niche bucketlist #6
Canaima National Park, Venezuela
Welcome to the niche bucketlist series, where I explore an obscure destination I’ve been obsessed with and take you along for the research. The goal here is to learn about less-known yet fascinating places around the world and plan out realistic ways to visit them. The niche bucketlist is a weekly newsletter featuring a new destination every Sunday until I run out.
Let’s learn something new together—this time in a special Venezuela edition! 🇻🇪
What if I told you there’s a place so magical it feels almost otherworldly? A waterfall set in a landscape so mesmerizingly gorgeous it stood as an inspiration for a whole Disney movie? A national park with so much history, mystique and wonder to offer that once you learn about its existence, you can’t stop thinking about it?
That’s Canaima National Park in Venezuela. I learned about this place from my partner, who learned about it from the movie Up! It’s home to the world’s tallest waterfall, as well as many other out-of-this-world natural marvels. It’s a place I simply need to see before I die.
But here lies the problem—the country that claims this natural wonder makes it far more than just a niche destination. Venezuela isn’t exactly a tourist hotspot, and as a matter of fact, it’s probably on your home country’s do-not-travel warning list. If you were to tell your friends and family about planning a trip there, some eyebrows would be raised at the very least.
Therefore, much research for this niche bucketlist edition went into determining whether visiting Venezuela in 2025 is at all a sane and doable plan, all the safety concerns that come with the territory, precautions one would have to take to counter them, and also the ethics of visiting such place.
what & where
Canaima National Park covers an area of around 30,000 square kilometers in south-eastern Venezuela, close to the country’s triple border with Brazil and Guyana. Deep in the rainforest, this UNESCO World Heritage site is only accessible by air.
Most of the national park is covered by tepuis, the South American equivalents of table mountains. One of these unique rock formations features the fairytale-like Salto del Ángel, or Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall on Earth.
Other important landmarks include the sacred Mt. Roraima, the first tepui in the area to have been scaled (that we know of), and other smaller waterfalls and rock pools on the Carrao River lagoon. The whole area is also the ancestral homeland of the indigenous Pemon people who live around the river basin and believe the tepuis to be inhabited by spirits.
And of course, it’s the perfect place to observe all kinds of wildlife.
how to get there & around
To visit Canaima, you will first need to fly to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. From there, the flight to Canaima National Park leaves twice a week.
However, if you opt for an organized tour (which is the safest way to do this trip), the Caracas-Canaima return flight tickets are usually already included in your package.
Once in the national park, you will have all your transport, meals, and activities included in your tour, so you don’t really need to organize anything else.
You can book your package either via a tour agency, for example Soco Adventures, or directly with one of the lodges (campamentos) in the park, such as Wakú. Visiting Canaima without a tour is possible but not recommended.
safety
It would be foolish to pretend like traveling to Venezuela is completely risk-free—Caracas is still listed as one of the most dangerous places in the world. On the other hand, it’s probably safer than what the media would like you to think, especially if you’re planning to visit one of the popular tourist destinations like Canaima or Los Roques.
As long as you stay in these areas, you aren’t likely to get kidnapped, mugged, or worse. Or at least not much more likely than in Colombia (which is, by the way, where over 2 million Venezuelans have fled a couple of years ago), Brazil, or other Latin American countries. The worst crisis has passed, and the country is more or less stable right now. Of course, this can change rapidly and unexpectedly, so closely monitoring what’s going on in the country prior to making the trip is essential.
One thing that could potentially become an issue is medical care. Should something go wrong during your trip, be it a sickness or an injury, you might not get the best possible care and you’d probably also put strain on the already struggling Venezuelan healthcare system. Good insurance is a must.
The biggest potential danger, however, doesn’t currently seem to come from criminals or germs but rather from the Venezuelan government itself.
foreigner arrests in venezuela
Getting arrested seems to be the number one concern regarding traveling to Venezuela right now. There are currently over 80 foreign nationals detained in Caracas on conspiracy or terrorism accusations. That number may seem small, but considering how few people actually visit the country, it’s way larger than it probably should be.
In September 2024, three Americans, two Spaniards, and one Czech were detained on charges of plotting to destabilize Venezuela and assassinate President Nicolás Maduro. I’m not sure what happened to the others, but the Czech guy still hasn’t made it home as of October 2025. Since his arrest, he was allowed only one 5-minute phone call with his family. There has been no trial so far.
According to our media and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, negotiating with Venezuela is extremely difficult, and these detentions are repeatedly described as the government taking hostages. (In case Maduro is reading this, this is definitely not my own opinion. I have nothing against you and really love the AI videos where you marry Taylor Swift. I’m so sorry she cheated. Please don’t arrest me.)
But to be fair, although all involved countries deny conspiracy, at least some of the six men in this story had military backgrounds. Plus, the group was detained in a remote border town in the Venezuelan Amazon, which is not exactly part of the average tourist’s itinerary. That’s not to say they’re guilty or should be in prison, but looking deeper into the story gave me some reassurance that regular people just wanting to see Angel Falls are unlikely to meet the same fate.
ethical concerns
Honestly, after examining Venezuela’s tourism model, I don’t see anything inherently problematic about visiting the country in the current year. It’s not North Korea. You can technically go anywhere you want within the country, speak to whoever you want, and do whatever you want, except perhaps talking badly about Chávez and Maduro.
It’s not Haiti or Afghanistan either. Keep in mind that while the Western media portrays Venezuela as a lawless place with no food or medicine, and the Venezuelan government, in turn, claims that there’s no crisis at all and the country is doing great, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. There are, of course, problems. But as of 2025, they don’t seem to be much worse than what happens in countries people regularly vacation in without a second thought.
As long as you approach your trip respectfully and with an open mind, I don’t really see traveling to Venezuela and supporting its tourism industry as a bad or unethical thing. Of course, as always, remember to stay, eat & spend locally.
things to keep in mind
Based on my research, I figured that I’ll probably postpone my trip to Canaima for now, but it will definitely stay on my radar. However, that’s a personal choice—sources seem to agree that in 2025, at least the highlights of Venezuela are no more dangerous than other South American countries, although the safe way to visit will cost you quite a bit of money.
If I were to make the trip right now, here are a few things I’d do to minimize potential risks:
Hire a local guide. Absolutely non-negotiable. For me, Venezuela is not a country to YOLO through independently, even though it’s technically possible. Book a tour with a reputable and knowledgeable local agency to make sure you stay safe and your money goes to the community.
Stay in tourist areas. Again, I don’t think Venezuela is the place to go off the beaten path. The risk is simply too high, as going to places deemed unattractive for tourism could raise suspicions. Luckily, Canaima is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, so traveling there shouldn’t be an issue.
Abide by the law. Know the rules and follow them. Simple as that. I wouldn’t want to try my luck with the Venezuelan authorities.
Don’t talk politics. I’ve heard enough stories from my own country’s past. If someone local wants to share their political opinions, great. But I wouldn’t partake. For the purpose of a trip like this, I’d know absolutely nothing about what’s going on anywhere in the world.
Basic safety precautions. Like in most places around Latin America, this isn’t to be taken lightly. No flashy objects on display, no walking alone after dark in sketchy areas… use common sense, make your safety a priority, and you can significantly lower the risk of something bad happening.
resources
This article from a Spanish backpacker informed many of my points and overall was extremely helpful.
In next week’s niche bucketlist we’re going to: Poland 🇵🇱
And in case you missed our last niche destination, check it out below ⬇️
I spent a lot of time on this one, trying to do this complicated country justice in a nuanced way. As always, this article is based on research I’ve done but if anyone has anything to add or correct me on, feel free to comment or shoot me an email—I’m always keen to learn some more.
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Thank you for being here xx
fialka
Woah, so cool to hear about the place that inspired such an iconic movie!
I loved reading this, thank you so much for sharing. I had no idea this was the spot which inspired the location in Up! 🥹
It is always evident how much work and research you put into these posts, but this one in particular was really informative, and clearly had a lot of love put into it. Keep up the fantastic work; I look forward to reading these every week ❤️