Gran Sabana

The savanna spreads into the regions of the Guiana Highlands and south-east into Bolívar State, extending further to the borders with Brazil and Guyana.The location offers one of the most unusual landscapes in the world, with rivers, waterfalls, gorges, deep and vast valleys, impenetrable jungles, and savannas that host large numbers and varieties of plant species, a diverse fauna, and the isolated table-top mesas locally known as tepuis.During the time of the Colonial Venezuela, the extent of the territories of Guiana and its natural resources gave rise to the legend of El Dorado, which caught the attention of adventurers, explorers, and settlers.They can enjoy the variety of natural wonders in the park and delight both for the beauty of its places of interest (including the landscapes of the tepuis, waterfalls, and streams), and its diversity of fauna and flora.The Gran Sabana formed atop the Precambrian Guyana Shield, with the bedrock consisting of the Roraima Group, presumed to be 1.8–1.4 Ga in age.The road of El Dorado to Santa Elena de Uairén goes from an elevation of 200 to 1,500 meters (660 to 4,920 ft) in less than 30 kilometers (19 mi), in a place called "La Escalera" (a rise with a paved street).The main drainage sub-basins are formed by the rivers Yuruaní, Aponwao, Kukenán, Suruku, Ikabarú, Karuay, Urimán, and Antabare.The Caroní River, of 925 km (575 mi) in length, and flow rate equal to 5,000 m3/s (180,000 cu ft/s), provides Venezuela with most of its electricity by hydropower exploitation; it originates from several tributaries coming from tepuis and mountains of the Gran Sabana (the Aponwao, the Yuruaní and the Kukenan).The waters are very poor in dissolved nutrients and rich in humic acids and tannins, which give them its characteristic brown color.These plateaus, in the Gran Sabana, reach their maximum altitude in the Tepui Roraima, whose peak is nearly 2,800 meters (9,200 ft) above sea level.The Chimantá Massif is the formation of plateaus (10 in total, including Amurí, Churí, and Akopán-tepui) and is the largest in Venezuela, at 1,470 km2 (570 sq mi).There are also spectacular rock formations eroded by wind, leading to myriad interpretations of figures, such as the "flying turtle", the "Mexican hat", the "monkey eating an ice cream cone", and the "elephant".The rainy season lasts about 10 months, with a period of relative drought between January and March with annual average between 1,600 and 2,200 mm (63 and 87 in) of rain (twice what is observed in the Venezuelan capital).The south, by contrast, is affected by wet winds from the Amazon depression and Southeast, which condense when in contact with elevations, producing heavy rains.But the Gran Sabana includes a variety of biomes, subject to a complex mix of climatic and ecological conditions ranging from hot lowlands to the high cold mountains.On the summits of the tepuis, despite the hostile environment (especially on Mount Roraima), there is a wide variety of plants, ranging from 20–30 centimeters (7.9–11.8 in) to 4 meters (13 ft) high.At the summit of the Auyantepui and the Massif Chimantá there are several kinds of plants that do not grow anywhere else in the world, such as the genera Brocchinia (family Bromeliaceae), Tepuia (Ericaceae), Mallophyton (Melastomataceae), Coryphothamnus and Aphanocarpus (Rubiaceae), and Arimantaea and Achnopogon (Asteraceae).Furthermore, in shady and protected areas beneath the rocks and in small cavities, are endemic ferns of the genus Hymenophyllopsis and Pterozonium.Despite the high rate of biodiversity found in the Gran Sabana, it is not easy or common for visitors to observe larger animals, such as on the road between El Dorado and Santa Elena de Uairén, as the forest is far more open along that route; many of the local animals are nervous and wary of people (and predators), preferring to hide within the forest islands, riparian zones, and in the deeper areas of montane jungle at the base of the tepuis.Among the several dozen species of reptiles are lizards, such as the giant ameiva (A. ameiva), grass anoles (A. auratus), green iguanas (I. iguana), rainbow whiptails (C. lemniscatus), striped kentropyx (K. striata), and Peter's lava lizard (T. hispidus), among others; snakes are abundant, including venomous species, such as the neotropical rattlesnake (C. durissus) and the speckled forest pit viper (B. taeniatus), and constrictors, like the green anaconda (E. murinus) and the red-tailed (Boa constrictor) and brown rainbow boas (E. maurus).They are the native inhabitants of the Gran Sabana and today many work in the tourism industry, manage and administer inns, and serve as guides on expeditions in the region.However, the census carried out by INE in 2001 revealed the presence of a total of 42,600 indigenous people statewide in Bolívar, of which the vast majority live in the Gran Sabana.It has an airport and a military post and became a free port in 1999, organized and founded by the son of the founder, Professor Héctor Fernández Espinoza.Recently, the tourism sector has been an important development because of its proximity to the main natural features of the Gran Sabana and its location near the border.The community of El Paují is south of Bolivar State, about 75 kilometres (47 mi) west of Santa Elena de Uairén, on the road that leads to Icabarú and very close to the border with Brazil.[citation needed] San Francisco de Yuruaní, an indigenous community in the "km 250" of the Troncal 10, is an important craft-selling place, and offers refueling for tourists.Just before arriving at the Gran Sabana, it passes La Escalera, an uphill road with several curves and immersed in a typically rainy and foggy forest.bus service exists between Ciudad Guayana and Santa Elena de Uairén, but car travel is recommended to allow for frequent stops in interesting places.The same problem of illegal purchase and sale of gasoline is present before the entrance to the Gran Sabana, on the Venezuelan side, in the town of San Isidro, also known as "Km 88".Because of these difficulties, it is recommended that tourists carry pimpinas or drums, properly identified with the red color for safety and security reasons.