Angel Falls

 

Glorious Angel Falls cutting through the forested mountainside, Canaima National Park, Venezuela
Glorious Angel Falls cutting through the forested mountainside, Canaima National Park, Venezuela

NEED TO KNOW

LOCATION Angel Falls is 450 miles (725 km) southeast of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in Canaima National Park

MAXIMUM HEIGHT 3,212 ft (979 m)

DAYTIME TEMPERATURES

Jan: 81°F (27°C); Apr: 84°F (29°C); Jul: 81°F (27°C); Oct: 83°F (28°C)

Tumbling in a single, delicate cascade that is almost half-a-mile (1 km) from top to bottom, Angel Falls is far and away the world’s tallest waterfall, and a staggering 15 times the height of Niagara.

It is so high, in fact, that much of the water turns to mist before reaching the bottom. It’s not just the waterfall’s size that is impressive, but the setting, too.

The water plunges over the edge of a majestic, sheer-sided table mountain, known as Auyan-tepui (meaning “Devil’s Mountain”), which rises up out of the lush Venezuelan jungle. Here you’ll find giant anteaters, porcupines, three-toed sloths, jaguars, tapirs, and poison arrow frogs.

Practical Information

Getting There Visitors must fly from Caracas or Ciudad Bolívar to the village of Canaima, which is 30 miles (50 km) from the falls. There’s no road access from here to the falls: you can get to them either on a canoe trip (although this is only possible from June to November or December) or on a 40-minute flight for an aerial view.

When to Go Visit at the end of the rainy season in early December, when skies are clear and the falls are at their most spectacular.

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