Angel Falls and Canaima National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Canaima National Park (1994). Angel Falls Drops Roughly 979 Metres In Total, With An Uninterrupted Plunge Of About 807 Metres, Making It The Tallest Waterfall In The World By A Wide Margin; It Falls From The Tepui Auyantepui And Is Named For The American Aviator Jimmie Angel, Who First Flew Past It In The 1930s · Canaima, Bolivar

Angel Falls drops roughly 979 metres from the edge of the tepui Auyantepui, with an uninterrupted plunge of about 807 metres that makes it the tallest waterfall on earth by a wide margin - more than fifteen times the height of Niagara. Reaching it is most of the experience: there is no road, so visitors fly into Canaima camp on a small plane, then travel for hours by motorised dugout canoe up the Carrao and Churun rivers, camping in hammocks along the way before a final short walk brings the falls into view. The water falls so far that much of it turns to mist before reaching the ground, and in the dry season, roughly December to April, the flow can thin dramatically or even stop in bad years - this is a wet-season destination first and a waterfall second. Canaima National Park around it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a landscape of savanna, jungle and sheer-sided tepuis that looks genuinely prehistoric from the river.

Deep within Canaima National Park on the Churun River, reached by small plane to Canaima camp and then by motorised canoe up the Churun and Carrao rivers, Canaima, Bolivar, Venezuela

There is no gate and no fixed hours - a visit is a multi-day expedition rather than a ticketed entry. Trips are arranged through a tour operator based in Canaima camp, almost always as a package covering the small-plane flight from Puerto Ordaz or Ciudad Bolivar, the canoe journey, camping or lodge accommodation, and guiding. River levels control everything: in the wet season, roughly May to November, the canoes can usually reach a viewpoint close to the base of the falls; in the dry season the river can become too shallow and some trips are cancelled or shortened. Confirm current operator schedules and river conditions before booking flights, since both have been inconsistent in recent years.

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