Autana Tepui

Cerro Autana rises about seven hundred metres straight out of the Amazonas forest as a near-vertical sandstone tower, and what makes it exceptional is the hole through it: a cave system runs horizontally through the upper part of the tower and opens on both sides, so daylight passes right through the mountain. The Piaroa consider it the stump of the tree of life and the mountain is sacred to them. Access is tightly restricted and most visitors see it from the air or the river.

What you actually see

• The through cave - a horizontal cave system opening on both sides of the tower.
• The vertical walls - about seven hundred metres of near-sheer sandstone.
• The Piaroa significance - a mountain held sacred as the stump of the tree of life.
• The overflight - the usual way of seeing the summit and the cave openings.

When to go

December to April is the dry season and the best for flights and river travel. The rains bring cloud that hides the summit. Overflights are weather dependent.

Honest expectations

Climbing the tepui is restricted and generally not permitted; most visits are overflights or river trips to the base. Permits from indigenous authorities and the park are required. Amazonas travel is slow, expensive and needs local arrangement.

Nearby

Puerto Ayacucho is north, and Cerro Pintado is beyond it.