Venezuela is a country of extraordinary diversity and natural beauty where the sun shines most days of the year. Nowhere else will you find such a fusion of heavenly tropical beaches, snow-capped giant mountains, steaming pristine jungle and a vast mysterious savannah.
In the North there’s over 3000km of Caribbean coast where swaying coconut palms grace white-sandy beaches and a myriad of deserted islands pepper the horizon. The snow-capped peaks of the Andes rise above 5000m in the west and drop down into endless wildlife-filled central savannah, which drains into the eighth longest river, the Orinoco and home to the ancient Warao Indians. In the South, steamy Amazonian jungles, haven to a plethora of exotic plants and animals, and also the Gran Sabana plateau, a (hauntingly) beautiful expanse, ‘the lost world’, with its unique table-topped mountains, where cascades the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls.
All this and Venezuela still remains relatively undiscovered!
PASSPORTS AND VISAS Passport Required? Visa Required? Return Ticket Required? EU Yes No* Yes British Yes No* Yes Australian Yes No* Yes Canadian Yes No* Yes USA Yes No* Yes Japanese Yes No* Yes
* Visa required if not entering the country by air.
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR VENEZUELA
Area 912,050 sq km (352,144 sq miles).
Population 23,706,000 (1999).
Population Density 26 per sq km.
Capital Caracas
Language Spanish is the official language. English, French, German and Portuguese are also spoken by some sections of the community.
Religion 92 per cent Roman Catholic.
Time GMT - 4 1/2
Electricity 110 volts AC, 60Hz. US-style two-pin plugs are the most commonly used fittings.
Weights and Measures Metric
Communications Telephone IDD is available. Country code: +58. Outgoing international code: 00
Internet Internet and Email is widely available in all cities. ISPs include CantvNet, Internet Venezuela and Compuserve Venezuela.
Mobile telephone Coverage is improving and is available round all cities. Tri-band phones cvan be used in only the major cities. GSM 900 network. Operators include Digitel, Digicel and Infonet
