Canaima & Angel Falls: Getting there & around

To get to Canaima, there are daily Avior flights directly from Ciudad Bolívar, and from Caracas twice a week during the May to September high season. Various small airlines, including LTA and Rutaca, go to/from Porlamar. Serami runs flights from Puerto Ordaz, and Rutaca has daily flights between Canaima and Santa Elena de Uairén.

The cheapest way to get to Angel Falls is to take a flight from Ciudad Bolívar or, better still, a three-day package that includes a boat trip to the falls instead of a flight over it.

Getting around Parque Nacional Canaima usually means visiting Angel Falls. Going by plane is certainly a fun way to get there, but a boat trip can be a real adventure. Motorized canoes depart from Ucaima, above the Canaima falls, journey up the Carrao and Churún Rivers to Isla Ratoncito, at the foot of Angel Falls. From there, an hour's walk takes you uphill to Mirador Laime, the outcrop in front of the falls. Boats operate when the water level is sufficiently high, usually nine to 10 months of the year, with occasional breaks between January and April. Tours are normally two- or three-day packages, with nights spent snoozing in hammocks in rustic campamentos .