Hiking Angel Falls

After doing the Andes World Travel  Angel Falls - Rappel & Trek trip (Explora Treks in country) we come out with some handy tips for anyone who is looking to do this trek/rappel or another tour which may offer something similar. If your interested in a bit of Angel Falls history and background click here

Fitness and Experience

This trip covers 15-20km per day undulating terrain walking on un-maintained trails. Approx. 8 hour days with jungle bathrooms (if you know what I mean). Abseiling with all your bags and being on some precarious high ledges. With that said you get to see some stunning scenery, meet great people and experience something of a lifetime!

Guides are experienced in taking people on this tour, have climbing experience and very helpful. Abseiling experience is not required but recommended. ExploraTreks recommend a minimum of basic rappel rope management skills. We didn't do much prior however a day course from the Australian School of Mountaineering helped boost confidence.

Revised Packing List 

Amendments to the provided packing list:

• Snacks (whilst breakfast lunch and dinner is always provided, snacks for the day is not)
• Soap/shampoo/conditioner (nearly all camps have the opportunity to bath in a river or stream, also handy for washing clothes)
• Gators or old shoes (not a huge fan of gators but there is some serious mud on this trek)
• Ear plugs (charted plane sounds like a lawn mower for an hour or two - music earbuds may do the trick)
• Mosquito (puli puli) net (optional - not on our packing list provided but you do sleep open air a couple of times where they can be bad
• Plates, cups and forks were on the list but not required

Itinerary

Additional notes to existing itineraries here and here

 

Day 1 - Arrival - Caracas - Cuidad Bolivar

Arrive 3am transit to Cuidad Bolivar arrive midday (9 hour car ride). Transfers normally by connecting flight if available in country (wasn't available for us due to issues in country). Option to leave bag with the tour company at airport and pick up on return flight from Canaima. 

Day 2 - Cuidad Bolivar - Uruyen Camp

Up breakfast 7am fly 8-9am (take ear plugs - leave stuff at airport) to campsite (1.5 hours - 7000ft). Arrive noon. Hike to swimming hole (3 hour round trip - no box lunch). Dinner around 4-5pm plus briefing

Day 3 - Uruyen Camp - Guayaraca Camp

7am weigh gear hike by 8.40 first campsite 5-6 hours 15km (4 hours with lunch - 1 hour to cliff 2 hours climb 1 hour to camp site with lunch stop). Arrive around 2. Go for swim in near by river

Day 4 - Guayaraca Camp - El Penon Camp

Up at 6.40 hiking by 8.40 up hill Forrest across plain to jungle take water before going up ascent in jungle. Lunch at big rock with site seeing of previous levels. Continue up jungle forest to campsite (6 hours). Setup camp under the rock and refresh in the stream 2 mins away.

Day 5 - El Penon Camp - El Oso Camp

Up at 6.40 for 8.30 start walk to cliff face up similar terrain as before. At the cliff face walk and climb your way using various rope systems to the 3rd terrace. Take lunch and continue to walk to the next camp site over flat rock. Make sure you pack your toggs in your day pack for a mid day bath in the orange river. Short 45 minute walk to camp (finish at 4.30 - 8hours). Fill water at orange river since no water available at the campsite.

Day 6 - El Oso Camp - Lecho Camp

Short day today. Set out at 9am across the terrace walk through forest to the Churun river, arrive at 11.30 and take a swim while lunch is prepared. Another 45mins through undulating terrain alo
ng the river to the next camp site (1.45pm arrival). More swimming and relaxing

Day 7 - Lecho Camp - Neblina Camp

Mud day! Long pants a must! Ascend away from Churun river up to the ridge to make your way though the labyrinth of trees and rocks. Now the fun part! Navigate the swampy plateau to the creek to refill drink bottles and energy tanks (3hours) then onward through the swamp to the lunch spot by the stream (1 hour). After lunch a little more mud until the downhill decent to the campsite to relax by the creek to wash off all the mud. (9am - 4pm with lunch break).

Day 8 - Neblina Camp - Salto Angel Camp

Early start as the last day hiking will be the hardest. Set out north east through thick scrub for about a hour to the weather station then cut back into the forest where the track will wind through the bush to the lunch spot by the river. After lunch continue for about 2 hours through the bush on the narrow track lined by tree roots to the next camp site on the edge. Take a break or a bath since you earned it and prepare for the rappel.

Day 9 - Rest Day

Rest day today (or at least on our trip since its negotiable) is a good opportunity to get your gear in order, possibly a couple of test rappels and go see the edge of angel falls. Take a moment to view the Kerepacupai river as this is what feeds angel falls.

Day 10 - Rappel: Salto Angel Campsite - La Cueva Ledge

Rappel day. A very early start (5.30) to have breakfast and packed and ready to begin repelling by 7am. Take a short walk to the first rappel point and follow the instructions of the guides. Take a deep breath before launching yourself into almost 1km of decent over 2 days (14 rapells varying from ~20m - 95m in length). First day is 7 rappels and half the distance to the cave camp spot. You will most probably arrive in the dark so get your sleeping arrangements sorted, something to eat then rest.

Day 11 - Rappel: La Cueva Ledge - Isla Raton Campsite

Wake up to stunning angel falls views from the campsite if you managed to get some sleep! After a quick breakfast and packing up the camp its straight back into it for another day of repels. Today most repel s are through jungle like terrain hit another 500m none the less. After deciding the 7 pitches you find yourself in jungle on there side of the wall. About an hour walk to the best ground viewing point of angel falls. After a quick group photo it's on the trail again to the next camp site (2 hours) where other team members are waiting with a hot cooked meal and drinks. Likely a bath in the river at night since its been a long day. Sleeping in hammocks.

Day 12 - Boat: lsla Raton Campsite - Canaima

The last of the early starts. Take breakfast then a boat ride down the Churun/Carrao river (approx. 5 hours). If the river is shallow a few walking stops along the way may be needed to get the long boat through. Arrive at Canaima pier and unload bags onto waiting transport to take you to the nights accommodation (Morichal Lodge) where lunch and drinks are available. Take some downtime and or a boat ride to see the falls in the afternoon followed by dinner and a free evening.

Day 13 - Canaima - Cuidad Bolivar - Caracas

Early morning flight from Canaima to Ciudad Bolivia then a transit back to Caracas (car or plane). Nights accommodation near the airport (ole something).

Day 14 - Caracas - Departure

Following day transfer to Caracas airport by inclusive transfer.

Money

At the time of travel (Dec 2018) the exchange rates for Venezuela was as follows. It was a bit confusing with the whole official and unofficial rates but this article gives a bit of insight. There is some controversy about the unofficial rate which apparently is influenced by the information on this website. Most people in country pay with a bank card since carrying around cash is a little inconvenient. We only found one place in Canaima where we could exchange currency (USD for Bolivars) but our new Venezuelan friends were kind enough to cover our costs until we found a place to exchange money.

Official Rate:

25,000 = 2.50c USD

100,000 = 10 USD

1,000,000 = 100 USD

Unofficial Rate:

25,000 = .25c USD

100,000 = 1 USD

1,000,000 = 10 USD

Exchange in Canaima:
80000 = 1 USD

50 USD = 4,000,000 Bolivars

Costs

Porter cost approx. 35USD (15kgs / 3 USD per day) for Tupi hike. Need to take your bag down the abseil with you (strapped to your ATC belay device)

Equipment hire was $50 USD for the following

1 x harness

1 x helmet

3 x carabina

2 x sling (one for bag and one for you)

1 x black diamond ATC belay device

Some approximate costs to get an idea of budgeting:

Postcard and magnet  = 15,000 Bolivars

Dinner meal (hotel) =  500,000 Bolivars

Beer (Canaima) = 1USD

Bottle of Rum (Cacique) = 660,000 Bolivars

Hotel food costs as per picture

If your looking to travel to other places in or near Venezuela why not try some of the other large cities or somewhere in the Caribbean.

Hiking Mt Kilimanjaro

MT Kilimanjaro

Africa’s highest peak and the world’s highest freestanding mountain. Standing at 5895 meters this hike has to be one of the most physically and mentally challenging things I have done. We did this as part of our Intrepid tour but can also be organised separately (range from about $1200 to $5500).

Ground work

Pre Training

We did some research for training before going and some seemed a bit over the top (Hill walking 20 miles with 15kg). However since we didn’t know exactly what to expect it was hard to say what and how much fitness is required. I would say I’m of average fitness (social sports, 5km runs, gym sessions, etc) and the pre training we did was bush walking / hiking, leg sessions (gym) and some hill walking.

Essentially I would say you need to be comfortable walking up hill 15kms per day (8 hours) for 5 days straight with about 5-10kgs on your back (3 litres of water, rain gear and snacks)

While I could say our fitness could have been a bit better (calf’s and quads were sore on the 4/5th day) you could probably say this regardless of how much you train, chances are you will be sore after the climb!

Packing List

Suggested packing list with some additions from what we took. We stayed at the Marangu Hotel who’s hospitality was fantastic. they did a pre climb check on our gear and gave us anything they felt we needed at no extra charge. Would highly recommend booking through them if possible!

• gloves/mittens
• scarf/neck warmer
• sunglasses / hat
• 2 pairs warm trousers (the zip off shorts seemed to be popular with our group)
• Thermal underpants and vest/long sleeved
• 6 pairs socks thin and thick
• T-shirts x 3, long sleeve shirts x 2-3
• Sweater/fleece x 1
• Waterproof trousers and jacket
• Boots and trainers/sandals
• Day pack, approx 30 litres
• Refillable water bottles (3 x 1 litre). These should be canteen style, some people said that they weren’t allowed to just take normal bottled water.
• Good quality, super-warm 4-season sleeping bag (the night in Kibo for us was quite cold!)
• Headache tablets (these came in handy at the Kibo hut)
• Imodium (loperamide)
• Climbers may like to consult their physicians about azetazolomide (Diamox), a drug that many find mitigates the ill effects of altitude, headache, diarrhoea & vomiting.
• Towel/soap/toiletries
• Torch/flashlight and spare batteries (head torches are really great/recommended)
• Gaiters (didn’t think I’d use them but they came in handy with the rain pants I had to save the bottom)
• Sunblock and high SPF lip balm
• Camera, film, extra batteries – you will not be able to recharge on the mountain but can at the Marangu Hotel before and after the climb
• Wet wipes
• Walking stick was really handy on the last day (we borrowed ours from the Mangaru hotel before leaving which saved us taking it all over the place)

On the ground

There are six official routes up the mountain (Machame, Marangu, Rongai, Lemosho, Umbwe, Shira) but the route we took was the Marangu which is the most popular route of all. This is most likely due to Marangu is the only route which offers Hut accomodation (as opposed to tents). Our Itinerary for the climb was as follows:

• Day 1: Marangu Gate (1980 m) – Mandara hut (2700 m). Hiking time: 5 hours
• Day 2: Mandara hut (2700) – Horombo hut (3720 m). Hiking time: 6 hours
• Day 3: Horombo hut (3720 m) – Kibo hut (4700 m). Hiking time: 6 hours
• Day 4: Kibo hut (4700m) - Uhuru Peak (5895 m) - Horombo hut (3720 m). Hiking time: 8 hours to Uhuru (start at 12am) – 6 hours to descend to Horombo (lunch and rest before descending)
• Day 5: Horombo hut (3720 m) – Marangu Gate (1980 m). Hiking time: 6 hours

Meals & Accommodation

All meals were cooked by our support group (chef), very tasty and no complaints here 
Hut accommodation is covered in the with pillow/mattress provided. The huts are mostly A frame which sleep 4 people in a bunk arrangement.

Altitude Sickness

Altitude sickness or Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is caused by exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude. The effects can include headaches, nausea, dizziness, short of breath, etc. While AMS is a serious issue, most people will feel some sort of adverse affect to being at high altitude (headaches / short of breath) and is expected. The treatment for AMS is quite simple; descend, descend, descend.

Drugs such as diamox are meant to help prevent AMS however with all drugs there are side effects. There was differing opinions on taking diamox among our group. When we were on safari we met a guy from Germany whom just finished the Kili climb before and he said he didn’t take it and many doctors / people in Europe recommend not to take it. He successfully reached the summit with just a few headache tablets.

I decided to only take it if I felt I had AMS and it could help reduce the effects. I took 1/2 a tablet before starting our ascend to make sure I did not have any adverse reactions to the drug. Fortunately for me I didn’t have to take any more (just a few headache tablets at Kibo).

Other members in the group took the diamox and also successfully reached the summit and they had no issue taking the drug so I would probably say at the end of the day it’s a personal choice. People successfully reach the top with and without taking diamox.

All 8 members of our group successfully completed the climb and I believe this had a lot to do with our guide Fataeli’s climbing method. Our leader was a 67 year old man whom makes the climb every week, right there is some motivation – if a 67 year old man can do it every week surely I can to? Also the pace he sets at times might seem slow but has been proven in the past with 95+% success rate. The biggest tip for success was that it’s not a race and you set your own pace. As long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other you will reach the top.

$$$$$

You don’t need any money on the mountain as there isn’t anything you can purchase after the entrance gate. We left all our personal belongings (passports, credit cards, etc) in the safe at the Marangu Hotel.

When tipping your crew after the climb we used the Marangu Hotels rule of thumb found here
http://www.maranguhotel.com/marangu/faq.html
we tipped approx $70 each (8 people in our group with 18 staff supporting)and shouted a few rounds of beers afterwards

Cost

All our costs were included in our intrepid tour apart from the snacks we brought and tipping afterwards.
http://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/tanzania/serengeti-kilimanjaro-53783/

Final words.

I’d say hiking Mt Kilimanjaro is 40% fitness 60% mental determination and 10% luck. If your fortunate enough not to get sick or injure yourself along the way or not be affected by altitude sickness your off to a good start. All that’s left is the level of fitness and commitment to reach the top. If you have all of these you should be fine!

Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro was a bit of a last minute decision but after completing the hike it definitely felt like an achievement as opposed to the usual relaxing holiday. If your an outdoors person and or adventurous I would highly recommend.