Description:
We hike, mountain bike, and ride on horses through a variety of ecosystems, from cloud forest and waterfalls to the windswept paramo to sun-parched deserts where a curious salt lake.
Activites:
Cultural Exploration, Eco-Tours, Biking, Horseback Riding, Paragliding
Itinerary:
Day 1:
We pick you up at your hotel and take you to our office to meet the other members of the trip over a cup of coffee. Once we’ve packed up the jeep, we embark upon a tour boasting exposure to a large variety of ecosystems. Our first visit is to verdant cloud forest, where we’ll visit a rushing waterfall.
Our next stop is the picturesque Andean village of Jaji. After touring the village, we will mount mountain bikes to begin our decent down to a xerofitic ecosystem. On the way, we visit a small sugar cane mill to observe the production of "panela", and travel to the curious Salt Lake, Lagunilla, the only one of its kind in Venezuela.
Traveling to verdant coffee country, we visit the Coffee Museum and present day coffee farms. Afterwards, we take a winding switchback road with a breathtaking view, ascending from 460 m to 2,290 m. Finally, we’ll arrive to the remote Andean village of San Jose that seems to have been lost in time. This is a special place, "where no one else goes!" We spend the night at an idyllic Andean chalet with trout ponds. This lodge, run by the notoriously talented cook and conversationalist Martin, is of superb quality in food and accommodation.
Day 2:
We eat a tasty breakfast with Martin and then descend into the beautiful valley of Tostos on foot with mule support (One of the most enjoyable ways to walk in the Andes), enjoying the surroundings of eucalyptus trees and beautiful rivers. Here we will have direct contact with the villagers. Around us, farmers plow with oxen while villagers grind their corn by hand in order to make the typical "arepa" over a wood-fed fire. From Tostos we arrive to Acequias, a friendly mountain villages even more remote than San Jose. Here we’ll visit ruins of an Indian village that dates back to the times of Machu Picchu. The night will be spent at a small inn located in Acequias.
Day 3:
After a satisfying breakfast, we depart on foot for 8 km to El Morro, another mountain town. There you’ll take the most thrilling jeep ride you will ever experience in your lifetime, to Los Nevados, a village that lies behind Pico Bolivar at an altitude of 2,700 meters. This town, which seems like it was left a century behind, boasts one of the smallest Bolivar squares in Venezuela. Your visit to Los Nevados will be more cultural in nature, having constant direct contact with the locals in this town, sleeping in their homes, sharing meals with them, and even having a few beers in a small local cantina.
Day 4:
Starting the day with a typical Andean breakfast, we will be ready for a trek on mules over a peaceful, colorful mountain trail that leads to the cable car station. We will witness the change of scenery from a mountain cloud forest to the paramo region as we reach the Alto de la Cruz at 4200 m. From there we have a wonderful view of the impressive Bolivar Peak, the highest in Venezuela. Taking the cable car back to Merida, we’ll have a chance to rest our weary legs and relax, all the while taking in the panoramic views. We arrive at mid-day.
If you are looking for a little excitement we can take you paragliding! Your experienced pilot secures your harness, lays out the parachute behind you, and as you run towards the edge of a cliff your adrenaline begins to pump rapidly through your veins. Suddenly, a wind comes and lifts the chute-and your feet-off the ground. Suspended in the air over the canyon far below, you’ll spend an hour airborne. Peacefully floating, steering and twisting over the canyon walls and crevices, you’ll see the Rio Chama laying in the valley below, patch work sugarcane fields to one side, and rays of the setting sun warming your body. Gently, your pilot will bring you down to the ground, where you will have a story of a lifetime that you flew the Condors’ flight in the Venezuelan Andes.