Bolivar State , a natural and historical patrimony

It is told that when Sir Walter Raleigh looked at the great falls of the Caroni, he was ecstatic with wonder as he viewed the force of the rapids roaring over the last out­crops of the Guayana Shield, that primeval enclave lost in the New World . Nearly a century before, in 1498 Columbus had had a premonition of the vast unknown ter­ritories unseen beyond the delta's greenery as he tasted the waters in the Gulf of Paria: fresh water from so potent a river that it did not easily mix with the Atlantic's brine Bolívar estate, bounded to the north and west by the powerful currents of the for­mer Huyaparí -today Orinoco-, guards priceless treasures: an exciting history embodied in Ciudad Bolivar's colonial quarter, incomparable natural scenery.

remarkable flora and fauna, vast mining resources and indigenous communities of considerable anthropological interest. Besides. modern era brought its share of superb engineering works that set Caroni's immense currents under control, and the surprising urban laboratory that is Ciudad Guayana.

Bolívar's landscape offers the illusion of a prehistoric island dotted with cascades that time and erosion have made more distinct and beautiful than any others in the world. The state shelters some of the most exceptional sites on the planet for their rarity. A dazzling mosaic of natural and man-made wonders, Bolivar is unique. Get to know it and experience the amazement of its first explorer

Life and landscape in Bolivar

Venezuela's largest state covers an area of more than 240.528 square kilometers, but is inhabited by little more than a million people-less than five per square kilometer!

Most of the state rests on the immense geologic plate known as the Guiana Shield that extends to Brazil and Guyana . An ancient igneous layer, topped by a covering of sedimentary sandstone, forms this rocky mantle. Eroded over millions of years by wind and rain, sandstone has grad­ually disintegrated, leaving behind strange rock tablelands or plateaus with flat summits and towering vertical walls th,at rise from the surrounding forests. These mountainous

formations that distinguish the region's landscape are known by their Pem6n name: tepui.

This vast territory is crisscrossed by an infinite number of streams born on the summits of the tepuis and other forest covered mountains. Over millennia, these waterways have carved out streambeds in the rocky, irregular terrain, filling the land with rapids and waterfalls of every size and shape. The Caron!, the most important river that flows through Venezuelan Guayana, has been restrained at the dams of Gun, Caruachi and Macagua, in order to create Venezuela 's largest hydroelectric complex. Several of those rivers have spectacular waterfalls, such as Aponwao and Kukenan.

However, none as glorious as Angel Falls , earth's highest waterfall, a dreamy ribbon of water that rushes over the rim of Auyantepui in a kilometer-long freefall, ending at the bottom of the surrounding jungle.

Wildlife in the lower areas of the Guayana Shield finds shel­ter in the tropical rainforest and riverside woods that cover large areas. Larger mammals, like tapirs, roam the dense jungle, while predators such as jaguars and harpy eagles make their supremacy clear in these ecosystems. Tepui summits have extreme environmental conditions. Species living there on a permanent basis have made remarkable adaptations; certain plant species have become carnivo­rous: their leaves get needed nutrients by trapping and digesting insects and other small creatures.

Among the showiest -if not very easy to spot- are the Guianan cock-of.the-rock, the blue-crowned motmot, the beautifully colored red dan parrot and the shrill screaming piha. Many of these birds are endemic in this region.

Different ethnic groups that have lived here for millennia represent the original human inhabitants of the region. The most numerous, the Pem6n and Yekuana, live mainly in the Gran Sabana and along the Caura River respectively, where they often welcome visitors and give them an invaluable opportunity to experience a first-hand contact with their cultural legacy­

Where the Republic was born

Long before the Christian era, Indians came to Guayana in successive migratory waves that moved in from the Caribbean Sea in the north, or from the Amazon region in the south. Santo Tome de Guayana was the only endur­ing symbol that marked the early Spanish exploration of Guayana. This small, 9ften forgotten river outpost was founded close to the mouth of the Caron! River in 1595, by don Antonio de Berrío, who came from Bogota and discovered Orinoco 's strategic importance.

The Catholic missions of Caroni did not begin until 1724, led by a group of Capuchin friars from Catalonia . In 1764 the Commission of Limits promoted the final relocation of Santo Tome to the narrowest point in the Orinoco , and soon the town was known as Angostura. In 1817, attracted by the strategic position of Guayana, the repub­lican forces under Manuel Piar's command took control of the Province of Guayana . Angostura became the provi­sional capital of the nascent Republic of Venezuela , and the patriotic army went on from this city to free half the Continent under the leadership of Sim6n Bolivar. After the War, Angostura grew as a commercial center, receiving products from Guayana's hinterland and the plains region, then shipping them in steamboats to Trinidad, the Antilles and Europe

In 1846, Angostura's name was changed to Ciudad Bolívar, and soon the discovery of gold in the Yuruari area created a frenzy that attracted greater wealth to the region. After 1945, important iron ore mining operations started and the Venezuelan government also began to harness the strength of Caroní 's wat er by the building of a series of hydroelectric dams. Subsequent industrial activity resulted in the creation of a dynamic new town, Ciudad Guayana , at the mouth of the Caroní.

A city built on rock

Undoubtedly, the place with the richest history in the state is to be found in its capital, Ciudad Bolivar . The city was established in its current location in 1764, on a rocky hill overlooking the point where the river narrows. During colonial times, the city represented an important starting point for the conquest of the Guayana province. Throughout the XIX century, this river port on the Orinoco traded actively with the plains, the Antilles and, to a lesser degree, with Europe and the United States.

Today, Ciudad Bolívar, the seat of the state government, is still reminiscent of colonial days and the era of river steam­boats, forest legends and gold and diamond trading. Its historical downtown was the starting point of epic military campaigns that would free Venezuela from Spanish con­trol, as well as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

In addition to the places of interest in the historical center (see illustration below), tourists can visit a small colonial fort known as El Zamuro, with one of the best panoramic views of the mighty river and the Angostura Bridge . Nearby lies the Casa-Museo de San Isidro , a fine exam­ple of colonial rural architecture. It's likely that Simon Bolivar, el Libertador (the Liberator), wrote his famous address to the Congress of Angostura of 1819 inside its walls. In front of the House of San Isidro, were established in 1993 the Orinoco Botanic Gardens, which exhibit a varied sample of wild plants species from the tropical zone. Ciudad Bolivar also has a world-class museum, the Museo de Arte Modemo Jesus Soto, named after the most internationally acclaimed of Venezuela 's kinetic artists, who was born and raised in the city. Another worthwhile place to visit is the Museo Geologico y Minero de la Guayana, that features scale models of many of the different mining operations in the country.