Angel Falls waterfall is located in the Guiana Highlands in Bolívar state, southeastern Venezuela, on the Churún River, a tributary of the Caroní, 160 miles (260 km) southeast of Ciudad Bolívar. The highest waterfall in the world, the cataract drops 3,212 feet (979 metres) and is 500 feet (150 metres) wide at the base. It leaps from a flat-topped plateau, Auyán-Tepuí (“Devils Mountain”), barely making contact with the sheer face. The falls are located in Canaima National Park, and, because of the dense jungle surrounding the falls, they are best seen from the air.

The falls, first sighted by outsiders in the 1930s, were named for James Angel, an American adventurer who crash-landed his plane on a nearby mesa in 1937. In late 2009 Venezuelan Pres. Hugo Chávez declared that the falls should be referred to as Kerepakupai Merú, an Indigenous name.

The trip to Venezuela is not complete without a visit to Angel Falls. It is the journey to reach the falls that is probably more interesting than the destination itself (although the falls is spectacular in every way). The journey involves a boat ride up the Caroni and then Churun Rivers. The ride is against the current so the narrow boat has to fight the rapids and the strong river. The falls is located deep in the beautiful forest among the Tepuis inside the Canaima National Park. The Pemon people operate all the trips up the river from the village of Canaima.

Thanks to Ben from Osprey Expeditions and our guide Carlos for the very enjoyable experience in one of the most amazing places on our beautiful planet.

The falls, which cascade from the top of Auyantepui in the remote Gran Sabana region of Venezuela, were not known to the outside world until Jimmie Angel flew over them on November 16, 1933 while searching for a valuable ore bed.

On October 9, 1937, he returned to the falls with the intention of landing. On board his Flamingo monoplane were his second wife Marie, Gustavo Heny, and Miguel Delgado, Heny's gardener. He attempted a landing, but despite a successful touchdown, his aircraft El Rio Caroní nose-dived when it hit soft ground at the end of its landing run. The wheels sank in the mud, making take-off impossible.

The passengers were unharmed but had to trek across difficult terrain and with low food supplies for 11 days to make their way off the tepui and down to the nearest settlement at Kamarata. When word of their exploits got out, international interest in the Gran Sabana region increased dramatically, leading to in-depth scientific exploration in the following years.

His aircraft remained atop Auyantepui until 1970, when it was disassembled and brought down by Venezuelan military helicopters. Today, an El Rio Caroní can be seen outside the airport terminal at Ciudad Bolívar. The airplane was re-assembled in the city of Maracay's aviation museum