After a brief walking tour of central Caracas, Cuba's Fidel Castro last year admonished Venezuelans for allowing development to run rampant over the city's Spanish colonial gems. He cited Havana's prized Old City as an example to follow. The El Avila National Park and mountain ridge towers of the skyscrapers of Caracas, Venezuela. Visitors to this sprawling capital of 4 million should understand that Caracas has always embraced the new, the modern, and in recent decades, the North American.
Truth is, according to Venezuelan historians, there was little of colonial Caracas to begin with.
Established in 1567 as Santiago de Leon de Caracas, this city is sandwiched between a Caribbean mountain range to the north and the Los Altos de Pipe range to the south. Its tiny centre once gave way to rolling farmland and ranches. A Venezuelan boy chases pigeons at the Plaza Bolivar in Caracas. Established in 1567 as Santiago de Leon de Caracas, this city is nestled between a Caribbean mountain range to the north and the Los Altos de Pipe range to the south. Its tiny center once gave way to rolling farmland and ranches.