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Venezuelans love the lore of the llanos and claim that the llanero,
or Venezuelan cowboy, is a "man of extremes who walks without transition and without difficulty from flood to drought, and from the solitude of the desert to the tumult of the festival".
The Llanos, the vast savannah region of Venezuela, sustains a
breathtakingly rich variety of wildlife that revolves around dramatic
flood/draught cycles, of seemingly never-ending rivers and flat
plains, lush and flooded in the rainy season, baked and dusty in the dry season.
More than 400 species of birds speckle the grasslands with white,
crimson, yellow, blue, orange and black. Scarlet
Ibis, chestnut-fronted Macaws, Jabiru Storks, black-collared Hawks,
as well as the prehistoric-looking Hoatzin, call it their home.
The Llanos also shelter a wide array of other animals such
as giant anteaters, wild horses, armadillos, iguanas, tortoises,
red howler and capuchin monkeys, capybaras (the world's largest
rodent) and tens of thousands of cayman. The rivers
teem with fresh water dolphins, piranhas, anacondas, and turtles.
The Venezuelan Llanos are a strange blend of the American Wild West
and Africa's savannas, where people still hunt and harvest
in accordance with age-old customs, and dusty cowboys try to tame
a land as wild and uncontrollable as the creatures that roam across
its seemingly endless face.
The Itinerary
One of the most phenomenal aspects of Los Llanos is its so-called "Hatos",
large, specialised ranches known as innovative and spectacular
wildlife sanctuaries. The Hatos are huge and some protect as much as
80,000 hectares of wild untamed country.
Hato Pinero, Hato El Cedral and
Hato El Frio offer exceptional services to
those who wishing to experience the beauty of the Llanos.
The minimum stay is 3 days/2 nights. No need to say you can extend your stay for as long
as you wish.
Those preferring a closer experience of the Llaneross way of life with more animal encounters and naturally less comfortable, Adventure in the Llanos is your choice.
Hato Descriptions
Located in the state of Cojedes at the edge of the central plains, it covers
wet-lands as well as plateau and gallery forest on the rolling hills,
surrounded by four rivers, with an incredible divers wildlife
that shows almost no fear for the human observers.
Amongst them are over 340 species of birds (including macaws, herons,
storks, ibis, hoatzin, curassows, flycatchers, owls and seed-eaters),
nearly 50 mammal species (including jaguars, pumas, ocelots,
white-tailed deer, crab-eating foxes, capybaras, rabbits,
red howler and capuchin monkeys, opossums, ant-eaters, armadillos
and river dolphins), over 40 species of reptiles (including
spectacled Caymans, green iguanas, anacondas, turtles and
red-footed tortoises), and over 100 species of amphibians and
fish (including piranhas, catfish and eel).
The accommodation is in simple but comfortable and spotless double
rooms, each with its own bathroom. There is no hot water as the cold water
already comes warm out of the tap due to its hot climate.
Each stay includes two excursions per day in specially converted
four-wheel drives that provide an ideal viewing platform to appreciate the
natural attractions. Depending the season, you can journey by boat along the many
canos, or streams, that cross the savannah or explore the hato while horseback riding.
Bilingual guides accompany you to ensure you get the most from this unique
experience.
| Hato Pinero (3 days/2 nights) | |||||||||
| Low season | Low season | High season | High season | ||||||
| N° of participants | SGL | DBL | Add night SGL | Add night DBL | SGL | DBL | Add night SGL | Add night DBL | |
| USD | $ 392 | $ 347 | $ 128 | $ 105 | $ 470 | $ 425 | $ 146 | $ 127 | |
| EUR | € 326 | € 288 | € 106 | € 87 | € 390 | € 353 | € 121 | € 105 | |
| GBP | £ 220 | £ 194 | £ 71 | £ 58 | £ 263 | £ 238 | £ 82 | £ 71 | |
This fabulous ranch is located in the vast interior grasslands of
the "Llanos". With its 53,000 hectares (106,000 acres), it is a working
cattle ranch (more than 20,000 heads of cattle) and an incredible
wildlife sanctuary where you can experience one of the hemisphere's
greatest wildlife spectacles.
Each season in the Llanos brings a different experience. During the
"wet season" (May-November), the Llanos are lush, green and flooded,
with a dramatic sky full of towering thunderheads. Storks and
ibis court and nest and young wildlife teems everywhere.
This is one of the best times for observing anaconda and cayman.
During the "dry season" (December-April), wildlife concentrates in
the shallow ponds and streams of El Cedral in such enormous numbers
that you experience a wildlife scene that is reminiscent of
primitive America. Thousands of herons, egrets, storks
(Jabiru, Maguari and Wood), seven species of ibis (including the Scarlet
Ibis), hundreds of thousands of whistling ducks, along
with herds of capybara, hundreds of caiman, and such avian
specialities as Hoatzin, Sungrebe, Sunbittern, Scarlet and Chestnut
fronted Macaw, Orinoco Goose and Horned Screamer flock the ranch,
Not to forget mammals such as Red Howler Monkey,
Crab-eating Fox, Pink Dolphin, Giant Anteater, Ocelot and the
elusive Puma.
Accommodation is in comfortable air-conditioned cabanas with large
private baths with hot water. Be sure to be treated to a traditional
Llaneros concert with harp, "cuarto", and maracas.
Each stay includes two excursions per day, very similar to those organised at Hato
Pinero.
| Hato El Cedral (3 days/2 nights) | |||||||||
| Low season | Low season | High season | High season | ||||||
| N° of participants | SGL | DBL | TPL | Add night DBL | SGL | DBL | TPL | Add night DBL | |
| USD | $ 370 | $ 326 | $ 306 | $ 111 | $ 416 | $ 370 | $ 350 | $ 133 | |
| EUR | € 307 | € 271 | € 253 | € 92 | € 345 | € 307 | € 290 | € 110 | |
| GBP | £ 207 | £ 183 | £ 171 | £ 62 | £ 233 | £ 207 | £ 196 | £ 74 | |
The Biological Station of this 80,000 hectare ranch between Mantecal
and El Saman is the centre of the tourist operation.
Accommodation is in twin bedded rooms, with private bathrooms (no hot
water). Twice-daily excursions are arranged in vehicles (mainly enclosed jeeps
with side-facing benches) and boats and wildlife is similar to Hato Cedral.
They run an interesting re-training to the wild program for ocelots and
jaguars that were illegally captured.
This is one of the best area for birdwatching in Venezuela. Ask for special programs
with naturalist guide
Open the Llanos El Frio birdl list (130 ko)
| Hato El Frio (3 days/2 nights) | |||||||||
| Low season | Low season | High season | High season | ||||||
| Room | SGL | DBL | Add night SGL | Add night DBL | SGL | DBL | Add night SGL | Add night DBL | |
| USD | $ 424 | $ 326 | $ 160 | $ 111 | $ 446 | $ 348 | $ 171 | $ 122 | |
| EUR | € 352 | € 271 | € 133 | € 92 | € 370 | € 289 | € 142 | € 101 | |
| GBP | £ 237 | £ 183 | £ 89 | £ 62 | £ 250 | £ 195 | £ 95 | £ 68 | |
General Information
Rated: Easy
Included: Lodging in rooms with private bathroom,
all meals in the Hato, mineral water, all guided excursions at the ranch,
transport from/to Caracas or from/to Barinas in private car
Not included: Alcoholic drinks, other meals, tips
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