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Angel Falls-the world's tallest waterfall-is one of the eight natural wonders of the world. You are there, after a long, hot hike, swimming in one of the refreshing natural pools beneath the towering falls.
The waterfall can only be easily seen from across the gorge, from several hundred feet away, and even after a good rain the night before, there was not much water going over the cliff. The falls also faces north, which makes for some difficult lighting on a sunny day.
You look up and see a rainbow created from the dance of the mist and the tropical sun. As you swim in the clear waters with your traveling companions, you sense a spiritual force, a mysterious energy that soothes you. You lean back and float in the natural pool and realize that you are far way from everything, but there is no other place that you would rather be.
Although first sighted in the early 20th century by the explorer Ernesto de Santa Cruz, the waterfall was not known to the world until its official discovery by the American aviator, James Crawford Angel, on a flight whilst searching for gold. Angel was born in Springfield, Missouri in 1899. The falls are currently named "Angel Falls" after him; interestingly enough, the indigenous name for the falls was "Devil's Mouth". The official height was determined by a National Geographic Society survey in 1949 (see Jungle Journey to the World's Highest Waterfall by Ruth Robertson). David Mott's book, Angels Four, chronicles the first successful climb up the face of Auyan Tepui (Devil's Mountain) to the top of the falls. The falls are one of Venezuela's top tourist attractions.
Getting There:
Air:
As stated, access to Canaima National Park is by air to the village of Canaima, about 50 km away from the falls. From there, you take either a smaller plane and fly to an airstrip at Canaima Lagoon, or travel by river to the lagoon. From the lagoon, you hike to a view point of the falls.
There are also daily flights via Puerto Ordaz connecting Canaima airstrip with the major cities of Venezuela. The airstrip is a short jeep-train ride from nearby Lodges. Check flights from your area to Caracas or other Venezuelan cities with connections to Ciudad Bolicar and Canaima. From this page, you can also browse hotels, rental cars, and special deals.
Water:
From Canaima, when the water is neither too high or too low, you can travel by motorized canoe, called curiara up the Carrao River, then the Churun river to an point where you can then hike through the jungle to the falls. The river portion takes about four hours, and you should allow an hour or more for the hike. Canoe access to Angel Falls is restricted to the rainy season, June to November.When to Go:
Any time of year. However, the falls depend on rainfall, so in dry season, between December and April, the falls are less spectacular. During the rest of the year, with greater rainfall, the falls are heavier, but clouds often obscure the top of the Auyantepui.
The climate of the great savanna plateau is temperate with a mean annual temperature of 24.5° C with the temperatures on tepui summits as low as 0° C during the night.
ark, Venezuela.
