The country of sandy beaches, tropical rains, desserts, mountains and spiritual vibrant people – Venezuela is yet another South American beauty that cannot be admired enough.
Here we give you 19 interesting facts about Venezuela that might just convince you to book you next holiday there. Also included are useful links, related topics and accessible adventures to inspire you to action!
Factfile
1. The name of Venezuela was made up by the explorer named Amerigo Vespucci, who happened to think that the houses built on Lake Maracaibo have resemblance with Venice in Italy. The word Venezuela comes from an Italian word „Venezila“ which means little Venice.
2. The largest lake in the whole continent of South America is located in Venezuela – Lake Maracaibo. The lake is 159 km (99 mi) long, 108 km (67 mi) wide, 60 m (200 ft) deep and it covers an area of 13,210 sq km (5,100 sq mi). Lake Maracaibo is also considered to be one of the oldest lakes on Earth as it first formed around 20-40 million years ago.
3. If you really wish to see God blowing off some steam, you should consider going at the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it meets Lake Maracaibo. You should do that because around 160 days every year meteorological phenomena occur – the so-called Catatumbo lightning. The lightings can repeatedly strike the water for 10 hours at the time!
4. Venezuela is yet another country to be named as one of the 17 megadiverse world‘s countries.
5. The highest uninterrupted waterfall is located in Venezuela. The so-called Angel Falls is truly an angelic sight of water crashing down 979 m (3,211 ft). As it is that high the drops of water can be scattered at a distance of one kilometer if the wind is strong enough.
6. Angel Falls have not been discovered until the 20th century and, for a fact, its discovery has been accidental as it happened due to an actually plane accident. It was first found by an aviator Jimmy Angels after his plane crashed on the top of the Angel Falls.
7. Canaima National Park is one of the largest national parks in the world. It covers a land of 30,000 sq km (12,000 sq mi) and offers breathtaking sights such as the Angel Falls, Jasper's Creek, Canaima Lagoon and much more. Canaima National Park is declared as UNESCO Heritage site.
8. Morrocoy National Park is 32,090 acres of land that is a home to at least 266 bird species, including pelican and flamingo, you can also see horned turtles, alligators, monkeys and many other species. What is more, it is safe to say that this place is close to paradise due to its sandy beaches and clear shimmering water.
9. Even though Venezuela is considered to be a tropical country it has around an area of 91 sq km (35 sq mi) of sand dunes that mostly go by the name of the Médanos de Coro National Park. The massive sand dunes can pile up to 40 m (130 ft).
10. Mount Roraima is the highest mountain – plateau of the Pakaraima chain in South America. Mount Roraima is only 2,810 m (9,220 ft) high but it is striking as it features cliffs as high as 400 m (1,300 ft). It is believed that the mountain is around two billion years old which means that it is one of the oldest geological formations on Earth.
11. The world longest and tallest cable car ride - Merida Cable Car, is in Venezuela. It is 12 km (7,5 miles) long and more than 4,700 m (15,600 feet) high.
12. 71 percent of the population in Venezuela is Roman Catholic. Maybe that is why the highest statue of a Virgin Mary on the planet is located in La Paz. Virgen de la Paz en Trujillo is 47 m (154 ft) high and it is even slightly taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York.
13. The highest mountain in Venezuela is Pico Bolivar. With an altitude of 4,978 m (16,332 ft), its peak is constantly covered in snow. Even though the Merida Cable Car does not go all the way up to the top of Venezuela it does get you on a nearby peak Pico Espejo, which is 4,880 m (16,000 ft) tall.
14. Venezuela has a pretty good chance of being a highly influential country worldwide as it has the world’s largest proven oil and the eighth biggest proven natural gas reserves on the planet. In fact, the government now subsidizes the oil industry and the petrol is the cheapest in an entire world, it is only $0,01 per litter.
15. Not only Venezuela has the breathtaking nature, it is also rich in beautiful women. Of course, it is not possible to measure beauty, but there is a general opinion that Venezuelan women are the most beautiful in the world. The Miss Universe competition has been won by Venezuelan women 7 times, Miss International 6 times, Miss World 6 times and Miss Earth 2 times already. This makes Venezuela the country with the most wins in international beauty pageants.
16. Cerro Sarisariñama is yet another flat-topped mountain in Venezuela. Its altitude differs from 300 m (984 ft) to 2,350 m (7,700 ft) and it is most known because of its sinkholes. There are four known sinkholes on Cerro Sarisariñama, two of it have their own ecosystems at their bottoms!
17. The second hardest climb by bike route in the world is located in Venezuela. It is only 14,5 km (9 mi) long, but over this distance, you climb more than 2,072 m (6,800 ft). This means that the average grade percentage is 14,4 percent.
18. When we said Venezuela is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, we were not kidding - there are over 25,000 species of orchids and over 1,400 bird species in Venezuela.
19. Finally, if you are looking for a summer that never ends, you better keep in mind that Venezuela only has two weather seasons, the hot and dry season and the hot and wet season, which can be translated to sunny summer and rainy summer!
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