Snowy peaks
Above Mérida.
Oscar Costero — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Adolfo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Samuelistok — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Heribert Dezeo — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Samuelistok — CC BY-SA 3.0
Sierra Nevada National Park holds Venezuela's highest mountains, in the Andes near the city of Mérida. Sharp rock peaks are crowned with snow and cloud, high moorland is dotted with woolly-leaved frailejón plants, and small clear lakes sit among the rocks. The park was created on 2 May 1952 as Venezuela's second national park and now covers 276,446 ha in Mérida and Barinas states. It takes in the highest peaks of the Venezuelan Andes, including Pico Bolívar, the country's highest mountain at 4,978 m, flanked by El León and El Toro. You ride the Mukumbarí cable car from Mérida up to Pico Espejo when it is running, or walk trails through the valleys and high moorland. Pico Bolívar itself can only be reached on foot and by climbing, with a guide. The summit of Pico Bolívar is about 14 km in a straight line east of Mérida. The air is thin and the weather changes fast, so climb slowly, bring warm waterproof clothes and use a guide on the high trails. The UK advises against all but essential travel to Venezuela, so check current advice before you go.
Above Mérida.
Woolly plants.
Among the rocks.
Mérida and Barinas states, Venezuelan Andes
No, it reaches Pico Espejo; from there it is a guided climb.
In the dry season, December to April.