Mérida Capital Mérida 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.