The Autana Route
This excursion takes us into the Amazon traveling by boat to the sacred Autana
Mountain believed to be the trunk of the Tree of Life to the Piaroa Indians.
- 1st Day 9:00 A.M. Breakfast in Puerto Ayacucho. Depart from Puerto Ayacucho to Puerto de Samariapo (1 hour) by car to the end of the roadways. From this point we pack and board our bongo (typical boat used by natives carved from a single tree) to travel by river. Going up the Orinoco we have a short stop on the Isla de Raton and from here we take the Rio Sipapo. During our journey we observe some Piaroa communities and visit one of them. Here we enjoy lunch surrounded with the lush vegetation of the jungle sitting on the rocky shores. Continuing on the same river, we later navigate onto the Autana River, which we follow for a few more hours to our camp. Here we hang our hammocks in a churuata, a traditional construction made from palm tree. In the late afternoon we can take a fresh bath in the river. In the evening, we enjoy a hot dinner cooked with fire and maybe watch for shooting stars!
The Tepui Cerro Autana was declared natural monument in 1978. It is one of the table mountains of southern Venezuela and about 1.300 mts high. Inside the mountain, there is a cave that mesures 395 mts long and 40 mts heigh which
consists entirely of quartz.
- 2nd Day After breakfast we make a two-hour hike through the jungle where we can observe the Conuco, typical indigenous agriculture. Maybe here we can find some tarantulas! We return to the community and take a curiara (a long small native boat without engine and roof) and paddle down a narrow river for about four hours. With no engine to scare away the animals we have a good chance to see some Amazon wild life. After lunch we hike three hours through the wilderness to our shelter. In the evening we make a fire and prepare dinner. Later in the night, we navigate around the region in search of cayman…
- 3rd Day Start our day with a good breakfast and return by the curiara (aprox 3 hrs) to the community. Here we take our bongo again and travel on the Autana River with a short lunch break continuing on towards the sacred Autana Tepuy. Traveling we pass by the Cerro called the Cara del Indio Durmiente (the face of the sleeping Indian). After dinner we stay over night in an indigenous community almost on the foot of the Guajari Mountain.
- 4th Day Breakfast. Hike to the Cerro Guaraji (approx 4 hrs). Where we will have a spectacular view of The Autana and the expansive green jungle. Here we have our last impressions sharing lunch before returning to Puerto Ayacucho.
Please contact us or Coyote Expeditions
for details about this excursion.