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Humboldt
Museum, La Paila
Recreational Area, El
Chorrerón, Las
Puertas de Miraflores,
and The Cave.
Vegetation:
Copei, Laurel, Guayabito,
Paneco, Platanillo, El Manzanito de
Montaña, Coco
de Mono, Bucare, Matapalo
Fauna:
Oilbirds, paují de
copete, guacharaca
and pava uguira.
Mammals: araguato and
capuchin monkeys; matacán
and caramerudo
deer, paca, peccary, guache
foxes and perro de
agua.
Rivers:
Carinicuao and
Guarapiche (Caribbean
Basin), Caripe and
Cerro Negro (Gulf of
Paria).
Altitudes:
From 900 to 2,340
m.a.s.l.
Activities:
Hiking, camping (The
Guácharo Cave
Recreational Area),
visit to the museum.
Recommendations:
- Enter the
cave only if
accompanied by an
Inparques guide.
- Avoid the use of
flashlights. Use only
the gas lamps the
guides carry.
Items to bring with
you: lightweight
clothing, blue jeans,
rubber-soled shoes or
boots.
For further
information or to
obtain the appropriate
permit, get in touch
with the Monagas
Regional Bureau -
Amacuro Delta.
Carretera Sur, Andrés
Eloy Blanco Park,
Maturín, Monagas
Building, Tel. :
0291-641.75.43.
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The
Guácharo cave is the country’s largest
natural cavern, covering an area of 15,500
hectares. It was the first Natural Monument to
be decreed in Venezuela in 1947 under the name
of German scientist Alexander Von Humboldt,
who explored the cave in 1799 for scientific
reasons and who in 1816 reported the most
significant of the 1,500 caves inventoried in
the country.
Later, in 1975, it was decreed a Natural Park
when the protected area was enlarged in order
to preserve its ecosystem, thereby
guaranteeing the cavern’s biological
processes.
This fantastic 10.2 kilometer-long natural
monument is considered to be one of the
continent’s most interesting cave
formations. All day long, visitors are offered
a tour of unique beauty through the strange
formations on the cave walls, punctuated by
the cawing of the “Guácharos,” or
oilbirds that give the cave its name.
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Access |
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Guácharo
Cave straddles Monagas and Sucre states, 4 Km.
from the town of Caripe.
It is reachable by land over either the
Caracas-Barcelona-Maturín-Caripe or
Cumaná-Caripe routes.
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Tourist attractions |
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 The
Guácharos or Oilbirds
The departure from the cave of flocks of
Guácharos (Steatornis caripensis) is one of
the most important shows to be observed at
this cave during the afternoon. These birds
that live in the dark fly out at twilight in
search of food, such as fruits and the seeds
of some species of Palm and other trees.
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 Guácharo
Cave
Most tourists who pass through the cave’s
23-meter high by 28-meter wide entryway dare
to walk only the first 1,500 meters, passing
through the Humboldt Room and the Gallery of
Silence (containing formations baptized by the
names of “el Cardón,” or the Thistle, the
Virgen of Carmen, the Guardian Angel, and the
Crashing Gannet) until they reach the Sublime
Room, where they can gaze upon the stalactites
and stalagmites formed over the centuries by
the continuing action of water on rock.
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 La
Paila, or Frying Pan, Falls
This sparse waterfall is an ideal place to
take a walk.
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 Caripe
This village, whose name means Squirrel River,
has become Monagas State’s best tourist
center. Located in a small mountain valley at
870 meters above sea level, it has a cool
climate and is known as the Oriental Garden
because of the fertility of the land.
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