From Wikitravel Shared

Mérida is located in Venezuela, at the foot of the Andes, only fifteen kilometers from Venezuela's highest point. It is the centre for outdoor activities in Venezuela.

(As of September 2006, 1 US dollar is worth approximately 2150 Venezualan Bolivars)

[edit] Understand

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

[edit] By car

[edit] By bus

The bus terminal is a few kilometers out of the center. A taxi to the center cost around Bs.5,000 (2.50US$). There are daily connections to Barinas, Maracay, Caracas and several other destinations in Venezuela. If you want to go across to Ciudad Bolivar and avoid going north to Caracas or Valencia, then take the bus to Barinas (about 3.5 hours) and then the overnight bus, leaving at 10pm, to Ciudad Bolivar (11 hours).

On departure a Bs500 departure tax is collected.

[edit] Get around

[edit] See

[edit] Do

• The Teleférico [1] is the city's main attraction. It's the worlds longest and highest cablecar. For a mere Bs.55,000 (25 US$) it will lead you to Pico Espejo (4765m) with two stops on the way. It's best to pick a clear day and go in the morning as early as possible to avoid queues. Many travellers go up on the teleferico, and then descent via mules, hiking and SUVs. This means that during the busy season, upward tickets may be sold out days in advance, but this can be circumvented by reversing the trip. Typically, locals in SUVs will wait in the morning near the base of the teleferico to drive tourists up to Los Nevados for $15US, where mules can be hired for the final ascent. The top is usually covered in clouds later in the day. Take warm clothes. Be warned that the cable car is frequently closed for maintenance.
• Climb the Pico Bolivar or Pico Humboldt, for serious mountaineers, these can be organised through tour agents (see below).
• Adventure activities are offered by several tour agents. Mountain-biking, paragliding, white-water rafting and canyoning are all available in Merida. Three well recommended tour agents are Arassari Trek, Calle 24 No 8-301, 0274-252-5879 [2] Jakera, Calle 24 no 8-205 0 274 2529577 [3] and Gravity Tours [4].
• Spanish Language Schools. Merida is a good location to learn Spanish. Jakera also runs a highly recommended Spanish school. [5]

[edit] Buy

[edit] Eat

• Panaderia Roma, Calle 24 No 8-68, 0274 2529095 [6] offers bread, pasteries and coffee. Popular spot for breakfast. Cafe con leche costs Bs 1.200 and a pastry around Bs 1.000
• La Montaña Calle 24 6-47. Excellent meals for a reasonable price. Try the chicken in orange sauce and the lemon pie. A main course costs around Bs 10.000.
• Delicias Mexicanas Calle 25 7-48. To satisfy your cravings for Mexican food.
• Heladeria Coromoto Avenida 3 28-75. Has an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for being the icecream parlour with the most flavours. It has around 800 flavours including hamburger or rice flavoured ice cream. But on any given day it only serves around 100 different flavours.

[edit] Drink

[edit] Sleep

Heaps of cheap posadas are clustered around Plaza Las Heroínas

[edit] Budget

• Posada Jama Chia, Calle 24 No 8-223, ☎ 0274-252-5767. Nine rooms with shared bathroom and a shared kitchen. Bs.20,000 (US$8) pp.

• El Floridita, Close to Plaza de las Heroinas. Bs.35,000.

• Posada Suiza. Bs.20,000 or Bs.35,000 with private bathroom..

[edit] Mid-range

• Posada Yagrumo, Calle 24, No 8-78, Merida (close to Plaza de las Heroinas), ☎ 0274 2529539, Cell: 0416 8745247 (posadayagrumo@hotmail.com), [7].

• Posada Casa Sol, Av. 4 between Calles 15 and 16, ☎ 0274 252-4164 (info@posadacasasol.com), [8]. Rooms from $42 for a single, $50 for a double. Breakfast an extra $8 pp..

[edit] Splurge

[edit] Contact

Venezuela's cheapest internet shops can be found in Merida. There are dozens and cost around 0.50 US$ per hour or less.

[edit] Cope

[edit] Get out

A trek you can do on your own is to Los Nevados. Take the teleférico to station Loma Redonda, make sure you don't pay the full amount for the teleférico. Inparque might charge you a Bs. 5.000 tax. From there follow the trail. It's a beautiful 4 to 5 hour walk to Los Nevados. Mules will carry you for Bs 7.000. In Los Nevados there are several posades where you can sleep for between Bs 10.000 to 30.000 with dinner and breakfast. The next morning jeeps will leave for Mérida at 9:00am for Bs 20.000 pp. It's a four and half hour ride along a narrow road. If you do it the other way around you might save the teleférico entrance and the Inparque tax, but you have to race from Los Nevados to Loma Redonda to catch the last cablecar down.

This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!