Stroll in the Páramo de Gavidia mountains in Mérida - Venezuela

I have already mentioned that the last few months have been hectic and exhausting with my mom's move, despite of that, in April, during the Easter holiday, I managed to take a few days off and went with some friends to Merida. It was a wonderful trip to reconnect with this destination so cherished. I had not been there for more than ten years. Much has changed, the state of Merida has also suffered the impact of the country’s crisis, however its landscapes are still as beautiful as ever, and one of those landscapes that take your breath away is the Páramo de Gavidia.

The day after our arrival in the state of Mérida, we decided to spend the day touring Gavidia. This is one of the destinations hardly explored by tourists going to Mérida, as Gavidia is far away from everything. To get there, we took a narrow, winding road that starts in the town of Mucuchíes and goes across crops and fields.

As you go along the road, you can see on the other side how the village of Mucuchíes is being left behind.

The road continues winding up the mountain, barely meeting any other cars along the way as the route takes you through the majestic Andean mountains.

When we reach the Gavidia river and cross the bridge on the road we have officially reached the Paramo de Gavidia.

At this point we stopped to walk near the river.

My friend E's husband was the most adventurous and took off his shoes to put his feet in the river. Although the day was quite sunny, I didn't go for the adventure. The water at that altitude is freezing cold, Gavidia is about 3200 meters above sea level.

We continue on the road and enter the beautiful valley where the small village of Gavidia is located. Here it seems that time runs more slowly, perhaps because of the altitude, for being closer to the sky, maybe.

The village is just a handful of houses and a tiny chapel where we did not stop because there were religious services for the Holy Week.

In my family when we used to visit Merida often, we always took goodies and toys for the children of Gavidia, and true to my traditions, this time I did it too. Although there were only a few children that we came across on the way.

A couple of horses we passed on the road.

We continued on our way. We wanted to get to the end of the road.

At the end of the road, we stopped the cars and continued on foot along a pedestrian path.

We wanted to arrive near some small waterfalls that come down from the mountains.

The same trail leads to the Laguna de Santo Cristo, but the hike is for experienced hikers as you have to spend the night camping near the lagoon.

We went back to get the cars and this pair of cute cats were guarding them. The one that looked like Milo's cousin was meowing non-stop, I think he was hungry but we didn't have anything cat friendly, the other very smart kitty was protecting himself from the sun.

On the way back to the road, we wanted to find a place to stop for a picnic. And a spot on the side of the road where a small group of cows were quietly grazing seemed perfect.

Without invading the space of the cows, we stopped to eat some snacks and drink some blackberry wine we had bought that morning before starting our adventure.

On the other side of the road, the river was within reach.

After a while chatting and enjoying the nature, we started our way back.

We saw this cow on the way back. My friends wanted to stop to see a house on the road, I stopped to take pictures of the cow who looked so relaxed.

Gavidia was just as I remembered it. Those mountains bring back lots of precious memories and it was nice to visit them again.

If you go to Merida someday, take the time to visit the Paramo de Gavidia, you won't regret it.

Thank you for reading.