The glacial lake
In its valley.
Astrid Manzo — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rjcastillo — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rjcastillo — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rjcastillo — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hendrick Sanchez — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Astrid Manzo — CC BY-SA 3.0
Mucubají is a high glacial lake in the Venezuelan Andes. Grey-blue water fills a broad valley, ringed by páramo moorland of frailejón plants, a small pine wood and rocky peaks with cloud drifting over them. The lake lies inside Sierra Nevada National Park at 3,625 to 3,655 m according to sources. It formed when a retreating glacier tens of thousands of years ago left a ridge of rock debris that dammed the valley. It has been on the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance since 2007. Pines were planted around it, and trout were brought to it in 1937. You walk easy trails around the lake among the pines and moorland, with birds and peaks around you. The lake is about 60 km by road from the city of Mérida, beside the Trans-Andean Highway. The air is thin and the weather cold and changeable, so walk slowly and bring warm, rainproof clothes. The UK advises against all but essential travel to Venezuela, so check current advice before you go.
In its valley.
Páramo moorland.
And cloud.
Sierra Nevada National Park, Trans-Andean Highway, Mérida State
It can cause altitude sickness; walk slowly and drink water.
By car from Mérida on the Trans-Andean Highway.