Short guide to Venezuela
Venezuela is a South American country with beautiful scenery, thriving cities and passionate people who are heavily involved in their nation's politics.
This passion has led to political tensions following the year 2000 coup attempt, with occasionally violent demonstrations. Nonetheless, Venezuela (or “little Venice” as it was dubbed by the Spaniards who first discovered it) is a warm and welcoming country toward visitors.
When first named, the locals who met the first Spaniards lived in houses built on stilts on the lagoon of Sinamaica, close to the city now known as Maracaibo. Nowadays locals are more likely to be living in mansions converted into apartments or rambling villas with an air of genteel decay.
Venezuela is not a wealthy country, but neither is it poor. It has one of the largest oil reserves on the planet and thriving tourism industry. Its people are one of its best resources, with vitality and friendliness that makes the country one that many visitors choose to return to more than once.
The cities of Venezuela are thriving. Caracas, the capital, is a blend of old-world architecture and modern, youthful industry and population. Shopping is a dream in this city, as is the arts, dance and music scene. Nightlife in Caracas is abundant, especially in the warmer months when the evenings and late nights are full of strolling families, young people out to play and tourists taking in the restaurants, bars and cafes.
Two cable cars (one in Caracas and one in Merida, a city in the Andes ranges) offer rides to the peaks of local mountains. Merida is the best of these, with a one hour trip to the summit of Pico Bolivar, the highest point in the country.
Further from the metropolitan areas is Venezuela's diverse and breathtaking natural scenery. Long sections of the Amazon rainforest are within Venezuela's borders, and it even boasts a small desert. Venezuela is a coastal country and the Caribbean sea laps gently against its shores. The world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls, is in the Gran Sabana National Park in Venezuela's southeast and is unmissable.
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