Henri Pittier

Henri Pittier National Park protects 107,800 hectares of coastal mountains along Venezuela's Caribbean shore in Aragua state, spanning from sea level to 2,436 meters at Pico Cenizo. The park encompasses extraordinary ecological diversity, with cloud forests, tropical dry forests, and coastal ecosystems compressed within a small geographic area due to dramatic elevation changes. This was Venezuela's first national park, established in 1937, and remains among the country's most biodiverse protected areas with over 580 bird species recorded. The park's northern boundary reaches the Caribbean Sea, where beaches and coastal forests transition abruptly into steep mountain slopes draped in evergreen vegetation. Multiple life zones stratified by elevation create habitat mosaics supporting endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. Two main routes traverse the park—the historic Rancho Grande pass and the coastal road through Choroni—both offering spectacular scenery and wildlife viewing opportunities. The park's position along major bird migration routes makes it a globally significant site for observing North American species during seasonal movements.