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

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.

Geography

Location

Cloud Forest.

Henri Pittier National Park is located in the Central Region, occupies most of the northern state of Aragua and much of the northeastern state of Carabobo, covers a considerable area of ​​the Venezuelan Coastal Range, adjacent to the towns of Choroní, Cuyagua, Chuao, Cata, La Ciénaga , Ocumare de la Costa y Turiamo.

The easiest access to the park is across the road from Maracay to El Limón, through Rancho Grande and down Ocumare de la Costa, and the road from Maracay to Las Delicias and reaches Choroní. From the Maracay Bus Terminal there are also buses that arrive to the town of Choroni.

Relief

Located in the Venezuelan Coastal Range, the park is a rugged terrain with steep slopes, starting at sea level and rises to 2,346 meters, where it reaches its highest point at Pico Cenizo.

The geological constitution of the park is essentially metamorphic igneous rock, the highest peak is 2,436 meters. Similarly, there are rocky shore environments.

One of the major geographical features is the presence of the mountain open to 1,136 meters, known as Paso de Portachuelo, which allows the passage of species of birds, bats and flying insects, many of them migrants from the northern hemisphere.

A waterfall in the National Park Henri Pittier.

Vegetation

Plant communities of the Venezuelan Coastal Range, such as cloud forest, deciduous and galeries. Among them are species of orchids, bromeliads, palms and trees of great development as Gyranthera Caribensis, known as "El niño" or "cucharón", which average about 40 m in height. There are also mangrove La Ciénaga and Turiamo Bay.

In deciduous forests are giant grass communities known as the "cogollo".

From the top to the valley is a high diversity of vegetation due to the large number of environments. The park is composed of four representative vegetables layers of the cloud forests from tall trees as climbers, shrubs of medium height, herbs and finally mosses, lichens, ferns and fungi.

Climate

As Henri Pittier Park a very steep topography, unstable or flat, the climate varies with altitude above sea level. The park is situated at an altitude ranging from 0 to 2,436 meters, its maximum height at the top of Pico El Cenizo. In the coastal system average temperature is 28 ° C, with highs that may exceed 30 ° C, while in the higher areas descend from 12 ° C to 6 ° C with high levels of precipitation during the rainy season between April and November.

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