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VENEZUELA: AN ALTERNATIVEADVENTUREFriday 25th March 2011

Venezuela is not a country which packages itself up fortourism. Black oil over white tourists, Trinidad’s Eric Williamsonce said, and that holds true for this Latin American giant. Bold and brash, Venezuela does not market itself on Aztecruins or tango ballrooms – in fact, it lets the Western touristsnoop around quite undisturbed.

And that’s what’s great about it: Venezuela remains‘undiscovered’, left off the backpacking trail, because it doesn’tneed to be discovered. It may not offer up an easy fairytaleholiday on command, but if you’re willing to get stuck in you will

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holiday on command, but if you’re willing to get stuck in you willbe rewarded with a real sense of life in modern South America.

You can’t visit Venezuela and not see Angel Falls – the world’shighest waterfall (almost a kilometre of sheer cliff face),untouched until the 1930s and still only accessible via astomach-churning flight in a four-seater aircraft even IndianaJones would be wary of. The best way to see the Falls isthrough a three day boat journey and trek where you areguided by local Pemón people, sleeping and eating in theircamps.

Tearing down the Rio Churun in a tiny speedboat, plungingdeeper and deeper into the Amazonian rainforest, you won’t beable to resist comparisons to Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’. Thehike up through the damp and gloomy jungle only heightensanticipation until finally, through a parting in the trees, AngelFalls appears in all its sublime, roaring, 980 metres of glory. Just to hear its booming cauldron of mist and spray is worthevery aching muscle and mosquito bite.

Then there’s Mérida, the impoverished adrenaline junkie’sparadise. A haven of language schools, bohemian posadas(guest houses) and vegetarian cafes (which even the mostcarnivorous traveller will be crying out for after a Venezuelandiet of steak, steak and more steak), the Andean student townMérida is a rare place to meet and mingle with other travellers.

Most come for the region’s unrivalled adventure sportsindustry. It’s one of the world’s best (and cheapest) places toexperience paragliding. As the jeep winds its way ever higherthrough the mountains, even the most fearless might start toquestion their judgement, but the flight itself is strangelypeaceful. Soaring above the birds and seeing your shadow farbelow on the valley side, you can’t help but feel on top of the

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below on the valley side, you can’t help but feel on top of theworld.

The same Andes valleys, rocky and rugged in places and lushwith cocoa and coffee plantations in others, can also beexplored on horseback for a real throwback to the days of ElDorado. And at night, the city throbs with latino dance clubsand guerilla cocktail bars that spring up in front rooms all alongthe bright, ramshackle streets.

Oh, and don’t forget to pay a visit to Heladeria Coromoto, whichholds the World Record for the most flavours of ice cream –ranging from the surprisingly tasty ‘Beer’ to the ominously black‘Meat’…

But the top tip for a Venezuelan adventure is not to miss outon Caracas. So many Western travellers, scared off by horrorstories, treat the capital as no more than a bus terminal. Ignorethem – don’t walk around in Hawaiian shorts with an enormousDSLR around your neck and you shouldn’t have any trouble. Even better, find a Venezuelan guide or host to help youexplore the city.

Because you won’t be disappointed: the very essence of thiscolourful and confusing country is distilled in Caracas. Utopiaand dystopia sit side by side, bold socialist arts complexestowering over nightmarish favelas that sprawl up themountainsides.

This is a down and dirty metropolis but connoisseurs of modernarchitecture will find their hearts almost stopped by sleekconcrete tributes to Brutalism at its best. Villanueva’sUniversity buildings, with their cool open spaces and tropicaluse of colour, are now a UNESCO World Heritage site andParque Central is Caracas’ far more beautiful answer to the

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Parque Central is Caracas’ far more beautiful answer to theBarbican and also houses the excellent Museum ofContemporary Art.

A few hundred words can barely begin to cover Venezuela’smyriad landscapes, cultures and climates, and can only providea glimpse of life in this oil giant conflicted with Chavismopolitics. Discovering this nation for yourself is electrifying. From the Caribbean beaches of Coro in the north to thetechnicoloured colonial streets of Ciudad Bolívar in the south,from Andean mountains to bustling Caracas, a trip roundVenezuela will give you a flavour of the best of Latin America.

Maria Hannah Bass