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Venezuela
is a country rich in natural landscapes that are not
limited to islands, coasts, and beaches. Thus, for
instance, if you prefer a mountain landscape and
climate,
Mérida state’s beauty is something you must not
pass over. Besides being an ideal place to go trout
fishing, mountain-biking or hiking, the Andean
region also offers a cool climate, enchanted lagoons,
and traditional handicrafts. In
Mérida you can also ride the highest and longest
cable-car in the world, spend the night in one of
its dream inns, catch a juicy trout to enjoy it with
your partner, find yourself playing with snow in a
Caribbean country, taste the unique ice creams of
the region, visit the Los Chorros de Milla Park or
the main town market, and discover the experience of
visiting one of Mérida’s theme parks named "La
Venezuela de Antier" ("Venezuela of the day before
yesterday"), among others.
On
the other hand, if you are a curious nature-lover
visitor we recommend you to visit
Los Llanos Venezolanos. Stretching to over a
fourth of Venezuelan territory, our plains display a
completely harmonious, large variety of vegetation
and wildlife. Its climate consists of a season
marked by heavy rains (the winter season from June
to November) and a dry season (from December to
May). During these seasons, major changes take place
not only in the environment but also in the
biodiversity so typical of this region. Highlights
of the wildlife you can find at these natural
reservoir include river dolphins, the peacock fish,
the golden fish, the tiger-striped catfish, and
dangerous flesh-eating piranhas; antbear, red
sparrow hawks, stone curlews, white and dark paleta
herons, otters, the Orinoco caiman, partridges,
ocelot-like cunaguaros, aragüato monkeys (known as
howling monkeys), small alligators (known as babas),
capybaras and a whole variety of reptiles, to
mention just a few.
Savannahs
are the dominant element in this environment.
Accordingly, both local and international visitors
will find there a variety of ranches and farms
established to serve as ecotourism camps. These
camps offer many activities and excursions that
enable tourists to enjoy nature in a different way,
as efforts are made to make them aware of the
environment and strive to preserve it. Thus, you can
rely on finding excellent ecotourism sites in the
Venezuelan plains, such as the San Leonardo Ranch,
the El Frio Ranch, and the
El Cedral Ranch, all located in Apure state (the
ideal state for catching the peacock fish).
El Cedral Ranch has become a place of reference
on an international scale for research in the
natural sciences, acknowledge by such institutions
as the National Geographic Society in USA, the BBC
from London, the Discovery Channel, the New York
Zoological Society, the London Zoo, the Universidad
de Los Llanos and the Universidad Simón Bolívar. You
will also find the Piñero Ranch in Cojedes state.
This particular ranch works jointly with
international wildlife-protection institutions, such
as the Smithsonian Institute, the World Wildlife
Fund, and the New York Zoo.
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