Location: Auyantepui plateau, Bolivar state Map
Angel Falls is located on Auyantepui plateau in Bolivar state of
Venezuela. Angel Falls is the highest waterfall in the World that
drops from the height of 3212 feet (989 m) down. This majestic
creation of nature was discovered by Westerners only in 1933 after
American pilot Jimmy Angel accidentally crashed his plane in the
jungle. Apparently while the plane was falling down pilot had enough
composure to take a look around and notice a beautiful waterfall
that was falling from the plateau. Fortunately for Jimmy he lived to
tell his finding that only locals knew calling the waterfall
Kerepakupai Meru.
Today Angel waterfall is part of the
Canaima National Park that covers over 11,700 sq miles of jungles,
waterfalls and wide variety of animals and plants. You can view the
waterfall from below or from a rented airplane. Advantage of taking
plane is that you get to see more since water turns into a thick
mist than it reaches the ground obstructing the view from below. The
closeness of circles to the actual Angel waterfall the airplanes
takes usually depend on the tips you promise to the pilot. Some
daredevils choose a more drastic view by paragliding or base jumping
of the actual cliff. Although it is doubtful how much of an actual
view you will be able to see on the way down.
The waterfall was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century by
explorer Ernesto Sanchez La Cruz, but was not widely known until the
flight of James Angel. In 1933, this American pilot flew in search of
ore deposits. According to local guides, he was looking for diamonds.
This is fully justified by the fact that the natives in the time of
James Angel constantly talked about stones that, according to their
descriptions, could be mistaken for diamonds. In fact, the plateau from
which Angel Falls falls is replete with quartz. On November 16, 1933,
during the flight, Angel noticed a tepui mountain called Auyan-Tepui,
which attracted his attention. On October 9, 1937, he returned and tried
to land the plane on Auyan Tepui, but the plane was damaged during
landing, one of the landing gear burst.
As a result, Angel and
his three companions (including his wife Marie) had to walk down the
mountain. Their return to civilization took 11 days. News of their
adventure spread very quickly, and the waterfall was named after him -
"Angel Falls" (Spanish: Salto Ángel). In Spanish, the surname Angel
(Spanish Angel) is read as Angel, so the name is exactly that. Thus, the
waterfall has nothing to do with angels - it's just a person's last
name.
Angel's Flamingo plane remained at the landing site for 33
years until it was transported by helicopter. The aircraft was restored
in the Maracay Aviation Museum, and now stands directly in front of the
Ciudad Bolivar airport.
In 1949, an expedition of the National
Geographic Society of the United States took place to the waterfall,
following the results of the trip, the height was determined and a book
was published.
In 1994, UNESCO listed the Canaima National Park,
which includes the falls, as a World Heritage Site.
In April-May
2005, an international expedition of seven alpinists and climbers - four
English (John Arran, Anne Arran, Miles Gibson, Ben Heason), two
Venezuelan (Ivan Calderon, Alfredo Rangel) and one Russian (Alexander
Klenov) - made the first ascent waterfall walls by free climbing.
On December 20, 2009, in the 346th episode of the Aló Presidente TV
show, the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez, on the wave of
anti-imperialism, called Angel Falls "Kerepakupai Meru" (Spanish:
Kerepakupai Meru), in accordance with one of its local names. Initially,
the name Churun-Meru (Spanish: Churún-merú) was proposed, but the
president's daughter noticed that one of the smallest waterfalls in the
area had such a name, after which Chavez suggested a different name. The
president explained this opinion by saying that the waterfall was the
property of Venezuela and part of its national wealth long before James
Angel appeared, and the waterfall should not bear his name. Reacting to
statements by some of the world's media about the actual renaming of the
waterfall, three days later, Chavez said that he had not issued a
corresponding decree.
Angel Falls is located in the wilderness of Venezuela and can only be reached by air or by river. Tours to the falls are sold in packages and include a flight from Caracas or Ciudad Bolivar to Canaima (the village that serves as the entry point to the national park), a subsequent trip on the water, food and other things necessary to visit the falls.
Angel Falls is where part of the action in the feature film Point
Break (2015) takes place - its characters climb a sheer cliff to the top
of the waterfall, and then jump into it.
The waterfall is the
inspiration for Paradise Falls in Pixar's animated feature film Up.
Vladislav Shchepin in 2011 made a documentary film “Adventurers.
Alexander Laime: Diamonds of the Angel Falls.
The Spanish writer
Alberto Vazquez Figueroa wrote the book "Icarus", describing in detail
the events of the discovery of this waterfall.