The Guacharo Caves, Monagos Sucre, Venezuela refers to a national park that is located about 12 kilometres from the town of Caripe. It boosts of a massive limestone cave which houses various species of the oilbird. The existence of this bird was made known to the scientific world by Alexander von Humboldt who named them after the town of Caripe.
In 1949, the cave was declared a national monument taking the honors as Venezuela’s first national monument. The national park was later setup for the preservation of the cave itself and the ecosystem that the birds have come to rely on heavily for their existence.
The Guacharo Caves, Monagos Sucre, Venezuela is comprised of a 10 kilometre long limestone cavern, massive chambers and awesome rock formations. The temperature inside the cave is maintained at 18-19 degrees Celsius and has a humidity level of almost 100%.
The Guacharo Caves, Monagos Sucre, Venezuela can be accessed all year round. Most tourist come to this region for a variety of reasons including bird watching and cave exploration. The oilbird is a slender long winged bird that is known to be related to the night jars. The oil bird migrates seasonally moving from the caves in such of sustenaince. It specializes in the feeding of fruits of the oil palm, which is unique from the other family of nightjars which are predominantly insectivores. Conservative estimates say there may be around 15,00o birds living in the Guacharo Caves, Monagos Sucre, Venezuela.