Angel Falls (Salto Angel)
February 6, 2002
I did the Angel Falls tour in Venezuela and enjoyed it very much. We flew out to Canaima National Park in a Beachcraft 1900C (twin engine turboprop) with Sasca Airline. It was a two hour and 15 minute flight so I would guess it was about 600 miles out of Caracas. Canaima National Park is spread over 3 million hectares in south-eastern Venezuela along the border between Guyana and Brazil. Roughly 65% of the park is covered by table mountain (tepui) formations. The tepuis constitute a unique biogeological entity and are of great geological interest. The sheer cliffs and waterfalls, including the world's highest (1,000 m), form a spectacular landscape. Here is Angel Falls, Salto Angel, the highest uninterrupted waterfall in the world that is a 3 day hiking trip from the park HQ.
They put us in a bus to a building to change into bathing suits. Then we went by bus to Canaima Lagoon and boarded a long canoe type boat (cariaras) that held about 25 people (only 16 in our group plus a guide and two assistants) with an outboard motor and went across the lagoon to Anatoliy's Island. There were about 6 to 8 waterfalls we passed to get to a beach on the island.
Once they landed us on a beach at Anatoliy's Island, we started our hike with the guide in front and our two assistant guides behind. We climbed up and across a lava field to get to Little Goat Falls. Our group could look across the savannah on the other side of the Carrao River below to see Indian villages miles away where the natives live. We then continued our hike to Salto El Sapo (Frog Falls) where our guide took us on a trail that crossed under the waterfall. The rocks were covered with a vegetal carpet (similar to moss or marine grasses) that are able to hold with the water current but slippery to walk on. The waterfall was pounding on us from a height of about 60 feet.
After leaving Salto El Sapo, we hiked up and around a hill and down to a beach an a small lake. The water was very black from a high concentration of tannin. Around the edge of the lake, the water was a bright fire engine red. I left my T-shirt, sandals and watch under a palm tree and went for a swim. As my legs would float to the surface, they would appear to be bright red like the shallow water at the edge of the lake.
After our swim, we climbed back up the hill and did our hike back to the beach on Canaima Lagoon to take the cariaras (boat) back across to the bus. We went to a restaurant for a lunch of chicken, rice with a salad. Then, back aboard our bus to a gift shop and then to the airport for the flight back to Caracas. Just a short distance from the airport, our plane flew up a canyon and we got our view of Angel Falls. This is the highest free fall waterfall on earth at 3,212 feet. Our pilots made two passes so each side of the plane got to view Salto Angel twice.
We were the first tour to leave the m/s Zaandam (7:15 am) and the last to return at 5:25 pm just before our ship sailed for Trinidad. It was a busy day but very enjoyable.