Venezuelan Climbs

Venezuela is geographically varied and, although climbing wasn’t that developed in 1970, there were plenty of opportunities to explore and climb new routes. This journal describes some of these climbing areas.

Avila

The Avila is the 9000-foot mountain range between Caracas and the Caribbean coast. Although close to the capital and with plenty of hiking trails, parts of the mountains are wild and challenging and home to diverse wildlife, including howler monkeys, snakes, jaguars, and many species of exotic birds.

Gran Sabana

The Gran Savanna is a region in southeastern Venezuela that extends into Brazil and Guyana. It is one of the most ancient and unusual landscapes in the world, featuring jungles and savannahs that host a diverse array of plant species, a rich fauna, and the isolated mesas locally known as tepuis. These 5,000-foot sandstone table-top mountains, most of which had never been climbed, provided the climbing.

Pico Boliva

Pico Bolivar in Merida rises to nearly 5,000 metres. The Cordillera is part of the Andes mountain chain, but the glaciers that covered the mountains in the 1970s have since all disappeared.

San Juan del los Morros

San Juan de los Morros is the gateway to the Llanos, the great plains north of the Rio Orinoco. The Morros are limestone pillars, the largest of which has a lighthouse built by the dictator Juan Vincente Gómez in 1929.

Cueva del Guacháro

The Cueva del Guacháro is one of the wonders of the world. The 10 km cave contains the dazzling formations of crystal-lined passages.

The journal describes climbing on each of them between 1970 and 1975.

Published 31 Oct 2025, 72 pages, ISBN 9781912460762