Venezuela offers 2500 kilometers of coastline as well as more than 70 islands around which the sea life is rich and the diving spectacular. While diving could technically be done anywhere along the coast, Venezuela’s fabulous marine parks provide the optimal environment in which to enjoy this fantastic sport.
Venezuela has four national marine parks, including Los Roques Archipelago National Park, Henri Pittier National Park, Morrocoy National Park, and Mochima National Park. Each of these parks has something unique to offer divers, from wreck diving to wall and cave diving to reefs and mangrove swamps. While Venezuela is relatively new on the diving scene, this makes it a pristine destination that allows divers to enjoy an unspoiled environment full of endless possibilities and adventures. Let’s take a closer look!
Los Roques Archipelago National Park
The absolute kingdom of diving in Venezuela is at Los Roques Archipelago National Park. Created in 1972, this park is the only marine national park in Venezuela. It lies 137 km (85 miles) north of Caracas and has huge walls that offer caves and caverns that are home to a large variety of sea life including coral, sponges, tropical fish, snappers, groupers, jacks, barracudas, sea turtles, manta rays, and sharks. Divers can descend more than 60 m (200 feet) to enjoy what these walls have to offer. The park has several dive sites, each of which offers a slightly different experience. Shallow reefs offer the vibrant colors of the underwater world while perpendicular drop offs present divers with a feeling of exhilaration and excitement. Pinnacles abound and caves in which sharks lurk are also sure to please.
Henri Pittier National Park
Henri Pittier National Park has a different feel to it. This is Venezuela’s first national park, created in 1937 and the wreck diving here is incredible, offering divers sunken ships that date as far back as colonial times. Las Aves is the place with the oldest ships, which were made of wood and of which all that now remains are the metal relics of them, including items such as canons and anchors. Las Isla Margarita is also a fantastic place to visit stunning reefs, tarpons, turtles, and sharks. It is here too that Venezuela’s first artificial reef is being created by intentionally sinking an old ship, the Gran Roque, giving divers a new attraction as they watch the reef form over time and see what an artificial reef can become.
Morrocoy National Marine Park
Morrocoy National Marine Park is a park that is not very frequented by foreign divers. Located about a three hour drive from Caracas, this park consists of 30 islands that can be accessed by boat and offers divers the opportunity to enjoy shallow reefs and mangrove swamps. Mangrove swamps are delicate ecosystems that generally exist at the mouth of rivers or estuaries and the water tends to be shallow. These swamps are very smelly, as hydrogen sulfide is released from decaying plant material, but these swamps are important barriers that protect coastal regions. Divers who get to experience the mangrove swamp in Morrocoy will enter into a world in which they will need to maneuver through forests of mangrove roots, but the sea life that lives amongst these roots is abundant and incredible. This park is also a nesting ground for a wide variety of birds and the park is riddled with caves to explore.
Mochima National Park
Mochima National Park consists of close to 1000 square kilometers and 53 islands and islets, some of which are completely uninhabited and pristine. This park was established in 1973. Mountains, tropical forests, and abundant vegetation can be found above the water surface in this park and beneath the waves there is an equal abundance of life. The park has three distinct island groups, including Borracha, Caracas, and Chimanas. Borracha Island is one popular dive site where divers can indulge in cave diving or can explore the reefs. Other areas offer these as well as wrecks, caverns (where you can always see the entrance), and bubbles and thermal waters. This area plays host to a wide variety of fish, including yellow fin tuna, swordfish, black fin tuna, sea bass, and striped mullet.
Other Diving Opportunities in Venezuela
What about specific dive sites in Venezuela? Where can you find the best cave diving or wall or wreck diving? Well, the best wall diving in Venezuela can be found off the island of La Blanquilla (White Island) because this island sits on the edge of a deep ocean trench. This wall is located a mere 20 m (65 feet) from shore, but it goes in a vertical drop to an astounding depth of more than 900 m (3000 feet). The Pinnacles is another site, which consists of five rocky spires protruding 9 m (30 feet) out of the water. Beneath the waves they reach a depth of 18 m (60 feet) on the inner side and a depth of 43 m (140 feet) on the open ocean side.
Besides the colonial wrecks of Henri Pittier National Park, there are many other types of wrecks to explore in the waters of Venezuela. There is a sunken ferry in Cubagua, a region once known for its expansive oyster beds, that still has the cars inside it. The end of this ship sticks nearly 5 m (15 feet) out of the water, marking its location and sits at a depth of 9 m (30 feet) beneath the surface. Just a short distance away a tug boat can be found. This boat that was sent out to salvage the ferry and met the same fate as the ferry. Now resting on the sea floor, this tug boat can be entered and explored by divers.
Divers of any experience level will find diving that suits their needs in any of Venezuela’s marine parks. Of course, there are still plenty of activities for when the diving day is done or when divers want a day on land. With pristine white sand beaches, plenty of bird watching, kayaking, and more divers can enjoy what these beautiful national parks have to offer above the waves. However, the most exciting scenery for the divers will always be what is waiting beneath the waves and in Venezuela there is more than most people realize.