Angel Falls: Highest Waterfall in the World

ANGEL FALLS

Pixar's animated film, "Up"

The biggest symbol of Venezuela is located in the country’s savanna, at the heart of the Canaima National Park. It has served as an inspiration for Pete Docter, director of Pixar’s film, “Up” (2009) and Warner Bros’ remake of the film “Point Break.” It is also said that it inspired Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World.

The Angel Falls is the highest waterfall in the world with a height of 3,212 ft, in a flat-top mountain called Auyán-Tepuy. It is named after the American pilot, Jimmie Angel, who crashed his plane nearby in 1937 and became the first outsider to share this place to the outside world. His plane was not even lifted until the 60’s, when it was taken to an aviation museum in Maracay City (Venezuela).

"Muerte" García

Indigenous people, the Pemon tribe, soon started to take tourists to the base of the tepui and even to the top, which increased the fame of this wonder of nature.

My journey started from Caracas, the capital, where I took a flight to the city of Puerto Ordaz, in the Bolívar state, and then another one that lands in a small track near the Canaima Lagoon.

I made my trip with Campamento Ucaima founded in 1965 by Jungle Rudy, an Italian explorer that felt in love with Canaima and built his camp at the shore of the Carrao River. It is now being operated by his three daughters that he raised there. The day I arrived, a guide came to pick us up, my mom and I, from the aircraft in a small Jeep, to take us to the river, where we got on the curiaras (similar to a canoe), to go to the camp. I have mentioned how much I love this camp in last week's post, but I will do it again. It is beautiful and the views are astonishing, I could have stayed there for weeks.

Now back to the journey, the path to go to the Auyán-tepuy, where the Angel Falls are, is long, so I recommend doing it in two days. Many sites offer a round trip on the same day, but I know many people that have done it this way and they all say that is exhausting. People don't get to spend too much time at the fall, and the rush is stressful.

We got on the curiaras to sail through the Carrao River in a 4-hours-long trip. Because the dry season was starting, the river's flow was low, so we could see the giant Precambrian rocks on the way, and the sailors had to be very careful about not hitting them. When the river is mighty, the rocks are not even on sight. But the worst part are the rough rapids, in which many boats capsize.

Once we got to the nearest point, the curiaras dropped us off at the jungle for a hike of about 45 minutes. On the way up I could start hearing the fall and that sound kept me motivated to go on. The moment I saw the Angel Falls for the first time I was amazed at how surreal the whole landscape looked. But the best of all was when the guide told us that because the drop was not mighty, we could go down to swim at the base of the waterfall.

Not only I went to the highest waterfall in the world, but I also swam at the base of it, and it was awesome. Swimming with the giant tepuy surrounding us, the adrenaline of having the towering waterfall in front of us, and the abyss on the other side of the rocks was indeed an amazing experience.

Sadly, we had to go back. Before dusk, we were on the curiaras going to a nearby camp that has a view to the Angel Falls, the same one the crew of "Point Break" stayed at during the shooting of the film. That night, the guides, the group I went with, myself included, and the pemones that take care of the camp and that area, had a dinner in which they told us many stories about their experiences living there and even some myths and legends about the tepuis and the origins of their names.

It was a very enriching experience and the memories I brought back from the adventure are unforgettable. This is definitely my #1 place I would recommend to go to in Venezuela, especially for foreigners.

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