Amazonas, jungle and beaches

Meet at Caracas airport where you will be welcomed. You'll spend the rest of the day and night in this amazing city.

At noon you'll catch the flight from Caracas to Puerto Ayacucho. You will be transferred to the shore of the Orinoco River, where you'll enjoy a walk to a nearby viewpoint which offers you a wonderful view over the river.

Today you will visit the fish market, where you can observe the every day activities of the Indigenas. Afterwards you will visit the interesting ethnological Museum at Puerto Ayacucho, which provides a very good overview about the different Indian tribes, their history, life-style and their development until today. Then you will have a walk through the Indian market where you can buy arts and crafts. On your way back, you will pass two immense black granite copulas. From a certain point of view both copulas appear like head and body of a tortoise, therefore, they are called "Piedra de la tortuga". In the afternoon, you will visit a Piaroa village, to learn about native agriculture and various local plants. During the walk through the jungle you might even see the famous “24-hour ant”, whose bite hurts for 24 hrs. The Indians produce a very sharp sauce of the head of the "Bachaco Culón" ant.

Boat trip on the Orinoco. Starting from the camp, you will go on a boat trip down the Orinoco River to explore little streams with abundant vegetation. With a little luck, you might see fresh water dolphins and otters. There is time to swim and sunbathe on the beautiful beaches, which are formed during dry season.

After breakfast you will be brought to Puerto Ayacucho from where you will take a public bus to Maripa. From Maripa a private transfer will drive south along a red dirt trail, through a dense jungle to Las Trincheras.

Boat trip upstream to unspoiled jungle areas. You will visit a Yekwana Makiritare Indian village to learn about their customs and traditions, such as the production of casabe, Indian manioc bread, the production of natural pigments for baskets and their basket weaving techniques, as well as, the manufacture of other arts and crafts. You will also visit a field, where the Indians cultivate diverse fruits and vegetables. You will continue your boat trip, passing through several small rapids, until arriving at the starting point for the hike up to Cerro Cangrejo. You will hike uphill through the jungle for approximately two hours, observing a large variety of plants, such as, orchids, bromeliads, chinin trees and vanilla plants. Finally, you will arrive at an enormous rock, from where you'll have a fantastic panoramic view of the dark-green, unspoiled jungle. 

You will navigate two hours downstream towards the Orinoco River. On the way, you will visit a Guahibo Indian village, whose inhabitants migrated from the Amazon area. You will continue your boat trip and bend into Caño Mato, the second largest tributary of the Caura River, a haven for birds, manatees and river dolphins which, with luck, can be observed.

You will go on a 15 minute boat ride to a several lagoons, located in the flooded areas of the Caura, to watch the alligators basking on the banks of the lagoons and marvel at the rich bird life of the area; parrots, grey and white herons and cormorants are a few of the species you will see during this excursion. During the dry season (November - May) a short walk in the jungle is included, to observe the varied flora of the tropical rainforest. The jungle walk will not be possible during the rainy season; the tour is therefore carried out entirely by boat. In the afternoon leisure time. 

After breakfast you will drive back to the paved road for aproximately three hours towards Ciudad Bolívar. In the afternoon you have time to explore this contemplative small town on the Orinoco River with his very well preserved colonial city centre.

After breakfast, you will drive northwards to the Tacarigua de la Laguna National Park. Boat trip over the lagoon.

Leisure time at the beach. You can either relax and swim or also go on optional excursions (not included) to observe the birds of the National Park like the red ibis.

After breakfast a boat trip over the lagoon will bring you back to the fishing place and from there you will take your transfer to Caracas.