Tourism in Venezuela


Tourism in Venezuela has been developed considerably for decades, particularly because of its geographical position, the variety of landscapes, the richness of plant and wildlife, the artistic expressions and the privileged tropical climate of the country, which affords each region throughout the year. Since 2013 the country is having a very severe economic and political crisis affecting tourism all over the country.

Major exotic destinations

Mérida

is a major tourist center in Venezuela. It has an extensive network of hotels not only in the capital city but also throughout the state. Starting from the city of Mérida, it has the longest and highest cable car in the world, reaching the Espejo Peak of. In the Méridan páramos, there are good hotels and restaurants. Another place to visit is Mucuchíes, the village of Los Aleros. There is also the National Observatory of Llano del Hato. The city has several museums worth visiting: Beekeeping Museum, Colonial Art Museum, Modern Art Museum, and the Museum of the great Méridan Don Mariano Picón Salas and the Aquarium Garden. Also in the state are hot springs such as Bailadores Las Tapias and la Capellanía Park.

Margarita Island

is an island with modern infrastructure, bordered by beaches suitable for extreme sports, and features castles, fortresses and churches of great cultural value. This island is found in the Caribbean Sea and is well known for its pearls.

Caracas

is the capital of Venezuel and a world-class cosmopolitan city. In the west of the city, the Libertador municipality, tourism is important in regard to the historic center of the city, the Caracas Cable Car, the University City of Caracas, Zoos, Sabana Grande Boulevard, among others.
In the east of the city, especially in the Chacao and Baruta municipalities environment of progress and modernism is indisputable, European-style shopping malls, beautiful squares, night clubs, etc. Also the Generalísimo Francisco de Miranda Park, located in the Sucre municipality is heavily of exploitation for tourism.
In the southeast end of city is located a small town, El Hatillo, which has an impeccable colonial town, an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.
To further exploitation of tourism as a factor of endogenous development, the national government has created socio-cultural plans of international concern as the Feria Internacional de Turismo de Caracas, which has been carried held annually since 2005 and promotes tourism in the country, showing to the world the cultural, tourist, traditional, musical and culinary wonders of Venezuel
Venezuela has some of the most dangerous cities in the world, for example in 2018, there were 2,980 murders in Caracas, 645 murders in Ciudad Guayana, and 264 murders in Ciudad Bolívar. In Venezuela, under two per cent of reported crimes are prosecuted.

Los Roques and Morrocoy

The archipelago of Los Roques is formed by a group of islands and cays that make up one of the main tourist attractions of the country. With exotic pristine beaches. Morrocoy is a park, consisting of very small nearby islands to the mainland, which have grown rapidly as one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Caribbean.

Canaima

is spread over 30,000 square kilometers to the border with Guayana Esequiba reclamation area now Guyana and Brazil, for its size is considered the world's sixth largest national park. About 65% of the park is occupied by rock plateaus called tepuis. These are a unique biological environment, also presenting a great geological interest. Its steep cliffs and waterfalls are spectacular sceneries.

World Heritage

Beaches

Venezuela has many beaches of calm waters and for extreme sports. Besides those already mentioned, most famous sites for its beauty its are:
South of Venezuela in the states Bolivar, Amazonas and Delta Amacuro begins the Amazon rainforest, the largest rainforest and the largest nature reserve in the world. This area of the country has great tourism value, because there is the Angel Falls, the highest waterfall of the world; savannah, rivers, forests and tepuis form a ecotourism that has not yet been truly exploited, it is necessary that the national government to promote plans to turn over this Venezuelan soil an essential point for ecotourism in this part of the world.
However, the influx of international tourists in Canaima and the Gran Sabana is high and has been gradually growing, some attractions in forest and savanna in Venezuela are:
Although Venezuela is dominated by plains and tropical temperatures, it also has a mountain range of great tourist attraction, In Venezuela begins the Andes, Mérida state consists mainly of páramo vegetation, low temperatures, snow filled peaks, glaciers and high mountains of the Venezuelan Andes. Some of the Venezuelan mountain attractions are:
Los Llanos is the region of Venezuela, plains with few elevations, dominated by plateaus, hills, lakes and pastures, the climate is warm and has an average tourist reception, but it is an important site for the rural vacation, covering most of the states Apure, Barinas, Cojedes, Portuguesa, Guárico, Anzoátegui, Monagas and Delta Amacuro. In these rural plains are combined flora, fauna, livestock culture and typical of the autochthonous culture of Venezuela. The higher mountain elevations of this Venezuelan region are in San Juan de los Morros.

Others

The Venezuelan cuisine varies by region of the country, however, the most typical dishes of national cuisine are: pabellón criollo, asado negro, reina pepeada, sancocho, mondongo, especially arepas or cachapas.

Music of Venezuela

There varied music genres depending of regions such as: Joropo or Llanera music, Tambor, Gaita Zuliana, Changa tuki, Calypso made by Caribbean origin people in Southern Venezuela. Also have urban music such as salsa, reggaeton, Venezuelan rock, Venezuelan hip hop, Venezuelan ska, Venezuelan electronic, Venezuelan pop, Venezuelan classical, etc.

Travel requisites:

Currently in Venezuela there is an exchange control imposed by the national government since 2003. The exchange rate varies following government directives, but due the economical crisis, rules and policies can change frequently. Moreover, there is a foreign exchange market called "parallel market" or "black market"; the prices of the dollar in this market can be very different compared with the government exchange rate.

Weather

Weather changes in Venezuela by region are drastic, example, in the Médanos de Coro temperatures can reach up to 40 °C, but in Méridan moors or the Sierra Nevada temperatures may be less than 0 °C.