Behind the falls
El Sapo's path.
Stig Nygaard — CC BY 2.0 · Stig Nygaard — CC BY 2.0 · Stig Nygaard — CC BY 2.0 · Stig Nygaard — CC BY 2.0 · Stig Nygaard — CC BY 2.0 · Stig Nygaard — CC BY 2.0
Canaima National Park is a vast area of table mountains, forest and rivers in southeastern Venezuela. At Canaima village a lagoon of tea-coloured water receives broad white waterfalls, with pink sand and palms on its shore and tepuis on the horizon. The park covers 30,000 km², making it one of the largest national parks in the world. It was created in 1962 and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. About 65% of it is made up of rock plateaus called tepuis, with sheer walls and almost flat tops, home to plants and animals found nowhere else; Angel Falls drops from one of them. You take a boat across the lagoon to the falls and walk a narrow path behind the curtain of water at El Sapo falls, looking out at the lagoon through the falling water. You swim at calm beaches away from the falls and fly over the tepuis in a small plane. The lagoon is right beside Canaima village. There is no road, so you arrive by small plane and stay at village lodges with organised tours. The path behind the falls is wet and slippery, so protect your things from the water. The UK advises against all but essential travel to Venezuela, so check current advice before you go.
El Sapo's path.
Tea-coloured water.
Table mountains.
Canaima Lagoon, Canaima village, Bolívar State
Only at calm beaches, away from the falls and their currents.
At least two, three with Angel Falls.