The flat summit
Sculpted rocks.
Vinicius Matsumoto — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Alexcocopro — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alexcocopro — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Luis Alejandro Cisneros — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Veronidae — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Luis Alejandro Cisneros — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Luis Alejandro Cisneros — CC BY-SA 3.0
Mount Roraima is the highest of the Pacaraima chain of table-top mountains, the «tepuis» of South America, standing where the borders of Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela meet. It is a vast flat-topped plateau ringed by sheer cliffs 400 to 1,000 metres high, its highest point reaching 2,810 metres on the southern rim in Venezuela. Its name comes from the Pemon language: «roroi» means blue-green and «ma» means great. Ages of heavy rain have sculpted the summit's strange landscape of carved rocks, pools and crystals, and its isolation has made it home to plants and animals found nowhere else. Europeans did not climb it until 1884, when a British expedition reached the top, and much of its flora and geology remains unknown. It is said to have inspired Arthur Conan Doyle's novel «The Lost World». Only five per cent of the mountain lies in Brazil, within Monte Roraima National Park; the usual ascent starts on the Venezuelan side, a trek of typically six to eight days with Pemon guides and porters, setting out from the border area near Pacaraima. Check border conditions and travel advice before planning, and travel with an accredited agency.
Sculpted rocks.
Literary fame.
At one point.
Where the borders of Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela meet, far north of Roraima state
The usual trail starts on the Venezuelan side near the border; the trek needs an agency and guides.