Venezuela’s Tepuis, Angel Falls and Up! the latest release from Pixar

June 16, 2:25 PMExotic Travel ExaminerDave Lowe

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Up! Is currently the biggest summer movie hit of 2009. While the animation has no ‘real’ locations, the destination of the characters of this movie is South America: Angel Falls and the Tepui’s of Venezuela to be exact.

Like Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Lost World, Up! Was inspired by these remarkable South American sites.

 (from Wikipedia)

Tepui: ‘House of the Gods’

Tepuis are flat table-top mountains that exist only in the Guayana Highlands of South America. Most are found within the territory of Venezuela, and in the language of the Pemon people who live in the Gran Sabana, Tepui means ‘House of the Gods’ due to their height.

Tepuis served as backdrops to the scenes in Up! after the main characters get blown off course by a storm.
As isolated remnants of a vast sandstone plateau once found here, Tepuis tower as much as 1,000 meters above the surrounding jungle. Eroded over eons, Tepuis stand as ‘ecological islands’ and harbor numerous endemic plants (carnivorous plants in particular) and animal species, some of which are only found on one Tepui.

With many Tepuis found within Venezuelas Canaima National Park, UNESCO has recognized it as a World Heritage site.
Many Tepuis have yet to be explored by humans.

 (Wikipedia)

Angel Falls = Paradise Falls

At 979 meters (3,212 feet) Angel Falls the tallest waterfall in the world, so high that water droplets are atomized by the time they hit the ground. The Auyantepui Tepui, the largest of its kind, is the source of Angel Falls, with a surface area of 700 square kilometers.

Angel Falls was the inspiration for ‘Paradise Falls’ in Up! and was visited by the production staff in 2004.

Named after American aviator Jimmie Angel who crash-landed at the top of the falls in 1933, they are known in Spanish as ‘Salto Ángel’ and ‘Kerepakupai Merú’ in the Pemon language, translating as ‘The Fall From the Highest Point.’ Many believe it to be the most beautiful waterfall in the world.

Located within the Canaima National Park in southern Venezuela, reaching Angel Falls requires a flight from Caracas to Cuidad Bolivar, then a river trip to reach the base of the falls, followed by a hike through the jungle. The best time to visit is dry season (December to March) when the falls are less likely to be shrouded in cloud, but this makes the river journey more difficult than during the rest of the year. Local Pemon Indians serve as guides.

Visiting Venezuelas Tepui’s is much more difficult – not only are they extremely remote, but reaching the top requires mountain climbing experience and large amounts of supplies. To visit requires a full expedition and extensive permits, much more red tape than the characters in Up! had to deal with.