Catatumbo - Zulia State

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South of Lake Maracaibo

In two days and one night he goes to see a wide variety of environments, habitats, cultural, wildlife and the spectacular lightning Catatumbo ...

Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America, open to the sea to the north, but a real lake itself. The water is brackish, so there is a mixture of plants and animals are adapted to special medium (dolphins estuarine fish both freshwater and marine turtles, rays, etc.).

In the two days we spend only moments from the Sierra Nevada

National Park, navigate the PN Juan Manuel de Aguas Claras, pause to contemplate the Laguna de Urao natural monument, and climb by the NP's Butt.

Itinerary:

Day 1: It starts from the city of Merida, at 8 am (arrive day before). He stands on the way to a breakfast, following the course of the Rio Chama, we stopped to observe different cultural-economic activities in the area, such as the manufacture of sugar cane, the shaman, and a coffee plantation. We started in the area of Lagunillas xerophytic (intra-Andean desert with giant cacti that resemble those of the American West. We visited a colonial town (Jají or Chiguará), and if possible a botanical garden with desert plants. We came to El Vigia to eat. We continue towards the small fishing village of Puerto Concha, where they boarded a speedboat to take us through canals surrounded by a gallery forest with mangroves (Rizophora mangrove, the only tree adapted to saline conditions) to the Lake itself.

In these channels there is a merger of higher howler monkeys of South America. There are also capuchin monkeys, cuchi Kuchi (night), tayras, raccoons, otters, and are rarely observed tapirs, jaguars, ocelots and pumas. In the swamps of Catatumbo manatees have been reported, although they are not easy to observe. Highlights the number of birds, parrots, macaws, toucans, herons, raptors, woodpeckers, pelicans, frigates, gulls, cormorants ...

We came to a pile-dwelling (house built on the lake itself) and rested, refreshed ourselves, and prepare a grill with fish and crabs in the area, vegetables, meat or chicken.

After dinner, we went back into the boats for nocturnal wildlife observation. The guiding hand will try to capture a caiman (Caiman Crocodylus fuscus), and possibly also see some arboreal boa, owls, and hopefully maybe the night monkeys (Aotus).

We went back and before bed in hammocks with mosquito nets, if night permits (80% chance in the rainy season, and somewhat less in the dry season), enjoy one of the most spectacular of nature, lightning Catatumbo , a meteorological phenomenon unique in its magnitude.

Day 2: After breakfast, embark navigate back to the southwest of Lake Maracaibo, looking for dolphins, and a bird belonging to the area, the northern chicagüire or screamer, plus many other birds and wildlife in general. We returned the same channel surfing with more opportunities to see other animals, and began the return Concha, stopping in El Vigia to eat again.

Information:
The tour

begins and ends in the city of Merida.

The return to Merida continues on the path The Azulita, where we can refresh ourselves in a rather beautiful waterfalls, and agree to the cloud forest, where usually in the afternoon the fog dominates the landscape. We arrived in Merida in the afternoon or evening to allow people in their lodges or hotels.

Daily direct flights Caracas

- Merida - Caracas

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