Caracas - Venezuela

Caracas – the capital of Venezuela - displays the common sight of a populated city in a developing country. Hemmed by verdant forested hills, the city packs within its contours, a vast cross section of a population - 4 million of them - that includes the abject poor living in shanty towns to middle class and upper-middle class populace to the extremely rich businessmen.

It is one of the populated cities in Venezuela, and the one in the continent with a rich cultural heritage and history. Caracas is also a popular tourist destination in South America.

Caracas is classified into districts called Urbanizaciones. For somebody who is on a tourist sojourn, a bit of idea about the famous places and districts in which they are located will make things a lot easier, both in planning and scheduling the trips.

The major Urbanizaciones include El Silencio (home to Teatro Municipal), El Conde, famous for its colonial past, San Bernadino, Parque Central, known for its shopping centers, Chacaito, Las Mercedes, Sabana Grande (city center, famous for top notch restaurants and night clubs), and Altamira. To find out where to start and where to end the tour, it would be a better idea to seek the advice of some expert tourist guides or refer the suggestion of few of the popular tourism magazines.

Here is a brief peep into the must-visit locales in and around Caracas. The most overwhelming attraction in Caracas is the mount El Ávila. Thousands of people of Caracas flock into the mountain slopes and its valley to breathe some fresh air, a brief evening stroll, or a little bit of exercise. The national park that the mountain hides within its greenery caters to the nature and animal loving lots.

Other popular tourist spots in the city include Capitolio Federal, the green paradise at the city center, Parque del Este, which also houses a small zoo, the UNESCO heritage site, Ciudad Universitaria, Casa Natal de Bolívar Museum that reminds of the Caracas’ colonial past, Parque Central, Plaza Bolivar, Museo de Arte Colonial, and Panteón Nacional. Caracas also has a number of other parks littered all around its geography. So, if you are looking for some good place to rest and relax in between, you may not have to go too long to find one. If you have more time to spare, consider taking a trip to the suburb towns and to the serene country sides.

The weather of Caracas facilitates a near round-the-year sort of favorable atmosphere for tourist activities. From June to October, it is rainy season in Venezuela, but it rarely rains in this part of the world (max 100 mm), and the climate is mostly mild and constant without any extremes. No wonder, travel magazines describe Caracas as the ‘land of never-ending spring’.

Caracas is served by the Simón Bolívar airport in Maiquetía, located 26 km from the city center.