Cueva del Guácharo National Park
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Cueva del Guácharo
(a man is standing in the cave mouth)
(a man is standing in the cave mouth)
The Cueva del Guácharo National Park has as its centerpiece a large cave ("cueva" in Spanish) 12km from Caripe, which is the home of thousands of oilbirds (guácharos in Spanish; scientific name Steatornis caripensis). This vegetarian, nocturnal species was made known to science by Alexander von Humboldt and named by him after the town of Caripe.
The cave itself was designated as Venezuela's first National Monument, in 1949. The National Park was later created to conserve the cave-system and environment of the birds. The cave is a limestone cavern over 10 km long, with a number of large chambers and spectacular rock formations. The temperature inside the cave generally remains near 19° C and the humidity at 100%.
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