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The hand of man has affected nature more than it should have over the centuries. There are places, however, so inaccessible that they remain uncontaminated and untouched. Like the tepui, the so-called "mountains of the gods" found mainly in Venezuela, and more precisely in the Gran Sabana: so high and so impervious that they have been a source of legends and mythological tales for centuries. Extraordinary places, which are worth knowing and telling about.
What are tepui?
Tepuis are enormous plateaus located in Venezuela, which extend for hundreds of kilometers. Their formation dates back approximately 450 million years ago, but it is estimated that their appearance is what they had 20 million years ago. There are approximately 112 between Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana and their height ranges from one thousand to 3 thousand meters above sea level. The most famous tepuis are Neblina, Roraima, Autana, and Auyantepui. The latter is the place where the famous Angel Falls rises, which is the highest waterfall in the world.
Where are
Tepuis are found between western Guyana, Brazil and Venezuela. Most are in the National park Canaima, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In Brazil, however, the Mount Roraima National Park was established. Climbing them is not easy, and it is very difficult for man to venture to the summit.
Flora and fauna of the tepui
There is an enormous distance between one tepui and another. This, combined with their inaccessibility, has meant that each has developed its own ecosystem. No tepui is the same as another, no tepui has flora or fauna even remotely similar to those nearby. Furthermore, the fact that man has not been able to tamper with the nature of these plateaus has meant that there are absolutely unique animal and plant species. For years it was even believed that, thanks to the unaltered ecosystem, dinosaurs had survived in the tepui.
How tepui were formed
The tepui were formed from the large sandstone plateaus located between the Amazon rainforest and the Orinoco river. Over the centuries these were eroded, and the tepuis developed from the remaining mountains. According to a theory presented in 2013, these wonderful plateaus are what remains of the uneroded part of the Guyana Shield.
The underground caves
The wonders revealed by the tepui, however, do not end here. In 2014 it was discovered in the region the longest existing quartzite cave system. The interior is composed of sinister geological formations of a pinkish color and there is the presence of a very rare mineral, Rossiantonite. Twenty kilometers of tunnels and galleries, with geological characteristics that have no equal in the world.
