Feel the Orinoco Flow

Popularized by the Irish singer Enya, the mighty Orinoco River is an amazing feat of nature. With a length of 2,140 km (1,330 miles), it is the eighth-longest river in the world (second longest in South America after the Amazon), and empties about 18,000 cubic meters of muddy water per second into the ocean, adding some 44.5 m (146 ft) of land mass to the continent each year.

Located less than 15 km (9 miles) south of the island of Trinidad, the Orinoco Delta spawns more than 300 tributaries that snake through a vast landscape, creating one of the world's largest wetlands. As a result, few visitors have had contact with the region’s natural beauty and indigenous people because the only way of getting around is by boat or curiara (dugout canoe). This makes the Orinoco Delta the newest of Venezuela’s adventure and eco-tourism destinations, offering an incredible wildlife-watching jungle river cruise on par with anything you’d see in the Amazon.

Visitors are likely to see spectacled caiman, capuchin and howler monkeys, manatees, pink dolphins, giant river otters, anacondas, llanos side-neck turtles, hawks, herons, hoatzin, macaws, toucans, pelicans, parrots, hummingbirds, kingfishers, osprey and many other local birds. You might even get a chance to go piranha fishing!

But truly the highlight of anyone’s trip is to visit the local Warao Indian villages – raised stilt dwellings (palafitos) built over the river’s edge. Numbering around 20,000, the Warao are Venezuela’s second largest native group. Their whole lifestyle revolves around the Orinoco, using curiaras as their only means of transportation. These skilled fishermen and hunters also are amazing craftspeople, creating animal figures carved from white wood and baskets and hammocks made of moriche palm fibers. A visit to their communities is a wonderful opportunity to experience the traditional culture of a native tribe.

Interested in seeing what made Enya swoon over this majestic river? Then check out this sample itinerary 2-Day Orinoco Delta River Cruise Adventure offered by Angel-Eco Tours. You'll travel by water-taxi to one of the lodges in the middle of dense rainforest, on one of the many tributaries of the Orinoco river. From the comfort of your water taxi you can observe a wide variety of flora and fauna, learn about Warao culture, and meet some of their craftsmen.