Venezuela and Angel Falls with kids

Hi Ripan, I just came back from Venezuela and we visited Canaima and Merida!
The hike to reach the base of the falls can take between 1 to 2 hours, it depends on your speed. We saw several kids overthere including a 1 year old baby who was carried by his mom (no a very smart decision, because there are a lot of places where you want to have both hands available to go). If your kids are used to climb rocks they are good to go. It is not an easy trek, it is going thru the jungle in the base of a montain, but with the proper preparation it should not be very hard.

Most of the trips from Ciudad Bolivar/Puerto Ordaz are during the morning. Whoever you book your trip with they will give you the schedule and you can tell them what time you would like to go.

Canaima, that is part of an indigenous community has its school... I guess you can plan a visit there.
There are not direct flights between Puerto Ordaz (or Ciudad Bolivar) and Merida. You have to fly to Caracas to make the connection. Booking in advance is a great idea.

I hope this information helps you. We had a great time!!! I can not wait to plan our next trip overthere!

Thank you Nancy,

Could you describe the tour to Angel Falls a little bit more? I'm intrested in how much walking and how much time in boat each day. Do you sleep at the same place both nights on an three day tour?

/Jonas

Sure. First we used the company Excursiones Kavac http://www.excursioneskavac.com/) for the tour and traveled with Trasmandu from Puerto Ordaz.

We arrived to Canaima at noon in a 6 seats Cessna. At the Canaima ‘airport’ the staff greeted us and took us to the main camp. There we got the instructions to change our clothes for something more suitable for the boat trip and to keep handy 4 things: the camera, the mosquito repellent, sun block lotion and a poncho. We packed a change of clothes and left everything else in their offices. Then we were provided with a light lunch (sandwich and soda) and then took the boat to the base of the Angel Falls. The trip lasted around 3 hours, with 1/2 hour walk in the sabana (easy walk). The views on the trip are amazing, but I will recommend taking some cushion with you (a towel in a plastic bag should be enough). There are a lot of rapids to go thru that could be kind of scary, but these guys are experts! (We always had the lifejackets on). We arrived to our base camp when was already dark, but we were able to see the Angel Falls with the moonlight... amazing!!! We got dinner and we picked a hammock each one (my husband is 6 4"... it was better for him to stretch in two hammocks).

Early in the morning we got breakfast and back to the boat for a very quick ride to the beginning of the trek. The first half is not very difficult, just a few small creeks. The second half it is more challenging. A lot of steps full with big trees roots and rocks.

The hike has a lot of these:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kodiak-jack/369381818/
http://www.romanvirdi.com/venezuela/2_2958.jpg

About how much to hike, the guide told us that some people do it in 1 hour, but our group took almost 2 hours.

Look at this photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22215144@N06/2141028850/ . You can see the distance from the river on the left to the Angel Falls. We did not make it to the base but to a spot where you can see it and take amazing photos.

The way back is easier than going up and it felt it lasted less than going up (of course!).

We had lunch with at the camp and made our way back to Canaima. We got out of the boat earlier than everybody because we wanted to go to Salto El Sapo and Laguna Canaima (we had an early flight the next day). The rest of the group did that trip next day. A nice dinner was waiting for us and we slept the last night in very comfortable beds.

Tips:

For the boat trip take clothes that dry quickly and sandals/flip-flops... you can get very wet especially if you seat at the back of the boat. On the front you can feel all the bumps... It is your choice!

Take your own water for the hike.

Take your own snacks. And if you want to drink alcohol, better buy it before arriving to Canaima, because the price goes really high there!
I’m not in shape, either I trained for the hike, but I was able to make it to enjoy the close view.

Take a good poncho and a flashlight.

When I did the walk to the Falls, the guide kept saying "just ½ hour" - yeah right, Venezuelan time :-)

In the end, the hike took us 2 hours or 2½. I was in BAD shape but managed without problems. Anyhow, I guess your kids are used to some walking, I could not do the trip with my 11 year old because he would be complaining constantly.

I'd also say, bring a Poncho for the boatride - we got soaked due to rain - and speed / dawn cooled us down quite a lot (freezing).

Have a nice trip

Nancy,
Brilliant photograph showing the hike from the river to the viewpoint at the base of the falls ! I took the photograph last year from the flyover the day after the hike as I wanted to ''see'' where we had been walking for a couple of hours. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and would recommend it to anyone.
For the canoe trip I would suggest carrying a couple of black rubbish bags. Cut out three holes at the blank end. One for your head and the other two for arms. Keeps you dry from knees to neck from the water spray. And don't forget your 'soap on a rope', great for washing in fast flowing rivers ! Something for your ar*e whilst sitting in the canoe would also be very useful, comfort-wise that is.

For an indigenous school have a look around Pedernales in the Delta area, ask for Gina. She's one of the Teachers.

Edited by: jonh56

hi john,

i did a search for "pedernales", as i am interested in making a trip from, guiria to pedernales, and then onto tucupita. since you are one of the few people who has ever mentioned pedernales on this forum, i thought maybe you could shed some light on a couple of questions.

1. is there regular boat service from pedernales to tucupita, and approximately how much does that cost?
2. is there any sort of lodging in pedernales?

i am intrigued that there is so little information available about this area. sounds great!

thanks in advance
andrew