Angel Falls. Silent and epic, the water as if frozen. Coming from a huge Auyantepui and funnelling into moody rock skyscrapers of the Canon del Diablo (Devil’s Canyon), Angel Falls has a total height of 979m, and the water cascades down for a continuous drop of 807m. The world’s highest waterfall. Named after Jimmy Angel, an American Bush pilot, who ‘discovered’ it in the 1930s by accidentally crash-landing on top of the tepui it comes out from. It had been quite the adventure to get here....but so very, very worth it.
The day before we'd flown from the Caribbean paradise of Los Roques to Puerto Ordaz, and from was exhilarating and took us over jungle, gold-mining sites, and then we began to see the famous tepuis – flat-topped mountains – looming ever closer. We were entering prehistoric territory now. The place feels wild and endless – a great green expanse of steamy rainforest, rolling highland savannah, and soaring tepuis. This is the home of Angel Falls. We banked sharply to the left in the manner of these tiny planes, and we landed in view of the spectacular Salto el Sapa waterfall on a dirt runway. We were in Canaima now, in a remote indigenous village. We were staying at the most luxurious lodge in the area, Waku Lodge, frequented by Miss Worlds and film stars, according to their guest book. The lodge has a reputation for excellence, and we were not disappointed.
We were met by a guide from the lodge, and we hopped into the back of an open-top jeep and were taken to the lodge, a 5 minute drive from the airport. We were shown to the restaurant, with amazing views of the Salto el Sapo waterfall, which we visited before the light faded, and the waterfall was powerful, crashing down into the lagoon with a violent roar. We climbed up some rocks and were able to get behind the relentless cascade too, which was pretty special. Coffee, tea and cakes were waiting for us under a traditional thatched roof in an open, windowless structure when we returned. After this we went for a stroll as night fell. All we could see were the stars, of which there were thousands, like silver glitter sprinkled liberally onto black paper. We could see fireflies sending out mating signals, hundreds of them....silence. Wonderful silence, save the sounds of nature. After a bottle of red wine and a lovely dinner in the Waku Lodge restaurant, we went to bed. We had to be up at 4:30 for the trip to Angel Falls.
Getting to Angel Falls isn’t easy – but that’s all part of the Indiana Jones adventure. We got picked up in a truck, which took us 15 minutes down a dirt track to a calm river, outrigger canoes bobbing quietly in the pale morning light. We climbed into one of the canoes, and were speeded towards the northern bank. We reached it after 30 minutes, climbed out, and got picked up by a huge red tractor. The group of us – Spanish, Venezuelans, and Russians, then boarded the tractor trailer, and began an impossibly bumpy 30 minute ride to join the same river, though further down. The presence of a waterfall stopped progress all the way through on the river, so that’s where the tractor came in. Rejoining our motorized canoes, we sped up-river for an hour, through the jungle, before stopping at a wooden shack on the river side for breakfast, where we ate some sandwiches and had tea. We got back on the boat and headed up-river for two more hours. The views on the way were absolutely spectacular. Tepuis – the flat-topped mountains synonymous with Venezuela, loomed up ahead of the steamy jungle, in front and on either side, enveloping us. They looked amazing – and ominously prehistoric at the same time. I half-expected a pterodactyl to swoop past. The skies became blue as the morning mist lifted, and the views became ever more impressive. Suddenly, we saw it.
‘Salto Angel’ proclaimed the guide proudly. We 'parked' the boat further upstream, and began a 1 hour trek through quite dense jungle to get to the viewpoint. It didn’t disappoint. Never have we felt so dwarfed and helpless in the presence of Mother so in awe. We took a lot of photos, and then went down to the foot of the falls, clambering over the huge boulders that in the wet season are completely inaccessible. We’d picked the perfect time and day. The skies were blue, we could make out the top perfectly….usually it’s misty here. We felt blessed. We could have spent all day here, but after an hour or so, we had to climb back down to the river. We had a chicken, rice and salad meal, then climbed aboard our boats for the trip back, which was shorter as we were going down-stream. After we got back to the lodge we were greeted with a tea, coffee and cake buffet, which went down a treat in the chilly early evening air. Shattered from a day of fantastic experiences, we fell asleep, and were woken by a member of staff just in time for a late dinner. We finished a bottle of Chilean wine and eventually slept at around 1:30am.
An incredible, once in a lifetime experience!
