Of all the countries we’ve travelled to, Venezuela remains one of the most memorable. And it wasn’t just the ten flights in ten days either. Our first 24 hours in South America saw us exchange currency in the airport car park, stay in a hotel with armed guards and leave the majority of our luggage with strangers. But it was an incredible trip and we did so many awesome things while we were there. Here are our top five.
Having lived in London for many years, it’s the best hearing Big Ben strike midnight on New Year’s Eve. Although the days of lining the River Thames with 250,000 others are long gone, the atmosphere must be incredible. There are plenty of other things to do in the capital however if you missed nabbing a ticket. You could take a boat trip along the Thames, enjoy dinner at the Ritz or attend a Vegas-style evening of glamour at The Roof Gardens. Alternatively, there are cocktails and jazz at Oriole, Hogmanay Hootenanny at Balham’s Ceilidh Night Events and the Searcys human snow globe at the gherkin. You could also take in the Sky Bar at Millbank Tower, the View from the Shard or SushiSamba at the peak of the Heron Tower – all offer 360 degree views of London.
In November there are some absolute gems to visit including the likes of Bali, Hawaii and New Zealand as it’s spring. We loved our time in the Southern Hemisphere and hope to return again one day, there’s much more exploring to be done.
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Fresh from our trek to the magnificent Angel Falls the world’s highest waterfall we boarded a small plane to Ciudad Bolívar the capital of Venezuela’s South-eastern Bolívar State, which lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about a mile.
Huilo-Huilo is a biological reserve located in the heart of the Chilean Patagonia Rainforest under the Andes Mountain range. Covering over two hundred square miles of Valdivian forest, there are natural hot springs, untouched beaches and lagoons to explore as well as the Mocho volcano which is equipped for skiing. Located along the shores of Pirihueico Lake, near Panguipulli, the Huilo-Huilo Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of the park with one of its conservation projects protecting the Huemul deer which are in danger of extinction.
Our time in the jungle with the Pemon indians and our visit to the World’s highest waterfall, Angel Falls, were certainly the highlights of our trip round Venezuela. Access to Canaima National Park is only by air so when we left, the only way to reach Ciudad Bolívar was via a 4 seater Cessna.
From the fascinating and quirky to the weird and wonderful, here’s our pick of the top most unusual places to stay. Featuring glass igloos, treerooms and an underwater hotel.
With the New Year upon us, it’s time to check out what’s on offer in 2016 and firm up those travel plans. We’re definitely in the adventurous camp although having a 5 year old in tow does mean the days of sleeping the jungle, trekking over molten rock and walking behind waterfalls are behind us. For the time being anyway!
The Telegraph Travel Show, in association with Dubai & Emirates, takes place from the 8th to the 10th of January at ExCeL in London. It provides the opportunity to immerse ourselves in what the world has to offer whether it’s exploring an incredible rainforest, sipping cocktails in a trendy city or booking that once in a lifetime trip. The Telegraph Travel Show provides superb destinations, insider travel tips in the talks theatres plus you can meet travel experts in the Travel Genius Bar.
Angel Falls is the World’s highest waterfall, dropping a total of 978m from the summit of the Auyan Tepuy, and with an 807m uninterrupted drop. There are no overland routes to Canaima National Park, the gateway to Angel Falls, and access is only by air. The area is filled with grassland and dense jungle along the course of the rivers and at the base of the tepuis – plateaus that are millions of years old with vertical walls and flat tops.
We flew from London to Caracas where we stayed in a hotel for the night. The following day, we took a plane from Caracas to Puerto Ordaz followed by a Cessna to Canaima. The best way to see Angel Falls is through an organised tour of 2-3 days which is what we’d opted for.
