Brazil 2002

Pico da Neblina Trek

Following the ‘Expedition to Angel Falls’ in Venezuela that I had taken part in in 2000, I became fascinated with the flat- topped ‘tepuis’ and other mysterious mountains that are found in the rainforests that border Venezuela and Brazil. This interest was heightened further when I read the excellent book ‘In Trouble Again’ by Redmond O’Hanlon. In it, he describes his adventures trying to reach the foot of a mountain called Cerro Neblina (known as Pico da Neblina in Brazil) from the Venezuelan side. Pico da Neblina is Brazil’s highest mountain, the summit being located on the Brazilian side of the Brazil / Venezuela border, in an extremely remote area of rainforest. The mountain was only officially discovered in 1953, and to this day it has not been properly mapped. It is thought that approximately sixty percent of the plant species that grow there are new to science. When I finished reading the book I was captivated, and did some research to see whether I might be able to visit the Venezuelan side of the massif myself, and possibly even climb it. However, it soon became clear that the peak is so isolated that organising any kind of independent expedition would be extremely difficult. Most of the visitors to the mountain are botanists, who are taken up to the slopes by helicopter. I was about to abandon the idea, when I discovered that the mountain could in fact be climbed from the Brazilian side, and then to my amazement, I found out that KE Adventure Travel in the UK were running a trip to do just that. I signed up for the expedition and was extremely lucky to be able to visit such an inaccessible and fascinating area of pristine rainforest, and succeed in reaching the summit of Pico da Neblina.