Whitewater Rafting in Barinas

Whitewater Rafting in Barinas State: The Merida-based adventure tour company Arassari Trek took me on a bumpy, adrenaline-pumping ride down a Grade III stretch of foaming rapids on the Rio Acequias in October as part of the FitVen2013 International Tourism Fair.

It was my first time rafting in Barinas and for a relatively short ride of some 90 minutes it lived up to all the hype I've heard about the rivers here.

I was travelling with a group of international journalists and it was interesting to hear an Ecuadorian travel writer from Baños rave about how pristine the forest was around the river and how clean the water was compared to rafting sites in Ecuador.  

The water in the Acequias was cold at first, but that's not surprising, considering that it's source is one of the glaciers on Pico Bolivar, the highest mountain in Venezuela.  

All in all, rafting with Arassari was a great experience and the barbecued beef we had for lunch was so tender a Uruguayan journalist called for a round of applause for the chef. 

Animal Planet: Giant Anacondas in Venezuela

Local Venezuelan guide Juan Carlos Ramirez of Akanan Adventure and Travel recently took scientist-explorer Niall McCann on a hunt for giant anacondas in Los Llanos and the Rio Caura for the programme "Biggest and Baddest" on Animal Planet.

The pair started their search in Hato Cedral, a working cattle ranch in Los Llanos that is one of the best places in Venezuela to see birds and wildlife.

Apart from hundreds of species of raptors and wading birds, Hato Cedral is blessed with rivers full of cayman alligators, red-bellied piranhas, and herds of large, toothy rodents called chiguires (capybara).

It is also a place where you can guarantee an up-close-and-personal experience with an anaconda.

I once had to walk in front of the car and drag the anacondas off the road as we made our way out of the hato to the main road.

But those were small anacondas, no more than 2 metres in length. Nothing like the 5-metre beasts that have been found here.

Juan Carlos and Niall had even more success in the Rio Caura, a tributary of the Orinoco River and one of the most pristine jungle river systems in Venezuela. There, they traveled up to the mighty Para Falls, which separates the Upper Caura, heartland of the Yekwana indigenous people, from the Lower Caura.

Finally, they found their monster, a 5 metre 50 cm long anaconda, with a girth of 64 cm, although it's a baby according to the local Yekuana and Sanema (an indigenous group from the same family as the Yanomami).

For more information about anaconda watching in Los Llanos and the Rio Caura, contact Juan Carlos Ramirez at Akanan Travel and Adventure.

Further reading:
An Account of my Visit to the Yekwana Village of Nichare for a Big Fiesta That Included Copious Amounts of Yuca Beer

Some photos of my trip to Para Falls on the Rio Caura

Bradt Guide to Venezuela goes to Roraima

Thanks to Dharmender Singh Tathgur the Bradt Guide to Venezuela is on the move. This is a shot of the book in front of the imposing tepui Roraima taken from the stoney banks of the Rio Kukenan.

Dharmender's next stop is the highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls - or Kerepakupai-Meru in the language of the local Pemon people. Let's hope he gets some shots to rival the spectacular cover photo of the falls.

This photo shows the Bradt Guide to Venezuela in the Pemon village of Paraitepuy, the starting and finishing point for treks to the top of Roraima. Keep sending the photos. It's so great to see the book being used to get people safely round Venezuela.

On the Rio Caura to Para Falls - Trip Photos

The Yekuana village of Nichare seen from the river

Blessed with acidic, tannin-rich water that keeps mosquitoes to a minimum the Caura River is an eco-tourist's dream, with enough wildlife on display to keep budding David Attenboroughs glued to their handycams - and birders in raptures.

Throw in the indigenous villages of Yekuana and Sanema Indians and the largest untouched rainforest in Venezuela and you soon realize you're navigating through National Geographic country.


The tarantula that came to visit in the night

Judging from the numbers of visitors, very few people know about it. So it was a real revelation when I travelled from Las Trincheras to Para Falls, stopping at the indigenous village of Nichare to meet the Yekuana.


The sandy beach of El Playon at the base of Para Falls

Most tours start from Ciudad Bolivar and head by road to Las Trincheras where you transfer to a dugout canoe with an outboard motor for the two day trip upriver to El Playon, the base for a trek to the top of the Para Falls.


Yekuana kids selling baskets and beads at El Playon

The first night is usually in a jungle camp in hammocks, although some operators have more luxurious accomodation. On my trip we spent the second night in hammocks in the Yekuana indian village of Nichare and the third night in El Playon.

Trip Report: A fiesta on the Caura River: Yekuana, Yarake and Yellow Clay