Venezuela Expedition

Country Information

Venezuela is a third larger than Texas and occupies most of the northern coast of South America and the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered by Colombia on the West, Guyana to the East and Brazil to the South.

Columbus explored Venezuela on his third voyage, when the area used to be inhabited by Arawak, Carib and Chibcha Indians. The name, Venezuela, was thought up by another Spanish explorer and translates as ‘little voice’. Caracas was founded in 1567.

It was one of the first countries to revolt in 1810, winning independence in 1821. Federated at first with Columbia and Ecuador as Republic of Greater Columbia, it became a Republic in 1830. A period of unstable dictatorship and fluctuation in the oil trade followed, until the 1970’s when Venezuela benefited greatly from the oil industry.

The country is renowned for having South America’s largest lake and third largest river, the highest waterfall in the world, the longest snake in the world, and some of the most impressive sights you will ever see.

Time
Venezuelan time is four hours behind GMT.

Arrival

You need to arrange to fly into Caracas International Airport. Upon your arrival in Venezuela, an on-site member of staff will meet you at the airport. Look out for your name on a board as you enter the arrivals terminal. They will take you on the four to five hour drive to the base camp at Chichiriviche, starred just above Tucacas on the map.

Please note that you will only receive this free transfer if you arrive into Caracas by 3pm on the day that the programme begins. Arrival after this time will result in additional transfers to the project site at your expense (around $230).

Climate

The dry season is from September to March. The wet season is for the rest of the year. At night, it can get fairly cool, while during the daytime each day is hot all year round, and the sun is very strong. Lowlands are prone to flooding at peak points of the wet season.