Trekking to the lost world of the Roraima mountain

[Alberto]

It's always been a dream to see the exquisite habitat and rock formations of the mount Roraima. Only 5% of this " tepuy" belongs to Brazil ( 15% to Guyana and the rest to Venezuela). After a long flight from Curitiba to Brasilia and from there to the brazilian state Roraima, we arrived the capital Boa Vista. There we recovered for one day at Hotel Aipana. From there a 200 km trip with taxis to the border Pacaraima  and from there direction Venezuela on a 4x4, we traveled through the Gran Sabana to the indian village of Paraitepuy were we stood for one night.   ( the ubiquitous buriti palms , Mauritia flexuosa growing on the wetter spots)

[Alberto]

[Silas_Sancona]

2 minutes ago, Alberto said:

After a resting one night in the community of Paraitepuy we began our trekking the following day, first to the river Tek were we slept in tents for one night

Great shots .. Re-oriented the upside down pictures for you.

[Alberto]

Second day we made a trekking to the base of the mountain. I saw few palms, sparsely distributed in the riparian forests

[Alberto]

Thanks Silas Sancona. I don' t know why this upside down pictures are uploaded this way......

[Silas_Sancona]

1 minute ago, Alberto said:

Thanks Silas Sancona. I don' t know why this upside down pictures are uploaded this way......

No worries Alberto ..Looks like a fantastic experience.. See lots of neat stuff encountered, inc. the palms too.  If someone doesn't beat me to it, can re orient the other shots, ..as long as you're ok with that.. FYI.. I don't save them to once fixed and posted..

 Not 100% certain, but i think ..if the images come off a Phone, some at least ..and some cameras, the pictures may not orient themselves properly here.. Not sure why.. Dean, @PALM MOD would probably know why this occurs..

-Nathan

[Alberto]

We stood another night in tents at the foot of mount Roraima ( " the mother of all waters" ) and near Mount Kukenan, symbols for good and evil respectively according indian legends. My phone cell run out of batteries and went wet so I was unable to tale pictures of the real beautifull stands of a palm we saw while climbing the Roraima. It was a palm with red petioles. I think Geonoma undata (?),  maybe also Prestoea sp and another Geonoma sp. (This uglier specimens 😞 were growing near the base and photographed the day before)

[Alberto]

Two fantastic days on the top of the Roraima tepuy.  It' s another world.Triple border - Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil

[Silas_Sancona]

*** Re oriented shots from Alberto's trip, Post #2:       @Alberto, My apologies if they are out of order..

[Cindy Adair]

Looks like an epic trip!

Thanks for the photos that look like nowhere I have been before!

[Fusca]

Thanks for posting @Alberto!  Seeing photos of Burití in habitat never gets old.     One of my favorite palms as if you couldn't tell already!

[Alberto]

Returning to Paraitepuy, we stood one night at the base of the Roraima and another night ar de Tek River camp, were we drank cold beer.... aaahhhhhh! and baked chicken. We made a raffle for our Indian helpers and everyone got peaces of cloth and extra $$$. A lot of smiling happy faces!

[Silas_Sancona]

*** Re-adjusted shots from day #2 of Alberto's expedition / adventure:  

Picture w/ the clouds sitting over the Mountain / " Sunset shots " are fantastic Can only imagine how amazing it must have been to witness ..and enjoy..  in person.

[Alberto]

We all donated money and bought school material in Brazil, for the indian children of the Primary School of Paraitepuy. When we returned to Brazil we once more bought some , that was missing. Once Venezuela was the richest country in South America, but socialism ruined the country. The conditions in some parts of this country are now deplorable, unfortunately. This is a drop, but it helps .....                                                                                                      150 cadernos ( notebooks) de capa dura com linhas
40 cadernos de desenho ( for drawing)
40 jogos de lápis de cor
40 borrachas, lápis e apontador
40 canetas azuis
40 canetas vermelhas
Jogos didáticos
1 bola de futebol
1 bola de basquete
1 bola de vôlei
1 caixa de giz branco e 1 caixa de giz colorido
9 pincéis para quadro branco
9 marca textos
3 jogos educativos
1 painel com tabuada
5 resmas de papel branco (500 folhas cada)

 

 

[GottmitAlex]

Wowzers! Does it cover part of the Dutch Guayana (I think it's Suriname)? 

 

[Alberto]

Guyana was English and Surinam was a dutch colony.

[Alberto]

A close up of a palm

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Wow! What a fantastic trip you had. The flora, rocks, and views are incredible.  Thank you so much for sharing with us.

[Cluster]

Alberto what a wonderful trip, thanks for sharing!

[Meangreen94z]

Amazing pictures, thank you 

[redant]

18 hours ago, Alberto said:

Thanks Silas Sancona. I don' t know why this upside down pictures are uploaded this way......

i have found out if you crop the photos ever so slightly, they don't do that

[Meangreen94z]

Those were Tillandsia turneri and several species of Brocchinia? What all palms are in the area?I see a Geonoma.

[mike in kurtistown]

I have fantasized for decades about Roraima. These photos are almost like being there. Thanks.

[Alberto]

On 1/23/2024 at 2:53 PM, Meangreen94z said:

Those were Tillandsia turneri and several species of Brocchinia? What all palms are in the area?I see a Geonoma.

My brazilian palm friends thinks the palms in the riparian forest of the Gran Sabana are Oenocarpus bataua Iriartea deltoidea and the more common buriti ( Mauritia flexuosa). In the rainforest at the side of the Roraima there were Geonoma sp, Geonoma undata (?) and Prestoea sp ( with red petioles and suckering) , I think. ( I could not make good pics here because my battery was empty while ascending and it rained constantly while7 descending the mount ) The bigger bromeliads are Brochinnia sp and I saw several flowering Tillandsia turneri.

[Bigfish]

Really incredible pictures of a magical place, Alberto!  Thanks for sharing!

[happypalms]

On 1/23/2024 at 8:00 AM, Alberto said:

It's always been a dream to see the exquisite habitat and rock formations of the mount Roraima. Only 5% of this " tepuy" belongs to Brazil ( 15% to Guyana and the rest to Venezuela). After a long flight from Curitiba to Brasilia and from there to the brazilian state Roraima, we arrived the capital Boa Vista. There we recovered for one day at Hotel Aipana. From there a 200 km trip with taxis to the border Pacaraima  and from there direction Venezuela on a 4x4, we traveled through the Gran Sabana to the indian village of Paraitepuy were we stood for one night.   ( the ubiquitous buriti palms , Mauritia flexuosa growing on the wetter spots)

Absolutely amazing trip of a lifetime thanks for sharing 

[Tyrone]

Thanks Alberto for taking us on your journey via pictures. We just sat down to watch them on our TV screen. What a beautiful part of the world.