In Venezuela, Monagas state, Caripe municipality is located the famous Guácharo Cave. This owes its name to the presence of a bird called guácharo, which is reddish brown, striped in black and mottled in white, the only frugivorous bird that feeds at night and stays in the caves during the day, building its nests in the heights of the caverns. This place is also known as "Alejandro de Humboldt Natural Monument", this is the name of the person who is credited with the honor of "discover" the cave, after an expedition made on September 18, 1799.
According to the historical references this cave was under the sea, and progressively was coming to the surface due to the rise of the earth's crust, which resulted, in turn, the origin of the eastern massif, in addition to the water erosion that produced a series of filtrations which at the same time generated a whole network of galleries that are interconnected. More than 3000 years ago, around the cave inhabited an indigenous community called Los Chaimas, which served as guardians of the cave, also considered it as a fat mine, because inside this community took advantage the fat that was there to prepare their own food and light the fire of their torches to have light and heat. For the natives the Guácharo Cave revolved around a magic-religious symbiosis, because they believed that it was the abode of their ancestors.
The Guácharo cave is formed by sedimentary rocks with an age of more than 130 million years, from the Mesozoic era in an ancient sea. The Cave is subdivided into three large galleries: the Gallery of the Guacharo, the Gallery of Silence and the Gallery of the Beautiful Hall. The constant dripping of water through the walls of the cave has generated the formation of stalagmites (speleothem that grows up) and stalactites (speleothem that grows down) that usually tend to form certain figures that for visitors are considered as species of figures of animals, objects, and even humans that at the same time are related to religious figures. Usually inside the cave the climate is humid and all the minerals coming from the cave are cold.
Within the cave you can find a diversity in flora and fauna. The fauna is mainly highlighted by the guácharo species, but there are also other animal species that tend to be habit in the dark, such as rodents, some species of arachnids, a variety of insects, bats and coleoptera. The flora is made up of tree species such as: guayabito, laurel and platanillo. In addition to the existence of epiphytic and climbing plant species (plant that grows from the woody stems).
Due to the different characteristics of the cave this natural monument can be considered as part of the cultural heritage of Venezuela, for this reason it is one of the tourist attractions of the country.
The cave is suitable for tourists to enter inside, a guided tour has been drawn so that visitors do not miss any detail and can know very closely the natural wonders of this place. You can also make expeditions and investigations inside the cave, but these must be authorized by the competent authorities and must be carried out by specialists.
Visit the Guácharo Cave is quite comfortable and pleasant, have the facilities of a small museum that adopts the name of the cave, coffe stores, bathrooms and tourist services were built around the cave. In front there is a beautiful waterfall that represents a nice place to share with the family, also you can make a tour of that path inside the mountain. Always remembering not to alter the ecosystem of this place.
