Cultural,
historical, handcrafts and artistic:
- closeby to "la Acequia"
you can find interesting prehispanic arqueológical sites. Petroglyphs
and polychromatic ceramics as old as 20.000 B.C. !!! The foothills
of Barinas state are probably the most important arqueological places in
Venezuela. (Caño Grande, las Lajitas, Bum Bum, Curbati or "Los Cerritos"
for example. If you are interested in visiting these wittnessesand
monuments of the past please ask in Arassari Trek for more detailed information
and maps)
- In the small but very
tidy village of " El Tesoro" exists the exposition hall "Ali
Primera" that shows paintings and sculptures of Mariano Arismendi and some
wood works of Adán Rubio. ( calle 2, casa 6-47, turn left 2 squares
after the Plaza Bolívar and ask for Mariano. The patron saint is
San Benito and local festivities are celebrated from December 23rd to 30th.
- Fundacea is a United
World College for Agriculture. It is the only one of it's type in
Latin-American. The students dedicated to agriculture learn on a 'doing it"
bases. And if you didn't know...Prince Charles and Hollywood star Katherine
Hepburn visited the site too.... At the exit of Pedraza on the way to Boca
de Anaro aprox. 2 km outside.
- Artistic handcraft centre "Cataure" is the gathering and distribution place for local
and regional handcrafts. On the main road Barinas to San Cristóbal.
100 meters before getting to the Acequia bridge.
Sports,
Mountain biking, adventure and nature:
- For the mountain bike
freaks the foothills offer some of the most spectacular routes along creeks,
dirtroads, tropical forest, plains over hanging bridges etc. Ask for more
detailed maps and 5 star routes in the area at Arassari Trek.
- Trekking
and hiking:
Hikers and trekkers will find beautiful paths and
"camino reales" leading to forgotten or ghost villages in the mountains
and National Park ( our Cabanas are named after them) Santa Rosa, El Quino,
El Carrizal and San Benito. Exuberant Vegetations, fantastic panoramic
views of mountains, foothills and the plains.... if you want too you can
walk from La Acequia to Mérida (or vice versa). The south eastern side
of the Sierra Nevada National Park is home to hundreds of different bird
and mammal species (some endangered by extinction f.ex. the spectacled
bear, torrent duck, Andean cock of the rock etc.) It is also possible to
rent mules or horses for some of these excursions. The few remaining living
people in the mountains are generally very nice, friendly and hospitable.
- Fishing:
Boca
de Anaro a fisher village, some 2 hours drive into the savannah offers a
big variety of neotropical fauna to contemplate and on a river excursion
(by motorboat) one can get inside the wood reserve of Ticoporo or fish
national species such as Cat fish (bagre rayado), peacock (pavón),
coporro, cachama, palometa, el dorado, sierra or piranhas (caribes) for
example. In the months from august to October some spectacular nesting places
with thousands of scarlet, white and green ibis, herons and egrets can
be seen from the road.
-Rafting,
kayaking, river tubing and other watersports:
The Acequia river next to
our camp and the vicinity of rivers like the Canagua, Siniguis, Bum Bum
y Sto. Domingo invite to play, swim, train and learn the use of whitewater
kayaking, rodeo, inner tubing or simply enjoy the beach and Tarzan ropes,
snorkel in the pools or catch a nice suntan on a river beach.... and of
course there is whitewater rafting from May/ June to November/ December.
For the very relaxed ones maybe a bath in the hot springs is welcome.
...if the rafting should
not be enough adrenaline kick our plans extend to paragliding and extreme
canyoning for advanced levels. For more information about extreme
plans in the surrounding contact Arassari Trek.
Birding,
amphibians and Butterfly watching:
Birdies and other creature
lovers would be surprised by how much the zone offers for them. The advantage
consists of linking jungle, mountains and plains together. check out this
link to find alist of species.
We invite you to come
and enjoy this pleasure of pure nature.
Reservations tel/fax.: 0274
2525879, Cel. 0414 7463569
or via email:
info@arassari.com
