Henri Pittier National Park: Difference between revisions

Henri Pittier National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Nearest city	Maracay
Coordinates
Area	1078 km²
Established	13 February 1937
Governing body	INPARQUES
www.inparques.gob.ve/index.php?parques=view&codigo=pn_0001&sec=1

Choroni Beach, Henry Pittier National Park.

Henri Pittier National Park is the oldest national park in Venezuela, originally created in 1937 under the name of Rancho Grande by decree of President Eleazar López Contreras. The park was renamed in 1953 with the name of Henri Pittier, a distinguished Swiss geographer, botanist and ethnologist, who arrived in Venezuela in 1917, classified more than 30,000 plants in the country and devoted many years studying the flora and fauna in the park.

Henry Pittier National Park has the honor of having started the history of national parks in Venezuela. It has an area of 107,800 hectares, located in the north of Aragua state, comprising most of the Araguan costs and mountainous area of Carabobo state also borders the San Esteban National Park. Henri Pittier National Park is the largest among the national parks of the Venezuelan Coastal Range.

The park consists of two geographic systems: a steep mountain, where more than 500 bird species and 22 endemic species. In the park there are nine major rivers and a great diversity of flora and vegetation. The second system is the coastal area with bays, beaches and resorts of a huge tourism potential.

Besides its ecological importance is also an important source of water for cities and towns that surround it and is also the land where cultivated one of the best cacao of the world, especially in the village of Chuao.

History

daniel, located in the coastal zone of Henri Pittier National Park.

Decreed National Park on February 13, 1937 and originally christened with the name of Rancho Grande, under the chairmanship of General Eleazar López Contreras, became the first national park status in the country.

Subsequently, on May 24, 1953 was renamed Henri Pittier, a distinguished Swiss engineer, naturalist and botanist founder of the system of national parks of Venezuela, who managed the consolidation of the park and spent much of his life in the study of forest tropical ecosystem and thousands of species of plants and fauna in the park.

Although it initially was set at 90,000 ha of park, later in 1974 in the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez was appended another 17,800 ha, resulting in a total area of 107,800 ha, current geographic area of ​​the park.

It was created in order to preserve the cloud forest ecosystems and marine-coastal and estuarine environments of the Venezuelan Coastal Range, threatened by burning and agricultural activities, and protect its biodiversity and the preservation of those endemic, rare, vulnerable or endangered species. It also protects important water resources that supply water to nearby towns and is a space for research, recreation and environmental education. Thus the efforts of scientist Henri Pittier for the creation of the Park.

For years the park has been protected by the Instituto Nacional de Parques de Venezuela (INPARQUES), which assumes a systematic policy of conservation and preservation of natural resources of the park.

Flora

It has a high diversity due to the large number of environments involved. The dwarf (Curatella Americana Bowdichia virgilioides), the majaguas (Heliocarpus sp.) And palo maría (Triplaris sp.) are characteristic of forests at lower altitudes. The bucket or child (Gyranthera caribensis) is indicative of the cloud forest as macanilla palms (Bactris setulosa), cane mill (Chamaedorea pinnatifrons) Prapa (Wettinia praemorsa) and other gender Geonoma, Hyospathe and Socratea. Aroids, orchids, bromeliads and piperaceae include in the group of epiphytic plants.

Water resources

River Ocumare at level of La Trilla.

The Rivers San Miguel, Turiamo, Ocumare, Cata, Cuyagua, Aroa, Cepe, Choroní, Chuao drain into the Caribbean Sea. The Rivers Guayabita, Colorado, Güey and Limón drain into the lake of Valencia.

Within the park are several recreational areas such as La Guamita, Las Cocuizas, La Trilla, El Polvorín; the Birds Pass of Portachuelo, the Museum of Uraca Hydroelectric Plant, the Hacienda de Santa María and the Viewpoints of the main roads Maracay-Choroní and Maracay-Ocumare de la Costa.

Places to Visit

[[File:Anuncio Henry Pittier.JPG|200px|thumb|Entrance to Henri Pittier National Park west of the Hotel Maracay. The main attraction of this park are its beautiful beaches. Some are accessible by road, and it is noteworthy that so are most frequented by vacationers. Others are only accessible by sea, which are generally much more empty and clean. The most visited are: bahía de Cata, Cuyagua, Playa Grande, El Playón, Playa Chuao, among others. Playa Cuyagua is an ocean beach, considered the best to practice the «surfing» in Venezuela.

Another major attraction of the park are over 500 species of birds can be seen there. These represent over 40% of total bird species in the country. Tourists and scientists around the world visit the park for this reason, and thus created the Sociedad Científica Amigos del Parque Nacional Henri Pittier (SCAPNHP) in 1989. This society seeks to promote the study of flora and fauna of the park, while protecting of disturbing elements the natural habitat of these species. In the Estación Biológica Rancho Grande of the Ministry of Environment can visit a zoological museum with many of the species in the area by appointment. The Paseo del Pargo, which can be reached by taking Road of Choroní peaks can visit La Mesa, Palmarito, La Negra, La Negrita and El Cenizo.

External links

• Parque Nacional Henri Pittier at ParksWatch.org
• Parque Nacional Henri Pittier MiPunto.com
• Parque Henri Pittier en la Red Escolar Nacional
• Estación Biológica Dr. Alberto Fernández Yepez
• De la Costa Eco-Lodge Parque Nacional Henri Pittier Venezuela
• Parque Nacional Henri Pittier en Araira.org
• Actividades en la Ciénaga