Los Llanos
Venezuela · Apure · 70 m
Description
Los Llanos are the flooded grass plains between the Andes and the Orinoco, and in the dry months the water pulls back into lagoons that the animals have to share. That concentration is what makes it one of the great wildlife places of South America. Capybara sit in hundreds along the banks, spectacled caiman line the mud, anaconda lie in the shallows and the bird list runs past three hundred species in a week. The working cattle ranches, the hatos, take guests and run the drives in open jeeps and on horseback. Nights out here are enormously dark.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 3 to 6 days (optimal 4 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: December – April
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Jeep safari across the plains
- Capybara and spectacled caiman at the lagoons
- Staying on a working hato
- Scarlet ibis, jabiru and hoatzin
- Riding out with the llaneros
- Anaconda in the shallow water
- Night drives with a lamp
- Boat trips on the caños
- Joropo and harp music at the ranch
- Grilled beef in the llanero style
- Open grassland horizons at sunset