Angel Falls, Canaima National Park

The small aircraft flew over the reservoir behind the dam near Guyana City but the lake is so large that we couldn't see the dam itself.

The flight was smooth with just a few bumps as we crossed the savannah towards the mountains.

We reached the foothills and saw some of the scenery so typical of this region with plateau uplands surrounded by steep cliffs.

Another view of one of the mountains surrounded by steep cliffs. This was the setting that inspired Arthur Conan Doyle's story of a lost continent set high in the clouds cut off from the rest of the world where dinosaurs still roamed.

We came into land at the small airstrip next to the community situated on the lagoon beneath these waterfalls. There is a track that goes behind the cascade of water but no photos as the camera would have got wet.

Everything here is flown in from Cuidad Bolivar which is the nearest airport. There is no road that connects this village with the rest of the country, just miles of jungle and savannah.

A view from the beach on the lagoon where our lodge was situated. After the flight we had the rest of the day to relax but with beers at five times the price there was more walking through the local savannah than drinking.

It was an early start to take some boats to get upriver. It was a lovely sunrise seen over the river just above the waterfalls.

The river was beautifully calm as we went upstream,

In places there were rapids that the boat couldn't get up with us in it. It was the end of the dry season and the river was abnormally low. We had to get out and walk around the rapids.

In other places, there was no alternative and when the boat got stuck, some of us had to get out and push.

After a six hour boat journey that with normal river levels would take three and a half hours we got to our lodge in the jungle.

From the lodge it was an hours trek through the jungle to get a view of Angel Falls the highest waterfall in the world with a drop of 907m. It is called Angel Falls after an US aviator Jimmy Angel landed his plane above the falls in 1937. The ground was too soft to take off again so he had to walk through the jungle for eleven days to get to the nearest village.

 Another view of the falls. The drop is so long that the wind pushes the water to one side.

There is a pool at the base of the falls and an opportunity for a swim.