Into the wildest biodiversity on earth

Venezuela is one of the most biologically diverse countries on the planet — over 1,380 recorded bird species, the world's highest waterfall, an ancient plateau landscape that inspired Conan Doyle's The Lost World, and a river delta the size of a small country. Most of it receives fewer visitors in a year than a minor European museum gets in a week.

The Gran Sabana in the southeast is the centrepiece: a rolling savanna dotted with tepuis — flat-topped sandstone mountains that have been isolated for 1.8 billion years, evolving their own endemic species on every summit. Angel Falls drops off the edge of Auyán-tepui — 979 metres total height with an uninterrupted drop of roughly 807 metres, the tallest waterfall on earth.

Los Llanos in the west and centre is Venezuela's answer to the African savanna: during the dry season, wildlife concentrates around shrinking waterholes and anacondas are spotted from horseback. Orinoco River delta expeditions take you into indigenous Warao communities and a maze of channels where freshwater dolphins surface alongside your dugout canoe.

• Gran Sabana: sprawling savanna within the 3-million-hectare Canaima National Park
• Angel Falls (Salto Ángel): 979 m total height — the world's tallest waterfall
• Los Llanos: capybara, anaconda, giant anteater, and 300+ bird species
• Orinoco Delta: one of the largest river deltas in the Americas
• Henri Pittier National Park: among the most biodiverse protected areas in the country