Merida (Venezuela)
From World travel guide
Mérida is located in Venezuela, at the foot of the Andes, only fifteen kilometer from Venezuela's highest point. It is the centre for outdoor activities in Venezuela.
Contents |
Understand
Get in
By plane
By car
By bus
The bus terminal is a few kilometers out of the center. A taxi to the center cost around Bs.5,000 (2.50US$). There are daily connections to Barinas, Maracay, Caracas and several other destinations in Venezuela.
On departure a Bs500 departure tax is collected.
Get around
See
Do
- The Teleférico [1] is the city's main attraction. It's the worlds longest and highest cablecar. For a mere Bs.42,000 (20 US$) it will lead you to Pico Espejo (4765m) with two stops on the way. It's best to pick a clear day and go in the morning as early as possible to avoid queues. The top is usually covered in clouds later in the day. Take warm clothes.
- Several tour agents organise tours to Los Llanos and the whole range of advanture activities like mountainbike tours, paragliding, rafting, canyoning, etc. Its also possible to climb the Pico Bolivar or Pico Humboldt. Most can be done cheaper elsewhere in South America. A well recommended touragent is Arassari Trek, Calle 24 No 8-301, 0274-252-5879 [2]
Buy
Eat
- Panaderia Roma, Calle 24 No 8-68, 0274 2529095 [3] offers bread, pasteries and coffee. Popular spot for breakfast. Cafe con leche cost Bs 1.200 and a pasterie around Bs 1.000
- La Montaña Calle 24 6-47. Excellent meals for a reasonable price. Try the chicken in orange sauce and the lemon pie. A mean course cost around Bs 10.000.
- Delicias Mexicanas Calle 25 7-48. To still you cravings for Mexican food.
- Heladeria Coromoto Avenida 3 28-75. Has an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for being the icecream shop with the most flavours. A little less than 800, including hamburger or rice flavoured ice. But on a normal day only serves around 100 different flavours.
Drink
Sleep
Heaps of cheap posadas are clusterd around Plaza Las Heroínas
Budget
- Posada Jama Chia, Calle 24 No 8-223, 0274-252-5767. Nine rooms with shared bathroom and a shared kitchen. The price is Bs.10,000 (5 US$) pp.
Mid-range
Splurge
Contact
Venezuela's cheapest internet shops can be found in Merida. There are dozens and cost around 0.50 US$ per hour or less.
Cope
Get out
A trek you can do on you own is to Los Nevados. Take the teleférico to station Loma Redonda, make sure you don't pay the full amount for the teleférico. Inparque might charge you a Bs. 5.000 tax. From there follow the trail. It's a beautiful 4 to 5 hour walk to Los Nevados. Mules will carry you for Bs 7.000. In Los Nevados there are several posades where you can sleep between Bs 10.000 to 30.000 with dinner and breakfast. The next morning jeeps will leave for Mérida at 9:00am for Bs 20.000 pp. It's a four and half hour ride along a narrow road. If you do it the other way around you might save the teleférico entrance and the Inparque tax, but you have to race from Los Nevados to Loma Redonda to catch the last cablecar down.
External links
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