Angel Falls is the tallest waterfall in the world. With a total drop of
over 3,200 feet and an uninterrupted continuous drop of over 2,600 feet,
Angel Falls has proven over and over to
be one of the most amazing
sights anyone will ever see. But, there is much more to Angel Falls than
just being the tallest waterfall in the world. There is history,
surroundings, remoteness, and beauty when it comes to Angel Falls.
Angel Falls spills over the edge of Auyantepui, the largest of all the
tepuis (or table-top) mountains in Venezuela. Translated from the local
Indian language, Auyantepui means “house of the Devil”, but how did
Angel Falls get its name? In late 1933, American pilot Jimmie Angel was
searching for a bed of ore when he by chance flew over the tallest
waterfall in the world. Four years later in 1937, Angel returned and
this time tried to land his plane (named El Rio Caroni) on top of
Auyantepui to get a better look. The plane crashed in the marshy
landscape and the entire four person party, including Angel’s wife
Maria, had to climb their way down the mountain and return to
civilization on foot. The trip took them eleven days and word of their
adventure and ordeal spread. Angel Falls was named in his honor. To this
day a plane sits atop Auyantepui to commemorate the crash site of
Angel’s plane. This is in fact a copy of the plane though as the
original was removed
in 1970 and is on display at a local airport.
The surroundings of Angel Falls are incredibly diverse. Much like other
tepuis mountains, Auyantepui, the home of Angel Falls has a completely
different environment at the base of Angel Falls as opposed to at the
spill point up above. In fact, in terms of both vegetation and animals
there are many species that have yet to be cataloged or have much
research done on them located on the table-top area of the mountain. The
rocky, and in some cases impassable, cliffs that make up the sides of
Auyantepui have acted as a barricade preventing both plants and animals
from the mountain top and base from intermingling.
The remoteness of Angel Falls makes it as difficult to get to as it is
beautiful to see. There are few roads in the area of Angel Falls and
most travel has to be done by hiking through the jungle, canoeing, or
flying by small passenger plane. Like most remote locations, part of
what makes it special is the fact that not everyone can, or is willing
to, get there. Trips to the falls themselves are either done upriver by
canoe or in a fly-by in a small plane. The canoe trips are much safer in
that with the unpredictable weather, often times on a fly-by you cannot
see the falls due to fog and mist.
With its awesome beauty, extreme remoteness, and fascinating history,
anyone can see why Angel Falls is a trip of a lifetime.
