Things to do and see in Merida, Venezuela

From Bonnie Hamre, former About.com Guide

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Things to do and See:
On or near Plaza Bolivar, the heart of the city:

The Basílica Menor de la Inmaculada Concepción was begun in 1800 but not completed until 1958, giving it a variety of styles and ornamentation. Cathedral Interior Photo

Museo Arquidiocesano, next to the cathedral, displays religious art and a bell, dating from 909, thought to be among the oldest surviving church bells.

Casa de la Cultura offers temporary displays of the work of local artisans.

Museo Arqueológico displays pre-Columbia art and artifacts.

Musdeo de Arte Moderno

Casa de los Gobernadores displays ceramic models of the city created by local artist Eduardo Fuentes.

Biblioteca Bolivariana exhibits material related to Simón Bolívar, El Libertador, including a gold and jewel encrusted sword presented to him after the victory of the Battle of Junín.

Museo de Arte Colonial displays colonial religious art.

Casa Bosset offers changing exhibitions. No visit to Mérida is complete without the nearly seven mile trip on the cable car to the top of Pico Espejo, so named for the mica at the summit which reflects like a mirror. This cable car, or teleférico is the longest and highest anywhere, with the exception of Alaska. Be sure to stop at the stages during ascent to acclimate to the altitude and thinning air. From the summit, you can see surrounding peaks and valleys.

Outside the city limits:

Sports! Hiking, climbing, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, fishing, paragliding, trekking, mountain biking and walking.

Birding and wildlife viewing.

Horseback tours of the glacier lagoons of Victoria and Laguna Negra. Mucubaji Lagoon also offers fishing, and is a pleasant place for walking.

Tour the surrounding country side to see colonial villages like MucuchÌes, famous for the dogs, Timotes, Santo Domingo and Chachopo, where you can buy local handicrafts and art.

Drive through the high Páramos, again allowing time to get used to the altitude and the cold of these wild and rugged moorlands, where isolated farms dot the landscape.

Take a break at the hot springs at Tabay, La Musui, Ejido, Chiguará, Jají, and Santa Apolonia.

Stop in Los Aleros for the extremes of colonial spirit and architecture and the Astronomical Research Center for a guided tour and a look at both astronimic hemispheres.

Visit the sugar cane plantations and sugar mills, known as trapiches in the villages of La Punta, Ejido and Pozo Hondo to view the ancient ways of making Papelón, brown sugar, Guarapo de Caña, sugar cane brew and Alfondoque, a typical Andean sweet.

Visit Sierra de La Culata National Park in the desert-like Páramo de la Culata to see spectacular glacier lagoons. The park is home to our Andean Condor, one of the world's largest birds, at the Mucunturia.

Tour Jají, a lovely reconstruction of a seventeeth century pueblo andino to see Hacienda La Victoria, the oldest coffee farm in Venezuela, which demonstrates coffee growing and preparation of the coffee bean, and the Immigrant Museum and Coffee Farm, all on the Coffee Route.

Visit the villages of Estanques, Santa Cruz de Mora and Tovar, famous for their great coffee.

Stop for strawberries, in season, in Bailadores, and tour the Casa Bolivariana before continuing on to view the waterfalls at La India Carú Park. If you like theme parks, you'll want to see:

Los Aleros, a recreation of a typical pueblo andino of the 1930'swith period events, food and drink and crafts.

La Venezuela de Antier is an encapsulized view of Venezuela with its cultural traditions, food and drink, and landmarks from all regions.

Whenever you visit Mérida, enjoy yourself and post a trip report on the forum.

Buen viaje!

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