Take the road less traveled with Yampu guiding you from Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, to Mérida, a small, village set at the foot of the Andes. On this Venezuela tour you will see it all including the three highest peaks in Venezuela; small mountain villages; llaneros, or cowboys, chasing their herds on horseback; and plains that are not so much vast as infinite.

Founded by the Spaniard Diego de Losada, sacked by the English in 1595 and by the French in 1766 and freed from Spanish domination in 1821 by Simon Bolívar, Caracas has profound colonial heritage apparent in its streets and palpable in the villages that surround it.

You’ll begin your tour in Plaza Bolívar—full of history and known for its symmetry and traditional, Spanish layout. Then, after you’ve seen the plaza, the colonial house where Bolívar was born and some of Caracas’s most impressive architecture (the Capitolio, Palacio Legislativo, Palacio Federal and more), you’ll check out some barrios, or shantytowns, set on Caracas’s green hills. The homes in these barrios form an almost otherworldly, nativity-type landscape at night. You’ll continue on to El Hatillo, a small town just outside of Caracas, with a central square surrounded by colonial houses that are now restaurants, bars and artisan shops.

After that you’ll set off for Mérida, a small town set at the foot of the Andes. During your stay, you’ll tour Mérida as well as other nearby towns: Mucurubá, set apart by its well-preserved, colonial architecture; Mucuchíes, an agricultural village with a simple but impressive church; and San Rafael, the highest town in Venezuela (at 3.140 meters above sea level) with a stone church designed and built by Juan Félix Sánchez, a well-known Andean folk artist. You’ll also travel to the Laguna de Coromoto and the Valle de los Calderones—two landscapes that words couldn’t do any justice.

You’ll wrap up your tour in “Los Llanos,” or the plains, where you’ll see local fauna, not to mention some vast, staggering landscapes broken up by llaneros, or cowboys, chasing herds on horseback.

This trip can be customized to fit your individual travel dates and any specific requests that you may have. Your travel consultant will prepare a customized itinerary for you. Yampu offers a choice of 3-, 4-, 5-Star and deluxe hotels. In Caracas the Deluxe option is with Marriot or the Tamanaco Intercontinental.

Additional information on this trip:

• Days of Week the Trip can Start:
  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
• Visited Cities:
  Caracas, The Llanos