ANDREW GILCHRIST OWNER, LOST WORLD ADVENTURES

Venezuela is more than first meets the eye. Caracas is the gateway to the country and rarely a stopping point on the way to the country's many tourist attractions.

Further afield endless natural history and culture travel adventures lie ahead. Still much the same as when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle coined Gran Sabana's "Lost World," Venezuela's geography provides the opportunity to explore territories vast and varied.

Canaima is the getaway to Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world at more than 3,000 feet. Venture deep into its base by dugout canoe or fly through the tepuis and see it from the sky. Hike atop the eerie and unique landscapes of Auyantepuy or Mount Roraima Tepuy, one of the top treks in South America. Mérida and the Andes are paradise found for hiking and mountain biking enthusiasts and home to the world's highest and longest cable car system.

Some of the best scuba diving in the Caribbean Sea occurs in the still relatively undiscovered and unknown Los Roques Archipelago National Park, also a bonefishing mecca. Stay at a luxury guesthouse or charter a first class sailboat. Right in the middle of the country map, you'll find the Llanos grasslands, an immense extension of flat, flooding terrain packed with exotic fauna and flora. Definitely the best and most picture-friendly birdwatching in Venezuela occurs here in the huge savannahs and plains of the Llanos. Stay in a luxurious ecotourism cattle ranch or hato and enjoy genuine representations of the Venezuelan food and music.

Wonderful experiences await ecotourists and birdwatchers in the Orinoco Delta.The Delta's lush vegetation and narrow water channels allow close encounters with unusual animals, birds and plants. Visit indian villages, fish for piranha, and walk in the jungle in this remote wilderness.

Our Venezuela adventures feature canoeing, caving, climbing, cruising, horseback riding, kayaking, hiking, whitewater rafting, paragliding and hang gliding, salt and freshwater fishing, windsurfing, and birdwatching in South America's most diverse and accessible country.