Venezuela

Venezuela is a country on the northern coast of South America. It is bordered by Colombia on the west, Brazil on the south, and Guyana on the east.

The term Venezuela literally means “Little Venice”. The country was so named by its explorer, who saw houses built on stilts in a lake here, reminding them of Venice.

Venezuela is a land of stunning variety. The country has Andean peaks, endless Caribbean coastline, idyllic offshore islands, grasslands teeming with wildlife, the steamy Amazon, and rolling savanna punctuated by flat-topped mountains called tepuis. Those seeking adventure will find hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, kite-surfing, windsurfing, paragliding and more. Even better, most of these attractions lie within a one-day bus trip of each other.

Angel Falls in Venezuela is the tallest waterfall in the world.

Venezuela receives considerably fewer visitors than other major South American countries. Tourism infrastructure exists, but it’s primarily geared toward domestic travelers. That said, Venezuelans love to have a good time, and that spirit is infectious.

The capital and largest city of Venezuela is Caracas (officially called Santiago de Leon de Caracas), which is home to nearly 2 million people.

Venezuela is home to many weird and interesting animals including manatees; the Giant anteater, Three-toed sloth, Two-toed sloth, jaguar, Amazon River dolphins, Orinoco crocodiles, and the world’s largest rodent, the capybara.

Venezuela has over 1400 bird species, including kingfishers, ibises, ospreys, and its national bird the yellow-orange Venezuelan Troupial.

There are over 25,000 species of orchids in Venezuela, including the country’s national flower ‘flor de mayo orchid’.