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What to visit
· Resorts: San Salvador.
· Native communities: Waraos.
· Buildings: Yakariyene native house.
· Churches: Cathedral of the Divine Pastor. Church of San José of Tucupita.
· Islands: Cocuina. Manamito. Mariusa.
· Parks: Mariusa National Park.
· Walks: Malecón Mánamo.
· Squares: Bolívar. Los Fundadores.
· Rivers and Lakes: Consejo Lake. El Encanto Lake.
   

The second largest delta in the hemisphere, after that of the Amazon, the Orinoco Delta covers an area of approximately 25,000 km2. The river is 20 km long and subdivides into 40 main channels that flow toward the Atlantic Ocean.

The region is fascinating and its fauna and flora are unique.  With the exception of Tucupita, its most populated center, the area is covered entirely by jungle and water.  It has some 300 known rivers forming waterways that intertwine like a labyrinth.  The region is inhabited by the Warao Indians, Venezuela’s second largest native population group.

The Orinoco Delta, now known as Amacuro Delta State, is a land of waters, with a humid green landscape crisscrossed by multiple blue veins.  The relief does not rise higher than 600 meters above sea level and most of the land is subject to large fluctuations in water level due to the Orinoco River flow regime.

Amacuro Delta offers tourists a countless number of attractions that are possible only in this part of the world.  There is a good organized camp infrastructure that offers the necessary facilities to allow tourists to enter this still virgin land in comfort and without any problem.

Points on the Route
Tucupita
Tucupita is the capital of Amacuro Delta state.  It has a population of 80,000 inhabitants and is the region’s commercial center.  The small town grew up around a Capuchin mission established on the Mánamo River in the 1920s.  The dock on the Mánamo 20 km. upstream from Tucupita is the only land link with the west.  The town is a good place for organizing a visit to the delta and has several hotels and restaurants.  Bus routes link up Tucupita with the most important towns and some cities and there is also a private landing field.

The Warao Indians
The Warao Indians, or 'Canoe People' are native to the delta.  With a population of 24,000 inhabitants, the Warao are Venezuela’s second largest native population.  The family groups live in palafitos (wooden houses resting on stilts in the water) on the riverbanks and spend a large part of their time in canoes fishing in the nearby rivers and hunting in the jungle.  They are skilled craftsmen and because of their growing contact with tourists have begun to carve figures from balsa wood and to make necklaces, baskets and hammocks from the branches and seeds of the ever-present moriche palm.

Fauna
The animal life in the delta is extremely varied and abundant.  Jaguars, pumas, ocelots, capuchin and howling monkeys, capybaras, agoutis, otters, manatees and dolphins are only a few of the numerous species of mammals that can be seen in their natural habitat.  Among the huge population of birds are macaws, parakeets, toucans, tropical orioles, cormorants, herons, hawks, eagles and multihued hummingbirds.  There are also a large number of amphibians, reptiles and fish, including anacondas, boas, vipers, coral snakes, iguanas, caymans, turtles, pirañas, manta rays and catfish.

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