Haitón del Guarataro

Useful Information

Location:	Juan Crisóstomo Falcón National Park, Sierra de San Luis, Curimagua 4162, Falcón State, Venezuela. On the Carretera San Luis-Curimagua there is a parking lot and short hiking loop to the shaft. (11.149748, -69.689774)
Open:	no restrictions. [2023]
Fee:	free. [2023]
Classification:	Karst Cave Doline
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	L=640 m, VR=305 m, A=1,000 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Philip Chapman, Dave Checkley (1981): Caves of the Serrania de San Luis, Edo, Falcon: The British Karst Research Expedition to Venezuela, 1973, Transactions Of The British Cave Research Association, Volume 8, Number 1, March 1981. pdf
Address:	Haitón del Guarataro, Juan Crisóstomo Falcón National Park, Curimagua 4162, Falcón State.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

APR-1973

cave discovered and explored by the British Karst Research Expedition to Venezuela.

Description

Haitón del Guarataro (Guarataro Abyss) is a daylight shaft, which was the entrance to the deepest cave of Venezuela for a long time. It was explored by the British Karst Research Expedition to Venezuela in 1973. It starts with a 160 m drop immediately followed by 90 m drop. Here the horizontal level of the cave starts, which is about 300 m long. Although the cave is inaccessible, the spectacular entrance shaft is a tourist site of the Juan Crisóstomo Falcón National Park. It is easily visited from the Carretera San Luis-Curimagua, there is a parking lot and short hiking loop to the shaft.

Such superlatives like the "deepest cave" last only for some years, until a deeper cave is discovered. In the last decades, numerous huge cave systems in the quartzite of the tepuis in the south of the country were explored and surveyed. They are huge and long, but in general have no drops. On the other hand, several tiankengs in this area have a depth of more than 300 m. We have listed the Sima Aonda (VR=383 m) and the Sima Humboldt (VR=314 m), which are both deeper. And there is the Sima Auyan Tepuy Noroeste, which has a vertical range of 370 m.