There is an island high in the sky that seems to float in the clouds. His landscapes look so unreal that it seems as if it is another planet. Rocks of bizarre shapes and huge threads of waterfalls, stone deposits and reservoirs of different colors, outlandish plants and unusual animals. This is the Roraima Mesa in South America. It is constantly surrounded by a cloud, so it looks like an island floating in the sky.
How did this miracle of nature appear?
The mountains are called dining rooms, the peaks of which are not pointed, but flat, like a table. And their walls are almost vertical. These mountains are typical of the Guiana Highlands, and here they are called tepuis. They arose from the huge sandstone plateau, which in ancient times stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the basins of three rivers: Orinoco, Amazon and Rio Negro. Over the centuries, the plateau has been eroded and gradually destroyed.
All that remains of him is the tepui. It is possible that these mountains are the oldest on our planet. Roraima is the highest mesas in Venezuela. It seems to be carved from a rocky monolith. Its walls rise more than a thousand meters above the Great Savannah. The highest point is located at an altitude of 1810 m, huge cracks diverge from it.
For more information on the Canaima National Park in Venezuela, read our article. In addition to Mount Roraima, there are many other unique attractions.
Venezuela accounts for three-quarters of the mountain, and it is here that there is a gentle slope. From here the ascents to Roraima begin. The rest with steep slopes is located on the territory of two other countries: Brazil and Guyana.
Where the gods live
Mesa turned out to be a convenient place for gods to live. Indeed, in translation from the local dialect, tepui means "house of the gods." Mount Roraima has always been especially important to the inhabitants of the Great Savannah. And many myths and legends have been written about her. According to one of the legends, it is believed that a huge tree grew on the site of the mountain, from which all the fruits went on the earth. But one of the heroes of myths cut it down, leaving only a stump in the form of Mount Roraima. According to another legend, a goddess named Quinn lived upstairs, from whom the human race began.
Roraima translates as “big blue-green mountain”. She has always been shrouded in secrets. Only a few daredevils tried to climb it. The indigenous inhabitants of the savanna do not do this, fearing the wrath of evil spirits. Moreover, these places are called damned. And for good reason: the plateau constantly attracts lightning. The entire surface of the mountain is dotted with their blows.
Visiting a fairy tale
Roraima is always surrounded by clouds, through which the outlines of the cliffs are visible. This amazing picture creates a certain mystery and excites the imagination of travelers.
Upstairs, the feeling that you are in a fantastic movie, fairy tale or on another planet does not leave. Everything looks so unreal. Rocks of the most unusual and amazing shapes amaze the imagination. Some of them look like strange mushrooms, others like fairy castles and unusual figures. Sometimes there are placers of stones that seem to have come from other planets. Somewhere huge crevices are visible, into which several rivers merge. Long streams of water fall from high cliffs. Due to constant rains and high humidity, the surface of these rocks is covered with small algae, so they turn black. And where there are no algae, the real color of sandstone appears - bright pink. This gives the landscape an even more surreal look.
A fifth of the plateau's surface is water. Rivers, the bottom of which sparkles with the radiance of rock crystal, puddles of extraordinary bright pink color, the purest lakes with clear water, peat bogs. There are even small ponds in the form of baths and jacuzzis.
These cosmic landscapes have inspired many filmmakers to use them in films and cartoons. Like Steven Spielberg, who shot the fantastic Jurassic Park movie on Roraima.
When to go
The higher you climb the mountain, the colder and more humid it gets. In the mornings, temperatures can drop to 0 degrees, despite the warm tropical climate below. It often rains on the plateau, sometimes for several days in a row. The rainy season lasts from May to October. During this period of time, there is a risk of seeing only fog on the mountain. But on the other hand, there are few tourists and many flowers, especially orchids.
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The wonderful world of plants and animals
Most of the flora and fauna are endemic. That is, those who live directly in this limited area and develop in isolation from the rest. Therefore, they are as unusual as the local landscapes. Due to the frequent rains that wash away the soil, there is not much vegetation. There are only islands of greenery with small trees that look like bonsai. In the peat bogs, you can see outlandish flowers, moss carpets and plants that eat insects. The slopes of the mountain are decorated with ferns and gunners that look like huge burdocks.
The fauna is represented by lizards and scorpions, mice and noses, leeches and spiders. Many of them, including insects, are black. The most amazing are stone frogs. They are very small - literally a little over a centimeter. They do not jump as usual, but crawl. But if on the way there is a danger in the form of a spider or a scorpion, then they fall down like a stone. They also know how to whistle before the rain.
Secrets of the Mesa
For a long time, Roraima remained uncharted land. Few dared to climb to the top. And it was not easy to do this due to the fact that the slopes of the mountain are vertical, and they are surrounded by dense tropical forests. Only a few brave Indians made the difficult path through enchanted forests and impenetrable swamps. And then they talked about extraordinary lands with colored waters in the rivers. It all seemed incredible, and no one took these stories seriously.
It also happened with European explorers, who were the first to officially begin to study this area in 1835. These were the scientists Robert Schomburk and Yves Serne. The public laughed at them. And she took as fiction reports that contained descriptions of rivers with colored water, unusual animals and plants. The same thing happened with subsequent expeditions. Who could have believed in such a tale?
But these studies inspired the famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle. And he wrote a fantastic work "The Lost World". True, he also settled dinosaurs in these places. Only in the 1960s were the works of the next expedition to Roraima seriously studied. This time, the participants met giant ants, black frogs that were hatching eggs, a huge 15-meter snake with a strange head shape.
At one site of unknown purpose, a strange metal powder was discovered. His chemical analysis showed that such a substance could not be obtained under terrestrial conditions. Therefore, there is a version about space aliens. In confirmation of this, in the labyrinths of quartz caves on Roraima, there are rock paintings depicting strange animals and even humanoids. So the mountain still has many secrets.
How to get to the mountain
Many adventure seekers come to Venezuela to see this wonderful world with their own eyes. And who can resist such a temptation, how to get into a completely different reality without leaving our planet?
Dozens of tourists climb the mountain every day. Since Roraima is part of the Canaima National Park, you can only climb it with a guide. One is not allowed, it is too risky.During the ascent, you can get into a dense fog of high density, so you need to be careful.
The porters are Pemon Indians, very friendly and sociable locals. They carry tents, food, and you only have personal items. The Indians also cook food, take tourists downstairs if there is a need to return. You can carry all the equipment yourself, then the rise will be cheaper.
The path begins in the Indian village of Paratepui. The hike lasts 5-7 days. Somewhere you have to wade through rivers, somewhere through waterfalls. The ascent begins on the third day.
To feel the mountain, you really need to "take" it. The effort spent will pay off with interest. After all, you will find yourself in a different world surrounded by bizarre life forms that you have not met before. Feel like one of the gods living on the mountain. See the island hovering in the clouds. And take photos that will remind you of illustrations for fiction books. Only you will be the main character in these pictures.
