Pico Naiguata (2765m, 9100 feet)

This beautiful mountain is located on the north of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Funny, that a couple of years of hiking and climbing, and I had not gone up this mountain. Finally, I decided it was time to see how does the city look from up there. Due to my time constraints in Caracas, I was going to squeeze this hike into a day hike. One of the many trails to this mountain is located within a 10 minute walk from my house starting at an elevation of 1000 meters (3300 feet). The summit is only 10 km (6.2 miles) away but with a 1700 meter (5600') elevation gain.

I started the hike at 6:30am and reached the summit at 12:30pm. The trail was good for the most part, but unlike trails in the U.S. they are not as evidently marked. So I actually took a couple of turns that lead me into jungly like forest. (which would eventually have lead me to a place called paradise (which I have seen before and is very pretty)).

The only thing I did not like, was the fact that the trail was made for shorter people. There were many times were one would walk on bamboo tunnels, and one had walk covering one's face (like coming out of a trial). At the end of the day my thighs were red because of the bamboo hitting them. Talk about masochism.

Overall, a very enjoyable hike. Though definately do it with someone who knows the trail, it is very easy to not take the most efficient path.
A dog that was there that looked very cool.


Above the city and clouds.