Amazonas bed, but instead of immediately mixing, both flows continue side by side. As we explore these parts of the Amazon, we witness the unusual confrontation of the Encontro das Águas.
Iceland

The Island of Fire, Ice and Waterfalls

Europe's supreme cascade rushes into Iceland. But it's not the only one. On this boreal island, with constant rain or snow and in the midst of battle between volcanoes and glaciers, endless torrents crash.
Mérida, Venezuela

Merida to Los Nevados: in the Andean Ends of Venezuela

In the 40s and 50s, Venezuela attracted 400 Portuguese but only half stayed in Caracas. In Mérida, we find places more similar to the origins and the eccentric ice cream parlor of an immigrant portista.
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwee

Livingstone's Thundering Gift

The explorer was looking for a route to the Indian Ocean when natives led him to a jump of the Zambezi River. The falls he found were so majestic that he decided to name them in honor of his queen
Henri Pittier NP, Venezuela

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

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
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.
Iguazu/Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

The Great Water Thunder

After a long tropical journey, the Iguaçu River gives a dip for diving. There, on the border between Brazil and Argentina, form the largest and most impressive waterfalls on the face of the Earth.
Okavango Delta, Not all rivers reach the sea, Mokoros
Safari
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Not all rivers reach the sea

Third longest river in southern Africa, the Okavango rises in the Angolan Bié plateau and runs 1600km to the southeast. It gets lost in the Kalahari Desert where it irrigates a dazzling wetland teeming with wildlife.
Young people walk the main street in Chame, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a Chame, Nepal

Finally, on the way

After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
Architecture & Design
Castles and Fortresses

A Defending World: Castles and Fortresses that Resist

Under threat from enemies from the end of time, the leaders of villages and nations built castles and fortresses. All over the place, military monuments like these continue to resist.
Adventure
Boat Trips

For Those Becoming Internet Sick

Hop on and let yourself go on unmissable boat trips like the Philippine archipelago of Bacuit and the frozen sea of ​​the Finnish Gulf of Bothnia.
Ceremonies and Festivities
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.
Homer, Alaska, Kachemak Bay
Cities
Anchorage to Homer, USA

Journey to the End of the Alaskan Road

If Anchorage became the great city of the 49th US state, Homer, 350km away, is its most famous dead end. Veterans of these parts consider this strange tongue of land sacred ground. They also venerate the fact that, from there, they cannot continue anywhere.
Beverage Machines, Japan
Meal
Japan

The Beverage Machines Empire

There are more than 5 million ultra-tech light boxes spread across the country and many more exuberant cans and bottles of appealing drinks. The Japanese have long since stopped resisting them.
Pitões das Junias, Montalegre, Portugal
Culture
Montalegre, Portugal

Through Alto do Barroso, Top of Trás-os-Montes

we moved from Terras de Bouro for those of Barroso. Based in Montalegre, we wander around the discovery of Paredes do Rio, Tourém, Pitões das Júnias and its monastery, stunning villages on the border of Portugal. If it is true that Barroso has had more inhabitants, visitors should not miss it.
4th of July Fireworks-Seward, Alaska, United States
Sport
Seward, Alaska

The Longest 4th of July

The independence of the United States is celebrated, in Seward, Alaska, in a modest way. Even so, the 4th of July and its celebration seem to have no end.
Boat and helmsman, Cayo Los Pájaros, Los Haitises, Dominican Republic
Traveling
Samaná PeninsulaLos Haitises National Park Dominican Republic

From the Samaná Peninsula to the Dominican Haitises

In the northeast corner of the Dominican Republic, where Caribbean nature still triumphs, we face an Atlantic much more vigorous than expected in these parts. There we ride on a communal basis to the famous Limón waterfall, cross the bay of Samaná and penetrate the remote and exuberant “land of the mountains” that encloses it.
Navala, Viti Levu, Fiji
Ethnic
Navala, Fiji

Fiji's Tribal Urbanism

Fiji has adapted to the invasion of travelers with westernized hotels and resorts. But in the highlands of Viti Levu, Navala keeps its huts carefully aligned.
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

life outside

Gray roofs, Lijiang, Yunnan, China
History
Lijiang, China

A Gray City but Little

Seen from afar, its vast houses are dreary, but Lijiang's centuries-old sidewalks and canals are more folkloric than ever. This city once shone as the grandiose capital of the Naxi people. Today, floods of Chinese visitors who fight for the quasi-theme park it have become take it by storm.
Tobago, Pigeon Point, Scarborough, Pontoon
Islands
Scarborough a Pigeon Point, Tobago

Probing the Capital Tobago

From the walled heights of Fort King George, to the threshold of Pigeon Point, southwest Tobago around the capital Scarborough reveals unrivaled controversial tropics.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Winter White
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
Lake Manyara, National Park, Ernest Hemingway, Giraffes
Literature
Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania

Hemingway's Favorite Africa

Situated on the western edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is one of the smallest but charming and richest in Europe. wild life of Tanzania. In 1933, between hunting and literary discussions, Ernest Hemingway dedicated a month of his troubled life to him. He narrated those adventurous safari days in “The Green Hills of Africa".
sunlight photography, sun, lights
Nature
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

Most travel photos are taken in sunlight. Sunlight and weather form a capricious interaction. Learn how to predict, detect and use at its best.
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.
El Cofete beach from the top of El Islote, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain
Natural Parks
Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain (España)

Fuerteventura's Atlantic Ventura

The Romans knew the Canaries as the lucky islands. Fuerteventura, preserves many of the attributes of that time. Its perfect beaches for the windsurf and the kite-surfing or just for bathing, they justify successive “invasions” by the sun-hungry northern peoples. In the volcanic and rugged interior, the bastion of the island's indigenous and colonial cultures remains. We started to unravel it along its long south.
PN Timanfaya, Mountains of Fire, Lanzarote, Caldera del Corazoncillo
UNESCO World Heritage
PN Timanfaya, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

PN Timanfaya and the Fire Mountains of Lanzarote

Between 1730 and 1736, out of nowhere, dozens of volcanoes in Lanzarote erupted successively. The massive amount of lava they released buried several villages and forced almost half of the inhabitants to emigrate. The legacy of this cataclysm is the current Martian setting of the exuberant PN Timanfaya.
In elevator kimono, Osaka, Japan
Characters
Osaka, Japan

In the Company of Mayu

Japanese nightlife is a multi-faceted, multi-billion business. In Osaka, an enigmatic couchsurfing hostess welcomes us, somewhere between the geisha and the luxury escort.
Surf Lesson, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
Beaches
Waikiki, OahuHawaii

The Japanese Invasion of Hawaii

Decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor and from the capitulation in World War II, the Japanese returned to Hawaii armed with millions of dollars. Waikiki, his favorite target, insists on surrendering.
Hikers on the Ice Lake Trail, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 7th - Braga - Ice Lake, Nepal

Annapurna Circuit – The Painful Acclimatization of the Ice Lake

On the way up to the Ghyaru village, we had a first and unexpected show of how ecstatic the Annapurna Circuit can be tasted. Nine kilometers later, in Braga, due to the need to acclimatize, we climbed from 3.470m from Braga to 4.600m from Lake Kicho Tal. We only felt some expected tiredness and the increase in the wonder of the Annapurna Mountains.
The Toy Train story
On Rails
Siliguri a Darjeeling, India

The Himalayan Toy Train Still Running

Neither the steep slope of some stretches nor the modernity stop it. From Siliguri, in the tropical foothills of the great Asian mountain range, the Darjeeling, with its peaks in sight, the most famous of the Indian Toy Trains has ensured for 117 years, day after day, an arduous dream journey. Traveling through the area, we climb aboard and let ourselves be enchanted.
Vegetables, Little India, Sari Singapore, Singapore
Society
Little India, Singapore

The Sari Singapore of Little India

There are thousands of inhabitants instead of the 1.3 billion of the mother country, but Little India, a neighborhood in tiny Singapore, does not lack soul. No soul, no smell of Bollywood curry and music.
Daily life
Arduous Professions

the bread the devil kneaded

Work is essential to most lives. But, certain jobs impose a degree of effort, monotony or danger that only a few chosen ones can measure up to.
Esteros del Iberá, Pantanal Argentina, Alligator
Wildlife
Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

The Pantanal of the Pampas

On the world map, south of the famous brazilian wetland, a little-known flooded region appears, but almost as vast and rich in biodiversity. the Guarani expression Y bera defines it as “shining waters”. The adjective fits more than its strong luminance.
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.
PT EN ES FR DE IT