Mount Roraima is one of the oldest mountain formations on Earth, a natural border between Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana in South America. It is around 2,800 metres tall. Its name is derived from Roroi-ma, which in Pemon means ‘big blue-green.’ The only way visitors can climb to the top is from the Gran Sabana side, in Venezuela. With sheer 400-metre high cliffs on all sides this is only one ‘easy’ way up. On the top of the mountain it rains almost every day, washing away most of the nutrients for plants to grow and creating a unique landscape on the bare sandstone surface. Arthur Conan Doyle populated the tepui Roraima with dinosaurs, strange vegetation and animals in his book, The Lost World, probably the best adventure novel of all times.
credit: Paulo Fassina