• Try mountain trekking or rock climbing in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida, where several of the country's highest peaks are located. Experienced guides and equipment can be hired in Mérida, the regional tourist hub.

• Ride the world's longest and highest cable car (teleférico), which runs 12.6km (7.9 miles) from Mérida to the top of Pico Espejo (4,765m/15,629ft), providing easy access to starting points for mountain treks.

• Snorkel or dive at Parque Nacional Mochima (website: www.inparques.gob.ve) on the northeast coast, with dozens of offshore islands and islets, some - like the popular Isla de Plata - surrounded by coral reefs. The archipelago Los Roques is another underwater wonderland.

• Cruise through the mangrove caños (channels) of Parque Nacional Morrocoy (website: www.inparques.gob.ve) in the northwest, or sail out to the park's chain of islands, renowned for their paradisiacal beaches and flocks of flamingos. 

• Burrow down into the Cueva del Guácharo, the most spectacular of Venezuela's many cave systems, and thrill to the eerie screeching of thousands of guácharos (oilbirds), a type of nocturnal bird that inhabits the subterranean dwelling.

• Enjoy the novelty of skiing in the tropics. The peaks of the Cordillera de Mérida have a permanent snowline and can be skied between November and June, though at an altitude of 4,270m (14,000ft) this is recommended only for the hardiest.

• Train your binoculars on hummingbirds, herons, tanagers, toucanets, curassows and hundreds of other exotic bird species at the Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, a birdwatchers' haven on the central northern coast. See www.birdvenezuela.com for more information on twitching in Venezuela.

• Swim, sun yourself, savour superb seafood and generally unwind at the coastal resorts of Isla de Margarita, Venezuela's largest Caribbean isle with 168km (104 miles) of beaches. There are daily air-shuttles from Maiquetía airport to Porlamar, Margarita's principal town, and ferries from several mainland ports.

• Go deep-sea fishing off La Guaira, where the plankton-rich El Placer bank is renowned for its extraordinarily abundant blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish. Anglers can also hook bonefish in the Archipelago Los Roques and even piranhas in the rivers of Los Llanos.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.