Mérida · Venezuela Capital
In the destination Mérida and the Andes.
In the photo: Catedral Basílica da Imaculada Conceição de Mérida
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
The city
Capital of the state of Mérida and a university city in the Venezuelan Andes, on a plateau at about 1,600 meters, with the Sierra Nevada in view. Founded in 1558, it has a colonial center around Plaza Bolívar and the Cathedral, the Mercado Principal and, in Plaza Las Heroínas, the Mukumbarí cable car station, which rises to 4,765 meters. It is the base for Jají, Los Nevados and the páramo lagoons.
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The local experience
The cable car that departs from downtown Mérida, at about 1,600 meters, and climbs in five stations to Pico Espejo at 4,765 meters, beside Pico Bolívar. The trip crosses the cloud forest and the páramo up to the rocks and ice at the summit.
The central praça of Mérida, with the equestrian statue of Bolívar, trees and benches, and the Catedral Basílica da Imaculada Conceição, in a style inspired by the cathedral of Toledo. Beside it, the Palácio Arquiepiscopal houses a museum of sacred art.
Mérida's large market, on three floors: fruits, vegetables and Andean cheeses, glazed sweets called abrillantados, crafts in wool, leather and wood and, on the top floor, typical-food restaurants offering pisca andina and trout.
Mountain village about 40 km from Mérida, at almost 1,800 meters, with white houses with wooden verandas, cobblestone streets and a plaza with the church in the background. Craft and sweet shops occupy the houses around the square.
Mountain village in the Sierra Nevada, at over 2,700 meters, with stone and adobe houses around a white church. It's reached by dirt road in a 4x4 jeep or on foot, descending from the Loma Redonda station of the cable car.
Glacial lagoon at about 3,500 meters, in Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada, alongside the Trans-Andean road. Around it, the páramo with frailejones and the trail to Laguna Negra, on foot or on horseback.
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