Angel Falls is the tallest waterfall in the world, and no road leads to it. You fly in over the tepuis, travel upriver in a dugout canoe with Pemón guides and finish on foot through the jungle. Here is how the trip actually works, when to go and how many nights you need.
We are Venezuelans, and Canaima is the trip we are asked about most. If you want to see how we put it together, this is our Angel Falls and Canaima trip (in Spanish), and we are happy to plan it with you in English.
Where Angel Falls is
Angel Falls drops from the top of Auyán-tepui, a flat-topped mountain in Canaima National Park, in Bolívar state, in the southeast of Venezuela. The park covers about 30,000 km², one of the largest in the country, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. The Pemón, the indigenous people of the area, call the falls Kerepakupai Merú.
It is named after Jimmie Angel, an American pilot who landed his plane on top of Auyán-tepui in 1937 and made the falls known outside Venezuela. You will see it written as Angel Falls, Salto Ángel or Salto del Ángel: it is the same waterfall.
How to get to Angel Falls
The trip has three legs, and none of them is a road.
1The flight to Canaima
Canaima, the small village at the edge of the park, is only reachable by air. Scheduled flights leave Caracas on Thursdays and Sundays, and there are also small planes from Ciudad Bolívar and Puerto Ordaz. Your international flight will land in Caracas in the afternoon or evening, and the flights to Canaima leave early in the morning, so plan on one night in Caracas between the two.
2Upriver by curiara
From Canaima you travel in a curiara, the long wooden dugout canoe of the region, with Pemón guides who know every rapid. You go up the Carrao and Churún rivers, with Auyán-tepui in front of you the whole way: about four hours on the water. You can do it in a single long day, or sleep in a hammock on Ratoncito Island, right in front of the falls, which for many people is the best part of the trip.
3The walk to the viewpoint
From the island, about an hour on foot through the jungle takes you to the Laime viewpoint, where you see the whole drop. It is not technical, but it is steep, with roots, slippery rock and humidity around 80–90 %. Good shoes with grip and normal fitness are enough.
The best time to visit Angel Falls
The river decides everything. The curiara can only reach the foot of the falls when the water is high.
| Months | River | How you see the falls |
|---|---|---|
| June to November | High | By curiara to the foot of the falls, with the walk to the viewpoint. The falls are at their fullest. |
| May and December | Changing | Depends on the year: sometimes the boat gets through, sometimes not. |
| January to April | Low | From the air, on a scenic flight in a small plane. The lagoon and the waterfalls around Canaima are still beautiful. |
If seeing the falls from below is the point of your trip, travel between June and November. If your dates are fixed in the dry season, the scenic flight is spectacular in its own way.
What else there is in Canaima
Canaima Lagoon is the base of the trip: tea-coloured water with several waterfalls pouring into it and the tepuis on the horizon. From there you can walk behind one of the waterfalls, swim in natural pools and take boat trips on the lagoon. Lodging around the lagoon ranges from comfortable mid-range camps to high-end lodges, and most work as full board, with meals and park excursions included, which makes perfect sense in a place with no roads.
If you want to add beaches, Angel Falls and Los Roques are the combination people ask us for most: the most dramatic landscape of the interior and the clearest water of the Caribbean in one trip.
How many days you need
Three or four nights in Canaima, plus a night in Caracas on the way in. With four nights you can go up to the falls with a night in a hammock and still enjoy the lagoon without rushing. Because flights to Canaima run on set days, the stay is built around them.
What to pack
- Shoes with good grip that can get wet, and a pair of sandals.
- A rain jacket and a dry bag: you will get splashed in the curiara.
- Insect repellent and sun protection.
- A light layer for the night in the hammock and for the early morning on the river.
- Cash in small notes for tips and small purchases.
Domestic flights have tight baggage limits, so travel light and check the allowance before you go.
Before you travel
US citizens need a Venezuelan visa, which is not issued on arrival; since April 2026 it is applied for online as an e-visa, according to EY. Requirements for other nationalities vary, so check them with your government before booking. American Airlines flies nonstop between Miami and Caracas again, and from Europe there are direct flights from Madrid. For the big question, read our honest answer to is Venezuela safe?
In short
A flight to Canaima on a Thursday or a Sunday, three or four nights by the lagoon, four hours upriver between June and November and an hour on foot: that is how you reach the tallest waterfall in the world. Everything else, from the internal flights and park permits to the camp, the guides and the night in Caracas, is what we organise for you. Have a look at our Angel Falls trip and write to us on WhatsApp for a tailor-made proposal.
