Bucket List / Adventure Travel Goals
Abseil Angel Falls
Still to do
Most people see the world's highest waterfall from a canoe or a light aircraft; you'd be roping down beside it.
The adventure
Angel Falls pours off the lip of Auyán-tepui, a vast flat-topped mountain rising out of the Venezuelan jungle, and drops 979 metres, making it the highest uninterrupted waterfall on Earth. Most visitors admire it from a dugout canoe or a sightseeing flight. Abseiling it means going over the edge.
The expedition starts with days of travel by river and on foot, then a climb onto the tepui, a strange plateau of black rock, carnivorous plants and drifting mist. From the top you descend the wall in stages, rope length by rope length, with spray blowing across the face and nights spent bivouacking on ledges hundreds of metres above the forest. Below you, the water dissolves into cloud long before it reaches the ground. It's one of the rarest and most committing adventures on the planet, run only occasionally by a handful of specialists.
Why it’s epic
- Descending beside the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall, 979 metres from top to bottom.
- Exploring the summit plateau of Auyán-tepui in Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Travelling upriver by dugout canoe on the Carrao and Churún rivers.
- The falls take their name from Jimmie Angel, the American pilot who landed on top of the tepui in 1937.
What it is
Abseiling Angel Falls means descending around 980 metres of rock next to the world's highest waterfall.
How to do it
Very few operators run this expedition, which includes a climb up Auyán-tepui and several days of abseiling and camping on the wall.
Top tip
You'll need solid rope skills and should check UK Foreign Office advice for Venezuela.
Need to know
- Only a handful of specialist operators run this, irregularly, so expect a long lead time.
- You need solid abseiling and rope-work skills and the fitness for several days of exposure on a big wall.
- The UK Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to Venezuela, which affects insurance, so check the latest advice first.
- The falls flow strongest in the rainy season, roughly June to November, which is also when the rivers are high enough for boats.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £5,000 or more per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- 1 to 2 weeks
- Best time to go
- June to November
- Fly into
- CCS airport
Specialist guides, river and air logistics and the tiny number of departures make this an expensive expedition.
Make it happen
Some of these are affiliate links: if you book through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. More about this.
Why it’s on my list
Not done yet. If you’ve done it and have tips, tell me about it.
Comments