La Colonia Tovar, Caracas

German settlement town located 40 miles (65km) to the west of Caracas and in the mountains - beautiful!!
I went on a rustic jeep tour, which took us into the forest and up the steep mountainside.

It was founded in 1841 by Don Martin Tovar, a Venezuelan congressman that enforced the treaty with european immigrants from Tyrol and West Germany among others. Colonia Tovar was described by Isabel Allende in her novel, EVA LUNA as:

'A picturesque German Village of white houses with timbers and red roofs surrounded by flower gardens, carefully tended fields and creeks with water mills. German cooking and German atmosphere. A cold beer or a freshly made fruit juice, followed by sausages and sauerkraut and a big piece of black forest cake listening to some Bavarian music.'

Por puestos leave Caracas from the corner of Avenida Lecuna and Sur 9. Take the por puesto marked "El Junquito"; in El Junquito, you'll have to switch to another por puesto for the rest of the ride. The entire trip should take around 2 hours and cost 1,500Bs ($2) each way. A taxi to Colonia Tovar costs 20,000Bs to 30,000Bs ($27-$41) for up to four people. This should be a round-trip fare; you may have to negotiate, depending on how long you want the driver to wait for you or to drive you around Colonia Tovar.

When in caracas , you can take a side trip to COLONIA TOVAR its a small german settlement just 40 minutes by car...

You you feel the difference of the busy capital to a more quiet mountain side.

Visit my LA COLONIA TOVAR page.

Colonia Tovar is a thriving village in the forest settled by German immigrants. In 1843, 376 Germans from the Schwarzwald arrived in Caracas to start a new life. They left the City and settled on land donated by Martin Tovar y Ponte. Isolated from the outside world, the Germans re-created the Black Forest in Venezuela. Not until a road was laid from Caracas through the forest in 1963 did the village become known. At that time there were 1300 inhabitants. Today, 6000 people live in the village.