Cerro Roraima

Between Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana lies a mammoth tabletop mountain that rises up to 9,219 feet. This incredible geological feature was the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World and Disney/Pixar's Up. The mountain is covered almost entirely in sandstone with very few bushes able to survive. Combined with the near-daily rainfall, this is one of the most inhospitable places in the world. Torrents of water wash over the edges and create some of the world's tallest waterfalls. 


There are a few ways to reach this mountain. The most popular is to travel to the village of Paraitepui in Venezuela. Paraitepui is on a dirt road off of the main Gran Sabana road between kilometer 88 and Santa Elena de Uairen. After reaching the village, your best bet is to hire a local Pemon Indian guide to take you up the mountain. While the path up is marked, once you reach the top there are no markings and the poor conditions on the top make visual referencing difficult. Tour companies organize five-day tours.