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Los Roques archipelago, Venezuela
GPS: 11.852503455294, -66.719323919612
Los Roques is an archipelago also known by the evocative name of the Maldives of Venezuela. This paradise houses a marine national park founded in 1972. It extends over 2,000 km² in the Caribbean Sea, 150 kilometres north of the Venezuelan coast. A wetland of international importance and a Ramsar site, Los Roques Archipelago National Park contains an exceptional reservoir of marine biodiversity.
Its atoll includes some 50 islands and just under 300 cays (small sandy islands), which are among the most beautiful anchorage sites in the world. Its beaches and sandbanks are untouched by any permanent human activity, except for the village of Gran Roque, which is inhabited year-round by some 1,500 people. Formerly home to fishermen from the nearby island of Margarita at the beginning of the 20th century, Los Roques Archipelago National Park is an ecological haven that delights divers with its extent of underwater fauna and flora. The archipelago’s coral reef protects many species of sea urchins, starfish, sponges, turtles, dolphins, whales and manta rays. Los Roques is popular with sport fishing and sailing enthusiasts for its 280 species of fish, and its permanent trade winds (regular wind blowing in the intertropical regions). Fly-fishing and casting are the most popular techniques used for all kinds of fish: bonefish, tarpon, barracuda, permits, jacks, mackerel, tuna, molluscs and crustaceans.
With many lagoons, coves, mangroves, coral reefs and majestic bays, Los Roques Archipelago National Park is the largest marine park in the Caribbean Sea. Its string of islands remains one of the few places in the Caribbean where it is still possible to be completely alone on a white sandy beach. Los Roques Archipelago National Park is a destination for the wealthy people of Caracas, as well as international visitors. It is the oldest and one of the most beautiful underwater reserves in the Caribbean region. This place of indescribable beauty attracts around 70,000 visitors a year. It is an invaluable asset to the Venezuelan government and the archipelago could help make tourism the country’s main source of income.