Amazonas

The Family Kuawai Autana or hill, located in downtown West Sipapo Autonomous Municipality, about 100 km. in a straight line south of Puerto Ayacucho, has a relatively small area of about 600 ht. At its base, located within the "Forest Reserve Sipapo and near the river Autana, including the nearby Lake King Leopold III resembling a deep circular crater, extinct volcano.

It is called the Family Autana, resembles a huge stalk that emerges from the dense jungle of solidarity and for Piaroa (or Dearúa) and Uahibo (or Jivi) the great sacred tree of life, around which a beautiful and interesting mythology, makes us think with admiration the level reached in the cults, beliefs, etc.., these people that were qualified to the wild by chroniclers and missionaries. This sacred place, like the Marawaka, you can call the Mount Olympus of nations and Jivi Dearúa. The author, accompanied by his friend Gustavo Cisneros, was able to visit the roof of tepuy, whose slope and flora, naturally, thanks to the helicopter. The height is spectacular considering the narrowness of its structure, with about 1,000 mt.s.. Nm. It stands out visually from great distances (in clear weather or good). We can distinguish it from the port of Samariapo, from Mouse Island also sailing on the Orinoco. The crown or surface of the hill is about 1000 mts. long by 300 wide approximately.

The famous explorer and naturalist Dr. Charles Brewer Carias, explored it in 1971 with the company of Julian Steyermark, famous botanist and the no less famous orchidologist CK Dunsterville, collecting specimens new to science.

Very near the surface of tepuy its cliffs are the most nominated Autana caves through the body or trunk of the hill side to side, calculating a length of 400 mt.; This that have so far been discovered because there are other caves that have not yet been explored. In the main cavity is a large hall or dome whose dome has a height of about 50 mt. These spectacular caves have been explored by brave mountaineer and scientist Charles Brewer Carias. All this deserves a special description.

It comes to this sacred place from Samariapo up the Orinoco, entering the river and then the river Sipapo Autana. Also in small planes or helicopters flying around the mountain. Its coordinates are 4 ° 52 'LN and 67 º 27' LO.

This tepuy is considered sacred by local ethnic groups, because apart from its mystic legends, it sits in the basin of Sipapo, seat of the great nation Dearúa and then there are numerous places where also considered sacred, as are its cemeteries, plus rivers, lakes, streams, rocks, are places of stories and legends embodied in their beautiful mythology.