🇻🇪 Natural wonders of Venezuela
A land of astonishing natural extremes — from the tallest waterfall on Earth to the ancient tepui table mountains, Caribbean coast, Andean peaks, and the vast Orinoco plains.
🗓️ Best time for nature: The wet season (roughly June–November) for the fullest waterfalls; the drier months (December–April) for easier trekking and clearer skies.
The lay of the land
Venezuela spans an extraordinary range of landscapes: the Andes in the west, the Caribbean coast and islands in the north, the grassy Orinoco llanos teeming with wildlife, and — most singularly — the Guiana Highlands in the south, where ancient flat-topped tepuis rise sheer from the jungle. From the summit of one of them, Auyán-tepui, plunges Angel Falls, the highest waterfall on the planet. The tepuis are among the oldest rock formations on Earth, evolutionary islands crowned with plants found nowhere else.
Where to begin
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Angel Falls
The tallest waterfall on Earth, plunging from a jungle tepui.
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Mount Roraima
A 'lost world' table mountain of sheer cliffs and endemic life.
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Los Roques Archipelago
Some 350 Caribbean cays around a turquoise lagoon, ringed by barrier reefs.
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Médanos de Coro
Wind-shaped dunes up to 40 metres high on the isthmus beside Coro.
A taste of the place
Venezuelan food centres on maize and cassava: the arepa (a stuffed corn cake) is the national staple, alongside cachapas, black beans, plantain, and casabe flatbread in the Indigenous south.
Traveling responsibly
- Reach Angel Falls and Roraima only via Canaima on guided air-and-river trips.
- Come in the wet season for the fullest falls, the dry season for trekking.
- Fly to Gran Roque from Caracas for Los Roques; base yourself in Coro for the Médanos.
- Check current travel advisories before planning a trip.
Venezuela holds some of the most extraordinary natural scenery on Earth. In its wild southern highlands rise the tepuis — ancient flat-topped table mountains that stand sheer above the jungle, among the oldest rock formations anywhere and crowned with life found nowhere else. From one of them plunges Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall on the planet, and the greatest of them, Roraima, is a genuine ‘lost world.’ Beyond lie the Andes, the Caribbean coast, and the wildlife-rich Orinoco plains. This atlas chapter covers that tepui country, the reef-ringed cays of Los Roques out in the Caribbean, and the shifting dunes of Médanos de Coro in the dry north-west.
Added Updated
All wonders in Venezuela
4 places
Los Roques Archipelago
Caribbean Sea, about 128 km north of La Guaira, Venezuela
Médanos de Coro
Médanos Isthmus, beside the city of Coro, Falcón state, Venezuela
