Venezuela

Dynamic capital Caracas, spread across a lush Andean valley, is pure 21st century with glittering skyscrapers; yet still rich in colonial architecture. The city lies dwarfed by towering green and purple mountains.
Beyond the Caracas horizons, in this country twice the size of California, travelers soon discover plenty to see and do from oil rich Lake Maracaibo to the lost world, "green mansion" jungles beside the Orinoco River. Colonial Merida features the world's longest cable car ride.

Offshore Venezuela has Caribbean islands and unique atolls; while in the Gran Sabana wilderness the silvery waters of Angel Falls flow unbroken for 3,213 ft.