Angel Falls is located in Venezuela and is known as one of the four most beautiful waterfalls in the world and as the highest contiguous waterfall in the world. This waterfall is named Angel Falls after an American aviator first flew over the waterfall in the mid-20th century. The aviator’s name was Jimmy Angel. His plane crashed in a waterfall and it took him 12 days to get out of the forest. The locals also mention waterfalls like Salto Angel, Tulume Bena, and Kerepakupai. Angel Falls is 3,212 feet high and the falls are 2,648 feet. Angel Falls is located in Venezuela’s Canaima National Park, the third largest national park in the world.
Angel Falls exists as the highest continuous waterfall in the world.
When the weather is very warm and dry, the waterfall sometimes evaporates into a mist before it reaches the bottom.
In Pemon language, the falls is called Kerepakupai Meru meaning “waterfall of the deepest place,” or ParakupáVená, meaning “the fall from the highest point,” while in Spanish Angel falls is known as Salto Angel.
During the rainy and wet seasons the waterfall sometimes splits into two waterfalls.
The falls were named after air-borne American gold prospector James Crawford (Jimmie) Angel.
At the base of Angel Falls the waterfall is approximately 150 meters wide.
Charmed by the beautiful landscape, James again returned to the falls in 1937 accompanied by his wife and acquaintances.
Some people believe that the first European to see Angel Falls was a Spanish explorer named Fernando de Berrio. He may have viewed the falls in the 1500s or 1600s, but there is no real proof.
In late 2009 Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced that the falls should be given an indigenous name and be referred to as KerepakupaiMerú.
The first European to reach the base of Angel Falls was Aleksandrs Laime, a Latvian explorer who arrived at the base in 1946. He was the first to clear a path from Churun River to the base of Angel Falls.
Angel Falls is part of the plateau located to the south of the Orinoco River.
At certain times when the water flowing over the falls in plentiful, it is possible to feel small water drops in the air as far as one kilometer away.
Angel Falls was unknown to the world before the mid-1950s.
Jimmy Angel’s plane was eventually recovered from the crash site and it can now be seen at Maracay’s Aviation Museum.
The Angel Falls’ height (979 meters) is three times the height of the Eiffel Tower, the landmark of Paris.
Visiting Angel Falls is not easy. To get there a tourist must take a plane to Puerto Ordaz or Cuidad Bolivar and then get to the Canaima Camp where they can take a jungle river tour with an indigenous host.
The width of the waterfall is about a hundred and fifty meters at the base. It feeds into a river known as the Kerep.
This tour will take you to the Angel Falls foothills. It is also possible to take a helicopter tour.
Canaima National Park is the second largest national park of Venezuela and the gateway of Angel Falls.
Angel Falls are approximately 15 times taller than Niagara Falls.
The Canaima National Park has two segments – east and west. Angel falls lie in the western section.
The four most beautiful waterfalls in the world are Angel Falls (South America), Niagara Falls (North America), Victoria Falls (Africa), and Iguazu Falls (South America).
Visitors generally fly from Ciudad Boliver, a colonial town, or Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, to Canaima camp.
When Hugo Chavez was the leader of Venezuela he tried to have the name changed to Kerepakupai Vena but his efforts were not successful and the name is still Angel Falls.
Motorized canoes carry passengers from Canaima camp to Angel falls in an average time of five hours.
Some people choose to skydive off Angel Falls. Other adventure seekers hike up the mountain, sleep in hammocks, or stand at the bottom under the falls.
Trips to the Angel Falls can be booked with various tour operators in advance or through park lodges upon arrival at Canaima camp.
Angel Falls is one the major tourist attractions in Venezuela, despite its location and difficulty to reach.
There is a renowned walkway between Sapo (“Frog”), and Sapito (“Little Frog”) falls in the Canaima National Park.
Disney made a movie in 2009 called UP. It was an animated movie that called the falls Paradise Falls instead of Angel Falls. The falls have also been featured in the 2015 movie Point Break and 1990s film Arachnophobia.
The Venezuela government allowed tourism to Angel falls since 1990. The first visitors stayed in the Boulton camp, now known as Campamento Canaima.
