Mount Roraima Trek: 8-Day Expedition to the Lost World
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TripsBrazilMount Roraima

Mount Roraima Trek: 8-Day Expedition to the Lost World

Brazil
7 Nights·8 Days
Mount RoraimaHiking & TrekkingCamping & Wild Camping

Overview

The Mount Roraima trek is an 8-day expedition to one of the oldest landscapes on Earth, a 2,810 m tabletop mountain that has been standing for close to 2 billion years. You walk in from the Brazilian side, cross into Venezuela at Santa Elena de Uairén, and spend 3 nights camping on the summit.

The route covers roughly 86 km on foot. From the Gran Sabana, climb the steep La Rampa ramp to the plateau, then explore the top, including the Valley of Crystals and its quartz outcrops; the triple border point where Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana meet; the natural jacuzzis; the La Ventana lookout facing Mount Kukenan; and Maverick Rock, the highest point of the Mount Roraima summit at 2,875 m.

The Roraima trek is fully guided. Throughout the journey, you are accompanied by Pémon indigenous guides, who know, appreciate, and respect the tepui like no one else. You couldn’t ask for better company.

  • Full itinerary: trekking across the Gran Sabana, La Rampa ascent, 3 nights camping on the plateau, Valley of Crystals, triple border point, El Foso, natural jacuzzis, La Ventana lookout, and Maverick Rock.
  • 3 nights on the Mount Roraima summit in natural rock shelters, at around 2,800 m.
  • The Valley of Crystals, an open field of quartz outcrops, and El Foso, a sunken shaft on the plateau.
  • The triple border point, the white pyramid marking where Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana meet, and Maverick Rock at 2,875 m.
  • Natural jacuzzis on the plateau, clear rock pools fed by rain and mist, plus the “Guardians of the Mountain” rock formations that greet you at the top.
  • Activities guided by Indigenous Pemón experts from the Paraitepuy community, with Spanish, English, or German-speaking guides (available on request).
  • All-inclusive experience: round-trip land transfer from Boa Vista, full board from Santa Elena de Uairén onwards, collective Roraima camping equipment, and the guiding/logistics team.

  • Please note: the following itinerary is an example. The schedule may be modified by the guides depending on the weather, river conditions, and the group’s pace. A valid passport is required for travelers of all nationalities to cross the border between Brazil and Venezuela.

Itinerary

Day 1

Boa Vista / Briefing / Road to Santa Elena de Uairén

  • Briefing· Hotel in Boa Vista · 8:30 AM
  • Road transfer· BR-174 to the Venezuelan border · 220 km · ~3 hrs
  • Conditions· ~25°C (77°F) · +815 m

Your Mount Roraima trek starts at 8:30 AM at a hotel in Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state, with a briefing where you meet the group and go through the essentials. From there, take the BR-174 north to the Venezuelan border, clear customs at Pacaraima, and continue to Santa Elena de Uairén.

Sleep in a double room tonight (the only bed of the trip). The guiding team runs a final gear check.

Meals included: Dinner

Aerial view of a mid-sized Brazilian city at sunset, with a modernist glass-and-concrete civic building surrounded by green lawns, wide avenues and a glowing orange horizon — the gateway city for the Mount Roraima trek

Day 2

Gran Sabana Crossing / Paraitepuy / Trek to the Kukenan River Camp

  • 4x4 to Paraitepuy· 100 km on unpaved road
  • Trek to camp· 15 km · 4–5 hrs
  • Camp· Kukenan River · ~25°C · +200 m

Cross the Gran Sabana by 4×4 to the Indigenous community of Paraitepuy, the official start of the hike and the point where the porters take on the collective gear.

The first leg on foot runs 15 km over open savannah to a campsite on the bank of the Kukenan River. This is the first of six nights in a tent, with the tepui sitting on the horizon the entire way.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A guide in a 'live an adventure' shirt points toward the dramatic cliffs of a tepui on the Mount Roraima trek, with open savannah grassland stretching beneath a clear blue sky
View through a 4x4 vehicle window of a vast open savannah with a flat-topped tepui mesa on the horizon during a Mount Roraima trek approach
Two photographers capture the view from a dirt path above a small village on the Mount Roraima trek, with a flat-topped tepui rising dramatically on the horizon under a blue sky with white clouds
A group of trekkers follows a narrow dirt path across open savannah grassland on the Mount Roraima trek, with two massive flat-topped tepuis rising sharply against a blue sky in the background
Green dome tents and thatched-roof shelters at a remote campsite on the Mount Roraima trek, beneath a brilliant Milky Way filling the night sky

Day 3

Trek to the Base of the Tepui

  • Trek to base camp· 8 km · ~5 hrs · Mostly uphill
  • Conditions· ~20°C (68°F) · +750 m

Sunrise puts Mount Roraima directly ahead of you. The day is shorter in distance but almost entirely uphill. Reach base camp in the afternoon, right under the wall. Lunch and the rest of the day are spent at the foot of a 400 m cliff.

This is the last night before the climb, in which the guides use the evening to brief the group on the ascent.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A shallow rocky river flows toward the flat-topped summit of Mount Roraima under a dramatic cloudscape on the Mount Roraima trek
A backpacker walks a winding dirt trail across open savannah grassland on the Mount Roraima trek, with the towering flat-topped tepui escarpment rising dramatically under a clear blue sky in the distance
A group of backpackers on the Mount Roraima trek walking a dirt trail toward the sheer sandstone cliffs of the tepui under a deep blue sky
A small group of trekkers follows a winding trail across open savannah grassland on the Mount Roraima trek, dwarfed by the sheer sandstone cliffs of the tepui's vertical wall rising behind them
A dramatic storm cloud spreads over the silhouetted cliff edge of a tepui during a fiery Mount Roraima trek sunset, with an orange and deep-blue sky on the horizon

Day 4

La Rampa Ascent / Arrival on the Summit

  • Ascent via La Rampa· 4.5 km · 4–5 hrs · The steepest section
  • Summit· 10°C by day / 5°C at night, near 0°C in rain
  • Camp· First of 3 nights on the plateau

La Rampa is the natural ramp that cuts up the cliff face, and it is the hardest part of climbing Mount Roraima. The trail changes character every few hundred meters: gardens of bromeliads and orchids, streams running off the rock, and the “Paso das Lágrimas” waterfall that soaks everyone who passes under it. Near the top, pass the Makunaima Monument.

The plateau opens up behind three enormous rock towers, the “Guardians of the Mountain.” Tonight, sleep in one of the natural rock shelters—the best, most authentic way to spend the night at this portion of the Mount Roraima trek.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A hiker with a large orange pack and trekking pole gazes up at a towering vertical tepui cliff face during the Mount Roraima trek, surrounded by bromeliads and ferns under a deep blue sky
A hiker with a large backpack scrambles on hands and feet up a steep rocky section during the Mount Roraima trek, wearing trail shoes and compression sleeves
A hiker with an orange-covered backpack stands at the edge of a towering sandstone cliff face on the Mount Roraima trek, gazing across a vast savannah landscape as a thin waterfall cascades down the sheer vertical wall beside them
A woman in an orange top sits cross-legged on a mossy summit rock during the Mount Roraima trek, arms raised toward a sky swallowed by dense white cloud, surrounded by highland bromeliads
Layered sandstone rock formations rise through swirling mist on the Mount Roraima trek, their weathered faces resembling ancient sentinels on the plateau
Trekkers gathered around a glowing campfire inside a vast sandstone rock shelter at night during a Mount Roraima trek, a yellow tent lit from within in the foreground and a Roraima Adventures banner visible on the cave wall
A lone hiker wearing a headlamp stands at the edge of a sheer tepui cliff on the Mount Roraima trek, gazing across a sea of mist toward a distant flat-topped plateau beneath a vast, star-filled sky

Day 5

Valley of Crystals / Triple Border Point / El Foso / Coati Camp

  • Trek across the plateau· 24 km · ~8 hrs
  • Valley of Crystals· Open quartz outcrops
  • Triple border point· Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana

The longest day of the Mount Roraima trekking route, and the one most people remember.

Cross the quartz-covered landscape of the Valley of Crystals before arriving at the triple border point, where a white pyramid signifies the convergence of three nations (Brazil, Venezuela, and Guyana). You will also visit El Foso, a striking and deep rock shaft, before spending the night on the plateau's Brazilian sector at Coati camp.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Six trekkers in rain gear sit on dark wet rocks overlooking a golden grassland meadow enclosed by ancient layered sandstone cliffs on the Mount Roraima trek
A small clear quartz crystal point held between two fingers against a black background, found during the Mount Roraima trek through the Valley of Crystals
Ancient eroded sandstone rock formations and endemic bromeliads stretching across the misty plateau on a Mount Roraima trek, with two trekkers in blue rain gear visible among the sculpted rocks
A group of hikers in rain gear crossing wet black sandstone on the Mount Roraima trek, moving toward dramatic ancient cliff walls rising on either side of a narrow highland valley
A woman wades waist-deep through a glowing amber underground pool inside a sculpted sandstone cave on the Mount Roraima trek, light filtering through eroded rock arches
A dense field of stars fills the night sky above the dark silhouette of a rocky ridgeline on the Mount Roraima trek

Day 6

Crystal Jacuzzis / La Ventana / Maverick Rock

  • Crystal jacuzzis· Natural rock pools
  • La Ventana· Lookout over Mount Kukenan and its waterfalls
  • Maverick Rock· 2,875 m · The highest point

A shorter walking day built around the three best-known spots on top. Start in the crystal jacuzzis (clear pools worn into the rock), then walk to La Ventana, a natural window in the cliff edge looking straight across at Mount Kukenan and its waterfalls.

The day ends on Maverick Rock, the highest point on the mountain at 2,875 m, with the Gran Sabana and the whole route you have walked laid out below.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A woman in a teal swimsuit kneels in a shallow natural pool on the Mount Roraima trek, hands raised in a meditative pose above rust-coloured tepui rock carved by ancient water erosion
A hiker stands on the rocky summit plateau of the Mount Roraima trek, gazing out over a vast sea of clouds that swallows the surrounding tepuis below
Vibrant green and amber-stained natural rock pools on the Mount Roraima trek summit plateau, with eroded black sandstone formations and low clouds rolling across the tepui landscape
Ancient layered sandstone cliffs of a tepui summit plateau on the Mount Roraima trek, with rain pools and sparse endemic vegetation covering the dark rocky foreground under a partly cloudy sky
A heavily loaded porter walks across the wet black rocky plateau of a Mount Roraima trek, surrounded by low bromeliad plants and thick swirling mist

Day 7

Descent from the Summit / Tek River Camp

  • Descent· To the base · ~4 hrs, then ~3 hrs to camp
  • Conditions· ~25°C (77°F)
  • Camp· Tek River

Leave the “House of Makunaima” and go back down La Rampa, roughly 4 hours to the base, where the group stops to rest and eat. Another 3 hours brings you to the Tek River camp.

Back below the cloud line, the air is warm again. This is usually the clearest night sky of the whole trip.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A flat-topped tepui rises above rolling green savannah on the Mount Roraima trek, its sheer sandstone cliffs glowing amber in low light while mist clings to the base of the plateau
Trekkers in warm jackets watch a dramatic orange and purple sunset from a hillside campsite during a Mount Roraima trek, with glowing orange tents visible in the background

Day 8

Final Hike to Paraitepuy / Santa Elena / Return to Boa Vista

  • Final hike· 15 km · ~4 hrs to Paraitepuy
  • Return· 4x4 to Santa Elena, border formalities, road to Boa Vista
  • Arrival· Late afternoon or early evening

A last 15 km back across the savannah to Paraitepuy, where the 4×4 vehicles are waiting. From there, head to Santa Elena de Uairén, clear customs at the border, and take the BR-174 south.

The Mount Roraima trek officially ends at the same Boa Vista hotel where it started, late afternoon or early evening.

Meals included: Breakfast and lunch on the trail

A dramatic sunset sky of orange and purple clouds hovers over a flat-topped tepui silhouette shrouded in low cloud during a Mount Roraima trek, with a winding trail visible across the dark savannah foreground
The flat-topped sandstone massif of a tepui rises above rolling savannah grasslands during a Mount Roraima trek, with low clouds drifting around its sheer vertical cliffs in warm morning light
View from inside a 4x4 vehicle on the Mount Roraima trek, following a motorcyclist along a winding dirt track through open savannah grassland

What is Included

  • Round-trip transfer (Boa Vista ⇄ Paraitepuy Indigenous Community), by road on the BR-174 and by 4x4 on the unpaved sections
  • 1 night in a double room in Santa Elena de Uairén, plus 6 nights in shared tents at trail campsites and in natural rock shelters on the summit
  • Meals (full board) from Santa Elena de Uairén onwards: breakfast, lunch and dinner, prepared on-site by the expedition team
  • Collective camping equipment (tents shared between two people, kitchen equipment, cookware, plates, glasses and cutlery)
  • Porters and logistics staff to carry the collective equipment
  • First-aid kit carried by the team
  • Guided tours (La Rampa ascent, Valley of Crystals, triple border point, El Foso, natural jacuzzis, La Ventana lookout, and Maverick Rock)
  • Trail guide and logistics team, Portuguese-speaking as standard

Not included

  • Flight tickets
  • Accommodation in Boa Vista before and after the expedition
  • Meals in Boa Vista
  • Drinks beyond those served with the included meals
  • Travel insurance (mandatory for this expedition)
  • Bilingual guide upgrade (English, Spanish, or German), bookable at least 90 days before departure
  • Personal equipment such as sleeping bag, thermal insulation, a mat, and backpack (rentals are available)
  • Personal porters, bookable separately
  • In-and-out receptive services, gratuities and personal expenses
  • Any service not expressly listed above

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$ 1,350/ per person