The cave had been carved by an underground river during that ancient epoch when all tepuis were part of the general bedrock below ground. Because of its precipitous height and the extreme isolation of its upper face, Cerro Autana harbors a community much more distinctive than the tepui with Lake Leopold. There are no foreign invaders here, and most species are unique to these mountains. It does not take a biologist to appreciate this. Our helicopters land on what seems an elaborate garden fantasyland.
Curious plants glow pastel yellow and green in the brilliant air.
Each of their leaves reflects light with the efficiency of a jewel as an adaption to excessive highland radiation. Our engine roar sends blue and red macaws wheeling in pairs from roosts along the cliff. Like an astronaut making contact with a new planet, I lower my foot gingerly to the surface, taking note of a surprising squishy texture. Much of the plateau is a soggy savanna. Dark algal mats and waterlogged mosses on a layer of peat are spotted with carnivorous, quarter-sized sundews, red as rust.