Maracaibo
Venezuela · Zulia · 6 m
Description
Maracaibo is the second city of Venezuela and stands on the strait where the lake of the same name meets the Gulf, a hot flat place whose oil derricks still stand in the shallows offshore. The General Rafael Urdaneta bridge crosses the strait in eight kilometres. Calle Carabobo keeps a row of houses painted in flat blocks of colour, and the basilica holds the Virgin of Chiquinquirá, whose November feast fills the city. At the southern end of the lake, storms over the Catatumbo mouth produce lightning almost nightly for much of the year. Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: December – March
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Basílica de Chiquinquirá
- Calle Carabobo and its painted houses
- Catatumbo lightning over the lake(Multi-day trip)
- General Rafael Urdaneta bridge
- Stilt villages of the Lagunillas shore
- Mercado de Las Pulgas
- Patacones and Zulian food
- Gaita music at the November feast (November)
- Oil derricks standing in the shallows
Getting there
- Airports:
- MAR
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry