Venezuela - Travel Tips and Advice for the Roraima trek and Angel Falls

I did both Roraima and Angel Falls with Hike Venezuela, costing a total of $660. I've included the itinerary at the bottom of this post.

When taking overnight buses, make sure you bring a fleece and sleeping bag. The air conditioning on long distance buses is very powerful and it gets really cold. Keep all your valuables with you.

Also bring enough food and water, the bus does not stop for dinner or snacks. There is a toilet on board but it's quite disgusting. The lights go out pretty much as soon as you set off, and the reading lights don't work, so there's not a lot to do for 12 hours.

Not far into the trail you will be attacked by puri-puri, small flies that bite and leave a red round mark / dot. They are much itchier than mosquitoes and they are not afraid of DEET! I had another bug repellent (Care Plus from Decathlon, active ingredient Citriodiaol 19.2%) which did work. Having a head net also helped (but I got lots of funny looks from other people).

Pack warm and waterproof gear (jacket, gloves, hat, poncho). The weather changes more regularly and abruptly the closer you get to Roraima. Temperatures drop as well as you go higher up, especially when the sun is gone. The persistent mist/fog at the top also makes it feel colder. You'll also have to walk under a waterfall on summit day, so bring a poncho (I had an umbrella but that meant I couldn't use one hand, which could have been disastrous on a slippery climb). Have a rain cover for your rucksacks.

Bring a couple of pairs of spare socks. You'll need to cross two rivers and the rocks are very slippery, but having socks on helps.

Your agent will tell you this before you set off - put an extra plastic bag liner inside your rucksack, in case the rucksack falls into the water from the river crossing. If you have dry bags that's even better.

There was no electricity at all for 6 days so bring extra batteries for your phones and cameras. It gets pitch dark by 6pm (in November) so we just went to bed after dinner. The upside was I woke up naturally quite early everyday, around 5am, which was perfect for seeing sunrises.

You can wash (yourself and your clothes) almost everyday, in River Tök, at the base camp and also at the top if using natural organic biodegradable products. Be warned, the water is cold though.

Always pee away from water sources. For no.2, your porters will dig a hole in the ground at the camp sites below the mountain. At the top you should be using a plastic bag provided by the porters, who will also give you white powder to line the bag (I couldn't work out what the powder did but I didn't spend too long investigating either). Tie the bags up and the porters are supposed to take them down the tepui to be disposed of. Never leave your waste in at the top or in the open, and insist on your porters follow the rules (sadly I saw lots of human waste left behind).

There are lots of quartz crystals at the top. They are beautiful but don't take any away. Sadly lots of people do this. Not only is it illegal it is also immoral.


When trekking especially coming down try not to use trees for support too much - quite a few young ones are already loose and on the verge of being pulled out by tourists holding onto them for balance or support. It's bad for the trees' health but also dangerous for the trekker.

If you see any litter on your way up, mark them outso you can pick them up on your way down.

Itinerary

Day 1
Arrive in Caracas and overnight hotel - US$35pp

Day 2
Internal flight to Puerto Ordaz (8am) - US$25
Transfer to Cuidad Bolivar (9.30am, 60 minutes) - US$15
Night bus to Santa Elena (5pm, 12-16 hours) - US$10

Day 3
Arrive in Santa Elena (7-10am), overnight in posada - US$10
 
Day 4-9 
Roraima Trek 6D/5N (5 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 5 dinners) - US$245
 
Day 9
Afternoon back from trek (3-4pm)
Nightbus to Puerto Ordaz (5-6pm, 12-16hours) - US$10

Day 10
Arrive in Puerto Ordaz (7-8am), overnight in Posada - US$10

Day 11-13 
Angel Falls 3D/2N - US$245

Day 13
Flight back to Puerto Ordaz (9-10am)
Flight to Caracas (5pm, 1 hour) - US$20
Overnight hotel - US$35

Day 14

Transfer to international airport

Venezuela - Roraima Trek - Days 5 and 6

Day 5

This was the toughest day of all. I've always enjoyed the ascent much more than the descent; I find the latter much harder work to keep stable, and more fatal if I took one wrong step. The only two blisters that I got from the entire trek also came from the descent. Ah well, tough shit.

The route down was identical but in reverse as the route up, except it was quicker so we did the equivalent of Days 1 and 2 all on Day 5, camping at Tök. The water at Rio Kukenán wasn't as high as before, so we were all able to walk across the boulders, with Marisol's help. No need to swim and no rope (and splinters) this time!

Marisol told us at dinner that one of the people who had been on the way up earlier in the day had slipped when they passed under the waterfalls, and was likely to need helicopter rescue the next morning due to a potentially serious head injury. We were all thankful that we only came away with insect bites and blisters.

According to Marisol three tourists have died on Roraima in the past - two of heart attacks, and one under unknown circumstances. Apparently the guy had commented "this isn't a bad place to die". He then insisted on staying an extra day at the top, while the rest of the group went down (after signing a disclaimer for his own safety etc). On the way down the guide had a bad feeling, so he sent a porter and the man's nephew back up, only to find him dead for no apparent reason. I was glad that Marisol left these chilling stories til after we left.

The last day

It was sad to leave Roraima. I looked back several times as we approached the gateway to the ramp, part of me wished we had more time to explore at the top, but I was also happy that we made the most of the time we had. I felt extremely grateful to have made it. And I realised that every step I took was not only of my own effort, but also the effort and help of the stones and rocks and branches and trees that supported me, stopped me from tripping or slipping, and helped me reach the top. I used to think about 'conquering' mountains, but now I realise how small I was. Even a small stone along the path has been there for millennia before me, and will be there for millennia after me. It has seen everything, and I was only a fraction of a nano-second by comparison.

Roraima was an incredibly humbling experience. She was hard work but beautiful, tiring but humbling. She was incredible in every detail. She was magnificent.

On the drive back to Santa Elena we stopped briefly at the Jasper Creek - the red colour of the riverbed is due to the colour of the mineral rock. It was very pretty :)

One last bit of drama, though it wasn't us this time. Another of the 4x4's had broken down so our driver stopped to help. We ended up towing them all the way back to Santa Elena for an hour on a loose rope. It was a good thing that their brakes were still working...

Venezuela - Roraima Trek - Days 3 and 4

I got up at 5.15 to watch sunrise at the base camp. As the sun rose above the horizon, it lit up the walls of Roraima and Kukenán from crimson red to a brilliant golden orange. It was incredible scenery, particularly as clouds moved through the valley between the two tepuis. Wished you were here - you would have loved it too :)


The trek today was hard. As soon as we left the camp we were already hitting almost vertical climbs and had to scramble our way up. The route to the top was simple - get to the wall of the cliff then follow a steep "ramp" along the side of the wall all the way up. For the first two hours we were forever trying to get closer to the wall; we were always so close yet so far away. Brice had already disappeared ahead after 5 minutes; I was mainly walking with José, Maria and Norman, with Flavio, Daniel and Marisol behind.

The steepness gave us plenty of opportunities to take short breaks and look at the flora and fauna, with explanations from Norman, our resident biologist who came on this trip to document plant species.

Then after two hours of hard climbing we finally got to the wall. It stood as tall as ever and we felt no closer to the top than we had been two hours before. We continued nonetheless. Along the ramp there were two 'viewing platforms' where we had a panoramic view of the valleys below us - it was incredible. The base camp looked so small now.

Marisol instructed us to wait for her at the second viewing platform, which we did (I didn't want to defy her again after the river crossing). From there we could trace the route all the way to the top now, which involved walking under two waterfalls. Although the reality was having heavy rainfall for about 3 minutes, it was quite cool and fun. Whilst everyone had their ponchos, I had to use my umbrella and was told later that I was being English :)

From the start of the ramp to the top took another 3 hours - mostly consisting of almost vertical climbing. After the waterfalls we split up again. I was slightly faster so I followed a porter up, while Marisol and Daniel stayed back with Flavio, who had a knee injury from a cycling competition before the trek.

The sun was replaced by mist by the time I got to the top. It looked like a completely different world. The landscape was formed by black volcanic rocks of different shapes and sizes, with patches of plants growing on softer swampier ground. There was no trail anymore so I had to follow the porter closely to avoid getting lost.
We camped at Hotel Principal under the cover of a giant rock formation, which was incredibly fortunate as it rained quite heavily after lunch in the afternoon (lots of groups had to camp out in the open). It was already 4pm when the rain finally subsided, so we decided to go up to the summit which was just opposite our campsite. Despite the persistent clouds we were treated to a great view of the valleys below. 

As we started to make our way down, I suddenly felt really fortunate and grateful to be where I was. And it was only possible because of my parents and my family. But I've never thanked them. I've never thanked them for bringing me up, for sending me to school and uni, for the hard long cold hours they had to endure at the Chinese takeaway, for giving me the opportunities to go on my travels and everything else that they've done. I've never thanked my sisters either for their support of my endeavours.

I felt guilty and emotional. I promised that I would thank them when I got back down the mountain. I missed them.


Day 4

At 4am I got up to use the toilet, and saw a beautiful full moon when I came out of the tent, so I decided to stay out to take photos. By 5am the sky was changing from dark blue to light blue with a tinge of red. Then I saw the most incredible sunrise with reflections from the tepui ponds.

Marisol took us for a wall to the Kukenán Window before breakfast - cliff and vertical drop with other tepui across and clouds below. The view was out of this world. Unbelievable. Gobsmacking. Magnificent. No words nor even photos could do it justice. You HAVE TO see it for yourself.

After breakfast we went out again, but the weather changed quickly from glorious sunshine to mist/cloud rising up from the cliffs to heavy fog to heavy rainfall. All in the space of 5 minutes. I quite liked the mist and rain - the eerie and mysterious atmosphere added to the deserted alien landscape.

Through the rain and mist Marisol took us to see quartz crystals (apparently lots of these have been taken by tourists in the past), some interesting rock formations (at one point I was sure I was in a Star Wars film set), and plants indigenous to Roraima along the way. We ended at a (relatively small) waterfall not too far from the Kukenán Window, where a few of us took a shower under the freezing cold water but man how exhilarating and refreshing! The water fell hard and cold on my head but it felt so good - if only there was also a hot pool or sauna to jump into! Flavio had a waterproof case for his iPhone and managed to take a photo of the four of us :)


On the walk back we passed another cliff face but it was not quite as spectacular as our earlier visit because of the mist. Before heading back for lunch we had a stop at the 'jacuzzis' - pools of cold water where visitors use to bathe in (or bomb-dive into). I didn't want to get wet again but the others had a great time.


By the time we finished lunch it was past 3pm and the weather had turned for the worse. The incessant rain kept us in the camp for the rest of the day. It was quite nice to have some time to rest and bond with others. As darkness fell the rain and dampness gave the camp an eerie atmosphere, complemented by my albatross soup mystery (which spooked myself out more than it did the others) and Flavio's paraffin lighters that served as our 'camp fires'. The rain was still going when we went to bed at 9.

Venezuela - Roraima Trek - Days 1 and 2

Day 1

After being told we would leave between 8.30-9.00, we finally set off at 9.30 in a couple of 4x4s, driving from Santa Elena for about an hour and a half to Paraitepui, the starting point of the trek. 

Our guide and porters getting all the equipment and food ready

After unloading everything, signing our lives away with the park warden and having a light lunch, we finally set off at 12.30. There were 7 of us in the group:

• Brice - French guy living and working in the UK
• Maria - Russian girl travelling around South America and then Asia
• Normunds - Latvian expert in plants and biology, doesn't like group travel but loved our group
• José - my tent buddy, a massive fan of fast cars and also going to Angel Falls afterwards
• Daniel - from Brazil, always positive, happy and brought lots of smiles to the group
• Flavio - Daniel's brother, super active and competed in a cycling competition just before the trek

Plus Marisol, our guide, 3 porters who stayed with us til the end, and a few day-porters for the first day.

The walk to the Tök campsite where we stayed the night was fairly flat and straightforward, consisting mostly of open savannas. You could see some of the grass has been burnt down, leaving specks of black ash dotted around. The sun was shining, and the scenery was beautiful. Already we could see Roraima and Kukenán to her left staring straight at us.

Mount Kukenán (left) and Mount Roraima (right)

We arrived at the campsite at 4, which gave us about an hour to fill our water bottles from the river (upstream), bathe/swim/wash our clothes downstream, and prepare our tent for the night. We had been warned by other trekkers about the puri-puri (blood flies), but I didn't realise how bad they were until we got to the camp. They were everywhere and were completely immune to my DEET-50 repellent!

The campsite had no electricity so once it got dark activities were limited to dinner (some excellent spagbol, though not enough), some night time photography and sleep. The moon was almost full, so it was too bright for stars, but it did light up Roraima which was an incredible view and much different from daytime.

Day 2

Marisol told us that to make the summit on day 2 would require us reaching the base camp by noon. This would give us more time on top of Roraima to explore so I was keen, though for some reason we were waiting around a lot after breakfast so when we were all finally ready to leave I was up front with Brice - he was the only smoker but also the fastest walker in the group. We had two rivers to cross and were specifically told to wear socks when crossing to avoid slipping. The first, Rio Tök, was only ankle deep. When Brice and I came up to the second river - Rio Kukenán - it was much wider and deeper. There were two sides on the opposite bank, separated by the rubber running down from the tepui. We found a rope that linked the left hand side of the opposite bank and us, and decided to cross even though the others (guide included) hadn't arrived yet. Everything made sense - the socks, the plastic bags lining the inside of our backpacks, the warning about water reaching chest height.

Rio Kukenán (Photo credit: José)

The green rope, taken on the return journey. On our way the water was so high that the middle of the rope was touching the water (Photo credit: Flavio)

Brice went first and I held the rope taut for him from my side. Halfway across I could see the water was up to waist deep. I already had everything in my plastic lined backpack or dry bag, except for my shoes that were hanging off my rucksack, so I wasn't particularly fazed. 

Then it was my turn.

I held on to the rope with both hands and started making my way over slowly. The water was cold, and got deeper with every step I took. It was hard to find my footing - the rocks were uneven and slippery, the water was flowing relatively fast and I couldn't see the bottom to see where to take my next step. I had to rely on my other senses, feeling for the next possible step. When I was almost halfway over the water was now at chest height, and it occurred to me how stupid it was to try and cross like that, but there was no way to back off now.

In the middle of the crossing was a big boulder, which I thought would be useful to leverage off but it turned out more problematic - it was at am angle and all I could do was to wedge my foot between the boulder and another rock - it was a recipe for twisting or breaking my ankle with one wrong step or even loss of balance! Eventually I found my footing and marched on (only metaphorically). But it was only another two steps before I lost balance and fell backwards. I held on to the rope for my dear life but my while body including my backpack both submerged in the water. I think I even heard a couple of ooo's from the other trekkers further downstream. I recovered quickly, fearing the water getting into my backpack and camera, and managed to land on the other side without further problems.

But the worst wasn't over yet.

Just as I stepped onto dry land, Brice and I heard Marisol shouting at us, signalling for us to turn back. When I looked over everyone else had already changed into their swimming costumes. Marisol waved us back again and even got her whistle out. There was no two ways about it. We had to go back the way we came.

Being the closest to the rope I went first this time, though I noticed Brice isn't holding it quite as taut as before. I decided to also use my trekking pole to balance this time, which worked out much better than the first time. Again the middle of the river was a challenge but I managed to make it back without issues this time.

Obviously we got told off when we rejoined the group. Marisol did not look impressed at all. Everyone was getting ready to swim over and I almost did too but decided swimming was a bad idea in a strong current and freezing cold water. I took the raft option instead (think I was the only one who didn't swim!) Probably a little cowardly, but I know my limits!

Photo credit: José

Once the adrenaline died down I noticed both my hands had LOTS of splinters from the rope, which was really annoying and were really difficult to remove. 

The rest of the day was fine without further drama. Roraima became bigger and bigger in the foreground as we appraoched base camp, sometimes in full view, sometimes hiding behind mist and clouds. We could see waterfalls flowing from the top of both tepuis from the distance too.

A look back at the way we came

We made it to the base camp at around 2.30, and would have to wait until the following day to summit, which was just as well - it gave us enough time to bathe (in the freezing cold river), wash out clothes and watch another incredible sunset, with Roraima standing tall and resolute behind us. As the sun started to fall towards the horizon, it painted the cliff faces of Roraima a golden yellow. We all stood to admire its beauty and magnificence; not even 1,000 photos would do it justice.

Darkness fell quite quickly again. This night we were treated with a moon rise over one of the cliff faces. Soon after dinner it started to rain, which was then accompanied by thunder and lightning in the distant background of the Kukenán tepui. Suddenly the camp acquired a spooky atmosphere, particularly when I was back in the tent and all I could hear was raindrops hitting the tent and the distant thunder. It reminded me of the spooky stories Marisol was telling us earlier. One was about how a man who had shouted "I want to be like you Roraima" when he was bathing at the base camp, then became sick and untreatable when he got home. Apparently his comment attracted the attention of the mountain so his life was being taken away. They needed a shaman to fix him.

It was definitely time for bed.

Cuba - Viñales - Part 2 - Adiós Cuba

I made sure I made the most of my last day in Cuba. In the morning I went to visit Gran Caverna de Santo Thomas, the biggest cave system in Cuba and the second biggest in the Americas. It was organised through Paradiso ($21 including transfer, 9am-12pm). The best bit was probably the drive which lasted 30 minutes each way. The cave excursion itself was quite underwhelming and disappointing. The helmets we were given reeked of stale cheesy sweat from the hundreds of tourists before us, it almost made me sick but soon I added my share of sweat to it when we spent a good 15 minutes (out of 90 allotted minutes) climbing up to the entrance of the cave and another 15 back down at the end. The time inside the cave was short and we never went that deep into it - even though we had head torches we could see sunlight coming from somewhere throughout most of it. Again like the hiking tours there was a lot of stopping, waiting around for everyone and explanations about nothing particularly enlightening. I've seen way better stalactites and stalagmites and been inside easy cooler caves before (Cheddar Gorge being one). All in all it was disappointing and I wouldn't recommend anyone waste $21 on it. The view outside the cave was great though.









Three things I felt I had to do in Cuba but still hadn't done yet by the final afternoon: buy rum, buy cigars and go salsa dancing. The first two were easy to tick off - there was an official shop that sells both in the centre of town. I found out from my French roommate (guy from the sunset tour the day before who wasn't sharing with anyone and I got kicked out of my casa) was going to a salsa lesson so I was going to tag along. When I enquired about it at Paradiso they said the beginners class was 6-8pm, so I decided to rent a bike to kill a few hours.

Riding out to see the villages and valleys by yourself was fantastic and really enjoyable but hard work. I loved it and even overran timing a little. By the time I got back it was already 5.50 and I decayed whether to go home to change into a new t shirt first before salsa so as to not stink my partner out. It was the right decision to get changed - only when I looked in the mirror I realised I had loads of dead flies drowned on my sweaty neck and forehead, presumably from the speed of the cycling. Turning up to salsa like that would have been far worse than just being smelly!



All good things have to come to an end and Viñales, and Cuba, were no exception. It felt strange making my way to the airport the next morning - I couldn't believe that I was going and probably won't come back again. There was still a lot to see and experience here that 2-3 weeks just cannot do it justice. But part of me was also happy and ready to move on; the constant pollution, being touted and not speaking the language was tiring. Well, the rest of my destinations are all Spanish speaking countries, so I have no option but to improve the language!

Cuba wouldn't be Cuba if there wasn't last minute drama. On arrival to Havana airport (also in an illegal taxi not dissimilar to the one I took from Santa Clara), I could not find my flight on the departure board. I looked and looked but it just wasn't there. Was it the Toronto flight, which had the same time, but it just didn't say it's flying via Curaçao or Caracas? No it wasn't. The only use the information desk had was to send me to the ticket office, where an older and wiser guy knew who to call and give me the right advice. My 14:15 flight was actually shown as 13:15, flown by Inselair not Hahn Airlines (it was already 12:40 and I still hadn't checked in). Think I'll have to send some feedback to my booking agent. It was a mad rush through security but I made it in the end. We didn't actually board until 13:45 and took off at 14:05 so who knows what was the right time.

Cuba - Viñales - Part 1

I had planned to spend the last couple of days seeing flamingos at the Rio Maxímo wetland near Camagüey, but having learnt all my previous lessons I though it was wise to call ahead to the local tour company to find out more details. It turned out that the wetland park was closed. Well, that was that.



Instead I headed back west to Viñales, partly because I've heard lots of good things about it from other travellers, and partly because it was much closer to Havana for my onward departure to Venezuela.

You can only go from Santa Clara to Viñales via a connection in Havana. The Viazul bus to Havana would be too late to make the connection, so I got a collectivo (shared taxi) instead. I found a Dutch couple at the bus station who were up for it as well (I was effectively doing the tout's job for him, and was quite successful), so we were good to go.

Well, that was an interesting journey.

The 260km journey to Havana in an illegal taxi was made in a small Peugeot 106 that has no seat belts neither for the driver nor for the passengers. Neither the speedometer or the rev meter worked, and the rogue driver spent most of the journey texting on his phone, or turning his head to talk to me in the front or the couple in the back, or drifting from one lane to another, sometimes both hands off the wheel so he could plug or unplug his phone. Well, at least the air con and stereo worked (he decided to blast out his collection of Air Supply and Bryan Adams). We got to Havana in one piece.

We did see the locals taking even more "interesting" journeys.



With 15 minutes to go before my Havana-Viñales bus was due to depart, the taxi driver overshot the junction and had to loop back. It was close but I made it with a quick toilet break to spare (but lunch was restricted to my dry salted crackers)!

The view along the way was stunning and already very different from anything I'd seen in Cuba thus far. I had a good feeling Viñales was going to be good :)



I arrived in Viñales in the evening, just in time for the subset. Viñales is basically one long street where most of the tourism action is focussed, particularly around the tour operators opposite the main square. Annoyingly there were no detailed maps available so I had to go with local tour guides to see the surrounding valleys.

On my first full day I went on two tours:

1. The day hike through Cocosolo Palmarito, organised by Cubanican, $10, 9am-12pm.







This was quite average actually. We were strolling more than hiking, stopping fairly regularly to look at plants that I'll never remember the names of. The guide was also obsessed with making jokes out of his mother-in-law - they were mildly humorous the first time, but not every other comment throughout the morning. It was nice to get out of the centre though, and the valley was stunningly beautiful - tobacco fields surrounded by lush green round-top hills. We visited a tobacco farm and it was interesting to learn how the cigar making process is different at the farm than at factories. All in all it was $10 well spent.

2. The sunset tour to Valle de Silencio, organised through Yoan and Yarelis (206C Salvador Cisneros, yellow casa), $12, 3-6.30pm.



This was way better, probably the best excursion there is in Viñales. There was slightly more hiking than the morning (though still hard to break a sweat, metaphorically anyway), and some sections of the paths were heavily trodden by houses so very muddy and slippery. My fellow hikers, consisting of 4 Brits, a Frenchman and a German couple, were delighted by my impromptu salsa at one point.

We visited a coffee plantation along the way and learned how coffee is made, and was obviously offered to buy some. We ended up at a cigar farmer's hut for the sunset (and even got given front row seats). With a fairly strong mojito in one hand and a good local cigar in the other it was a pretty good life and the sunset was quite special. They sold us cigars afterwards which I did buy this time ($20 for 10).



The 7 of us decided to go for dinner and a drink together when we got back. It was my first proper night out in Cuba! (I've met and eaten with other travellers in the prior 2 weeks but never gone out drinking). I had also stayed off most alcohol until then as I had aimed for a detox trip (which failed miserable when I'd had a beer on several occasions), so it was actually quite nice to be going out.

Drinking in Cuba can be quite dangerous, particularly cocktails. Not only did they put a lot of sugar in the mix, which masked the alcohol content, they also gave us the remaining half bottle of rum to top up ourselves when they brought us out cocktails. Each one was only $3. My Piña Colada and Daiquiri were delicious, but they really hit me when I got back to my casa!