Caracas Venezuela

Description: Caracas officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern part of the country, within the Caracas Valley of the Venezuelan coastal mountain range (Cordillera de la Costa). The valley is close to the Caribbean Sea, separated from the coast by a steep 2,200-meter-high (7,200 ft) mountain range, Cerro El Ávila; to the south there are more hills and mountains. The Metropolitan Region of Caracas has an estimated population of almost 5 million inhabitants.

Population: 2,992,452

Demographics: The majority of the population is mixed-race, typically with varying degrees of European, Indigenous, African, Asian ancestry. Additionally, the city has a large number of both European Venezuelans and Asian Venezuelans who descend from the massive influx of various immigrants Venezuela received from all across Eurasia during the 20th century; in particular are descendants of Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Serbs, Chinese, Colombians, Germans, Syrians and Lebanese people.

History: Before the city was founded in 1567, the valley of Caracas was populated by indigenous peoples. Francisco Fajardo, the son of a Spanish captain and a Guaiqueri cacica, who came from Margarita, began establishing settlements in the area of La Guaira and the Caracas valley between 1555 and 1560. In 1728, the Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas was founded by the king, and the cacao business grew in importance. Caracas was made one of the three provinces of Nueva Granada, corresponding to Venezuela, in 1739. Over the next three decades the Viceroyalty was variously split, with Caracas province becoming the Venezuela province. Caracas grew in size, population, and economic importance during Venezuela’s oil boom in the early 20th century. In the 1950s, the metropolitan area of Gran Caracas was developed, and the city began an intensive modernization program, funding public buildings, which continued throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Cultural landmarks, like the University City of Caracas, designed by modernist architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000; the Caracas Museum of Contemporary Art; and the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex were built, as well as the Caracas Metro and a developed downtown area. Urban development was rapid, leading to the growth of slums on the hillsides surrounding the new city. By 2017, Caracas was the most violent city in the world.

Elevation: 900 m

Climate: Tropical savanna climate. Average annual temperature in Caracas is 21 C (71 F), the average for July is 24 C (75 F), the average for January is 22 C (72 F).

Attractions: Teleferico, Parque National El Avila, Parque Del Este, Panteon National, Plaza Francia, Hacienda La Trinidad Parque Cultural

Airports: Simon Bolivar International Airport CCA

Distance To City Centre: 55 km

Commute Length: 30 min

Average Transportation Cost: 75 USD

Traffic Hours: 6:30 am – 9:30 am, 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm