Canaima National Park. By: Sarah Salas

Who. The traditional citizen of south east Venezuela, including Canaima National Park, are the Pemón people, part of the Carib linguistic group. Their population is about 20,000, with about three quarters of them within the national park.

What. Canaima National Park is a mesmerizing plateau landscape with table mountains. Water falls from the cliff tops, one of them being the world’s highest waterfall. It has the continent’s oldest exposed rocks.

Where. Canaima Nation Park is located in Venezuela on the Gran Sabana Plateau by Brazil’s and Guyanan’s border. To the west and south it is bounded by the River Caroni. It is about 200 km south of Ciudad Guyana. The Pan American Highway to Brazil runs along east of it.

When. It was established on June 12, 1962 by Executive Decree No. 770, and management is regulated under the Forest Law of Lands and Waters, 1966.

How. (to get there) You can get Canaima National Park by air to the village of Canaima, about 50 km away from the falls. From there, you can take either a smaller plane and fly to an airstrip at Canaima Lagoon, or travel by river to the lagoon. From the lagoon, you hike to the falls. From Canaima, when the water is at the right level, you can travel by motorized canoe up the Carrao River, then the Churun river to a point where you can hike to the falls.

Past. In 1993 the park had 100,000 visitors a year, more than half of them visiting the plateau. Many groups of Amerindians have occupied the forest and savannas for 10,000. In two places in the park have contained hand-made store tools about 9,000 years old. The park was the goal of adventurers looking for El Dorado. The Pemón tribes settled about 300 years ago.

Present. Canaima National Park is Venezuela's second largest national park.

How it shapes life. Canaima National Park, through its river system feeding Guri Dam via the river Caroni, supplies most of Venezuela's power.

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