Chichiriviche

Small Venezuelan coastal town and main gateway to the cays of Morrocoy National Park

Chichiriviche is a small coastal town on Venezuela's northwest coast, serving as the main gateway to Morrocoy National Park. The park protects a scattering of small islands and cays — Cayo Borracho, Cayo Pelón, Cayo Sal, Playuela, and Peraza among them — with white sand, clear water, and mangrove channels. The best-known cay, Cayo Sombrero, has shaded beaches and a few rustic shacks for grilled fish.

Boats to the cays leave from the waterfront in town. Some of the islands are little more than a strip of sand with a palm tree — perfect for a quiet day of swimming and sunbathing. On weekends and holidays they fill up with Venezuelan daytrippers. Just west of town the Cuare Wildlife Refuge protects flamingos, scarlet ibis and other Caribbean birds in a network of mangrove lagoons.

Guide

Eating Out

Eating in Chichiriviche is straightforward: grilled fish, fried fish, fish stews, the occasional plate of carne mechada. The restaurants along Avenida Zamora and the waterfront serve essentially the same menu at very similar prices — pick the one that looks busy.

Pargo (red snapper) and mero (grouper) are the catches to look for. They come whole, scorched on the skin, with patacones (twice-fried plantain), rice, and a small salad. Lunch on one of the cays — fresh fish grilled on a wood fire at a beach shack — is one of the simple pleasures of a trip out here.

Guide

Getting There

Chichiriviche sits on the Falcón coast, about three hours by road northwest of Caracas and 200 km southeast of Coro. The most reliable way to arrive is por puesto (shared taxi) from Valencia or Maracay — both cities have a daily run that drops at the Chichiriviche bus terminal.

From Caracas, take a bus or por puesto to Valencia (around two hours), then change for Chichiriviche. The Valencia–Chichiriviche leg takes another two to two-and-a-half hours via the coastal road through Morón. Renting a car gives you more flexibility for moving on to Coro or Adicora afterwards, but the roads are rough in places — drive in daylight only.

Guide

Things to Do

There is essentially one reason to come to Chichiriviche: the boat trip to the cays of Morrocoy National Park. The town itself is small and unremarkable — a few streets of low buildings, fishing boats pulled up on the sand, restaurants strung along the waterfront. The real action is offshore, where a string of low islands sit in clear shallow water a few kilometres from the dock.

Beyond the boat trips, options are limited. Watch the flamingos in the mangroves at the edge of town, walk the beach at sunset, eat fresh fish.