Name: Mount Roraima Expedition: 12-Day Trek from Boa Vista
Start: 2027-03-20
End: 2027-03-31
Location: Mount Roraima

Day 01:

Arrival in Boa Vista / Briefing

ArrivalBoa Vista (BVB) · Land by 13:30 if you fly in today
Briefing15:30 · Attendance is mandatory
Altitude & temperature86 m · Around 25°C

Your Mount Roraima expedition begins in Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state and the staging point for every departure. We recommend flying in the day before. If you arrive on Day 1, land by 1:30 PM so you have time to settle before the group meets.

At 3:30 PM, the whole group meets the operations team for the briefing. Mingle with the people you will spend the next eleven days with, go through the logistics, the safety protocol, and the gear check, and clear up any last questions about packing. Attendance is required.

The rest of the day is yours: repack, eat a proper meal in town, and sleep. Tomorrow starts at 7 AM.

Aerial view of Boa Vista city at sunset, with a modern glass-fronted civic building surrounded by green lawns, wide avenues, and the city spreading toward the horizon under a pink and orange sky — the starting point of a mount roraima expedition.

Day 02:

Boa Vista / Santa Elena de Uairén / Paraitepuy

DrivingBoa Vista to Santa Elena de Uairén · 220 km · ~3h
DrivingSanta Elena to Paraitepuy · 100 km · ~2h
Altitude & temperatureSanta Elena 900 m, Paraitepuy 1,300 m · around 25°C

The group leaves at 7 AM for the Venezuela border. After customs formalities on both sides, the road continues to Santa Elena de Uairén, the gateway town for the Gran Sabana. From there, the landscape changes character: open savanna, tepuis scattered along the horizon, and the first clear sight of Mount Roraima standing off the plain.

Arrive at the Paraitepuy community, a Pemón indigenous village at the base of the mountain, and sleep in the community’s guesthouse in a shared room.

Meals included: Dinner

View through a 4x4 vehicle window during a mount roraima expedition, showing a vast open savanna with low scrub and a flat-topped tepui mesa rising on the horizon under a blue sky with scattered clouds

Two photographers with cameras photograph the Paraitepuy village on a mount roraima expedition, with stone-and-mortar houses, a dirt road, and a flat-topped tepui rising dramatically on the horizon under a blue sky with scattered clouds

A group of trekkers follows a narrow dirt trail across open Gran Sabana grassland on a mount roraima expedition, with two flat-topped tepuis rising sharply against a blue sky with large white clouds in the background

A guide in a 'live an adventure' shirt points toward the flat-topped cliff of Mount Roraima across open Gran Sabana grassland under a clear blue sky, illustrating the mount roraima expedition route ahead.

A porter carrying a large pack walks a narrow dirt trail through open Gran Sabana grassland on the mount roraima expedition, with the flat-topped tepui massif rising dramatically along the horizon under a clear blue sky.

Day 03:

Paraitepuy / Trekking to the First Camp

TrekkingParaitepuy to the river camp · 15 km · 4 to 5 hours
River crossingsTek River and, depending on the camp, the Kukenan River
Altitude & temperature1,300 m down to 1,100 m · around 25°C

The third day of the Mount Roraima expedition covers 15 km of open Gran Sabana on rolling ground, with the tepui in view for almost the whole route. There are two river crossings where you wade through shallow water and refill bottles.

The camp goes up on the grass at the riverbank while the support team cooks dinner. Most groups arrive with daylight to spare, enough to swim, rest, and watch the mountain wall turn red before the stars come out.

Meals included: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

A group of hikers with heavy backpacks walking a dirt trail toward the towering flat-topped cliffs of Mount Roraima on a mount roraima expedition, under a deep blue sky across open Gran Sabana grassland

A small group of trekkers follows a narrow winding trail across open grassland on a mount roraima expedition, with the towering sandstone escarpment of the tepui filling the background under a blue sky

A wooden rules sign reading 'Normas' stands at the base camp of a mount roraima expedition, with porters loading traditional backpack frames and the sheer tepui cliff wall rising behind the camp

Deep orange and red sunset glow along the horizon beneath a large dark storm cloud, with the flat-topped silhouette of a tepui cliff visible on the right during a mount roraima expedition

Day 04:

Trekking to Mount Roraima Base Camp

TrekkingRiver camp to Base Camp · 8 km · around 5 hours
Ascent1,100 m to 1,850 m
Temperaturearound 20°C

The trail leaves the open savanna and starts to climb Mount Roraima, working up through transition vegetation toward the base of the cliff. As you get closer, the wall takes over the field of view, and by the time you reach Base Camp at 1,850 m, the rock is directly overhead.

Base Camp is a flat clearing tucked against the rock with a waterfall nearby for water and for washing off the day. The afternoon is unstructured: rest, eat, drink, and get ready for the ascent.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A hiker with a large backpack scrambles on all fours up a steep, jagged rock face during the mount roraima expedition, an infinity tattoo visible on one knee.

A hiker with a large orange backpack and trekking pole pauses on the mount roraima expedition trail, looking up at the massive sandstone cliff face rising above dense tepui vegetation under a clear blue sky

A group of four hikers with loaded backpacks and trekking poles pauses on a narrow trail during a mount roraima expedition, surrounded by moss-covered trees and dense Atlantic-style cloud forest vegetation

A person in an orange long-sleeve top sits cross-legged on a rock outcrop at the top of the mount roraima expedition route, arms raised above their head, surrounded by high-altitude vegetation and thick mist

A group of trekkers on a mount roraima expedition scrambles up a steep, layered granite rock face surrounded by bromeliad plants, with one hiker helping another navigate a difficult step

Layered ancient sandstone rock formations on the mount roraima expedition, with mist drifting through the columns and sparse high-altitude vegetation at the base

A lone hiker stands at the edge of a moss-covered sandstone cliff on a mount roraima expedition, with dense mist rising from the canyon below and layered rock walls fading into white

Day 05:

The Ascent / Summit of Mount Roraima

Ascent to the plateau4.5 km · 4 to 5 hours · No technical climbing
La RampaSwitchbacks under overhangs, through a waterfall you walk straight into
Temperature on top10°C by day, 5°C at night · Persistent mist

This is the most dramatic stretch of the trek and the only sustained steep ground, though you still climb Mount Roraima without ropes or vertical technique. The trail switchbacks up the cliff face along La Rampa, the natural ramp that makes the ascent possible at all, passing under overhangs and directly through a waterfall.

Pass the Makunaima Monument, a rock formation named for the Pemón creator spirit. At the edge, the Guardians of the Mountain are waiting: three massive stone blocks shaped like watching figures that mark the formal entry to the top of Mount Roraima.

Meals included: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

Day 06:

Valley of the Crystals / Triple Point / Coati Camp

TrekkingAcross the plateau to Coati Camp · 15 km · Around 8 hours
Valley of the CrystalsGround scattered with quartz
Triple PointVenezuela 80% · Brazil 5% · Guyana 15%

The first full day on the Roraima plateau. The group breaks camp and crosses the top from the Venezuelan side to the Brazilian side, moving the full logistics with it.

The route passes the Valley of the Crystals—a stretch where the ground is covered in quartz—then continues to the Triple Point, a white pyramidal marker on the tri-border. It is the one place on Earth where a single stride puts you across three countries.

Camp for the next three nights is Coati, on the Brazilian side, a rock shelter where tents go up underneath the overhang for protection against the cold, the mist, and the rain.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Dense field of stars over the dark silhouette of a rocky ridgeline on a mount roraima expedition night, with a single bright planet low on the horizon

A small clear quartz crystal point held between two fingers against a black background, found during a mount roraima expedition on the plateau

Hundreds of white quartz crystals scattered across a dark rocky plateau surface on a mount roraima expedition, with layered black rock formations and sparse vegetation in the misty background

A group of trekkers on a mount roraima expedition picks their way across wet black rock slabs toward towering dark canyon walls on the tepui plateau, surrounded by low endemic vegetation and shallow puddles

Day 07:

Lake Gladys

Day hikeSummit pack only · Return to the same camp
Trekking6 km round trip · Around 6 hours including time at the lake
ConditionsPersistent mist, rain possible

A lighter day of the expedition in Mount Roraima for logistics. Leave Coati Camp with a day pack and come back to the same tents at night. The destination is Lake Gladys, the most remote point on the whole route.

The way in and back takes about 6 hours across varied plateau terrain. The lake itself is small and dark, ringed by black rock. Return to the camp by late afternoon.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A hiker in a beanie and fleece sits at the edge of a circular rocky plunge pool fed by a thin waterfall, its amber-tinted water glowing gold where sunlight catches the algae-covered floor, surrounded by tepui rock walls and wild bromeliads during a mount roraima expedition

A massive layered sandstone rock formation rises from the waterlogged tepui plateau during a mount roraima expedition, surrounded by mist, puddles, and sparse endemic plants growing from the ancient stone

Day 08:

Triple Point / El Foso / Camp near the Mountain Entrance

Trekking15 km · Around 8 hours · Full logistics move
Triple PointSecond crossing
El FosoA vertical fissure with mist rising out of it

The group breaks Coati Camp and starts the long return along the plateau with the full logistics moving again. The day retraces part of the previous route and adds two stops.

First a second pass at the Triple Point, then a detour to El Foso, a deep vertical fissure where the rock simply drops away and mist boils up from below. By late afternoon, reach the camp near the mountain entrance.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A woman wading waist-deep through a flooded sandstone cave on a mount roraima expedition, golden light reflecting off the amber-colored water between sculpted rock columns

A calm blue reflective pool on the rocky tepui plateau during a mount roraima expedition, surrounded by dark sandstone outcrops, golden mosses, and low clouds mirrored on the water's surface

White pyramidal border marker labeled BV-0 and Venezuela standing on ancient dark rock at the Triple Point on the mount roraima expedition, where Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana meet

Day 09:

Jacuzzi Pools / La Ventana / Maverick Rock / Cathedral Waterfall

Trekking8 km · Around 6 hours · Relaxed loop, no camp move
Jacuzzi PoolsNatural basins carved by rainwater
La VentanaCliff-edge viewpoint, roughly 1,000 m straight down to the savanna

Without a camp move, carry only a light pack on your final full day on the plateau, allowing more unhurried time to explore its most iconic, heavily photographed locations.

The loop opens at the Jacuzzi Pools, a run of natural basins cut into the rock by millennia of rain. From there, the trail reaches La Ventana, a cliff-edge viewpoint where the plateau drops about 1,000 m straight into the savanna, with Maverick Rock balanced on the edge nearby.

The afternoon leg covers Cathedral Waterfall, a sheltered alcove where water falls down a tall wall of black rock into a small basin, and closes at Paso de Los Cristales, a wide passage across ground covered in loose quartz. That is the last stop of the Mount Roraima expedition before the descent starts tomorrow.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A backpacker stands alone on a narrow ancient rock outcrop during a mount roraima expedition, surrounded by a sea of clouds with a distant tepui wall emerging through the mist

A hiker wearing a headlamp stands at the edge of a tepui cliff on a mount roraima expedition, gazing across a sea of mist toward a distant flat-topped mesa under a dense, star-filled sky

A hiker stands on a rocky summit ledge during the mount roraima expedition, looking out over a vast sea of clouds with dark tepui peaks barely breaking through the white below

Low-angle view of layered dark sandstone cliffs on the Mount Roraima expedition plateau, with sparse endemic plants growing in rain-pooled black rock in the foreground and a partly cloudy sky above

A woman in a teal swimsuit kneels on an iron-rich orange rock shelf during a mount roraima expedition, hands raised above her head, surrounded by clear shallow pools with green algae-tinted water and layered ancient stone formations

Swirling natural rock pools with vivid green and amber-stained water on the ancient sandstone plateau of the mount roraima expedition, with eroded black tepui formations and low clouds in the background

A porter carrying a large blue pack and woven basket walks across the wet, dark rocky plateau of Mount Roraima during a mount roraima expedition, with bromeliad-like plants dotting the terrain and thick mist obscuring the distant rock formations

A tiny jet-black warty toad resting on a person's fingertips during a mount roraima expedition, showing just how small the animal is against a human hand

Day 10:

Descent from the Plateau / Rio Tek Camp

Descent1,000 m drop from the plateau to Base Camp · Around 4 hours
TrekkingA further ~3 hours down to the river camp at 1,100 m
Night skyOften the clearest of the whole trip

Say goodbye to the plateau, but the trek is not over. The descent down the cliff face follows the Day 5 route in reverse, dropping 1,000 m in around 4 hours. Downhill is harder on the knees than uphill here, so take the poles and take your time.

After a trail lunch at Base Camp, the group continues for roughly another 3 hours across the transition zone and back into open savanna, reaching the Tek or Kukenan river camp at 1,100 m.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A glowing yellow tent pitched under a massive rock overhang during a mount roraima expedition, with a group of trekkers gathered around red lantern light deep inside the cave-like shelter at night

Two trekkers in warm layers watch an orange-and-purple sunset from a highland campsite on a mount roraima expedition, with glowing orange tents pitched on open ground behind them and a rustic shelter to the right

A flat-topped tepui rising above green savanna foothills on a mount roraima expedition, its ancient sandstone cliffs glowing amber in low light while a band of white cloud wraps around the base of the vertical rock face beneath a pale violet sky

Day 11:

Rio Tek / Paraitepuy / Santa Elena de Uairén

TrekkingRiver camp to Paraitepuy · 15 km · Around 4 hours
4x4 transferParaitepuy to Santa Elena de Uairén · 100 km
OvernightCampamento Yakoo, Santa Elena de Uairén · double room

The final trekking stretch: 15 km across the savanna back to Paraitepuy in around 4 hours. Then, the group transfers to 4×4 vehicles for the road to Santa Elena de Uairén, where you sleep at Campamento Yakoo.

The evening is the closing celebration of the expedition, with dinner, photo sharing, and the unofficial debrief that always happens when a group has just come off a mountain together.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch (dinner is not included; paid separately)

Four hikers celebrating on a sandy hilltop along the mount roraima expedition trail, with the flat-topped tepui visible through clouds in the background

A backpacker walks a narrow dirt trail through open green and golden grassland on a mount roraima expedition, with the flat-topped tepui massif rising dramatically against a blue sky filled with large white clouds

Day 12:

Santa Elena de Uairén / Boa Vista

DrivingSanta Elena de Uairén to Boa Vista · ~220 km · ~3h
Temperature in Boa Vista28°C to 34°C, with seasonal variation
End of servicesHotel check-in in Boa Vista · afternoon and evening free

In the morning, transfer to the Brazil–Venezuela border to clear customs on both sides. Continue to Boa Vista (86 m above sea level) and check into your hotel. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening at leisure to shower, eat, and explore town. This is the end of your Mount Roraima expedition.

Meals included: Breakfast